Terms of use
'We' are Habitat Matters*, Biodiverse IT and Biological Records Centre (a group within the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology), responsible for the creation and maintenance of the Habitat Matters website.
'You' are the user of the Habitat Matters website.
*Habitat Matters (2021-current) is the property of ACO Technologies Plc. All rights reserved.
Indicia
This website uses an Indicia Data Warehouse hosted by the Biological Records Centre (a group within the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology).
Using the Habitat Matters Website
The Habitat Matters data sharing is linked to iRecord, a website for sharing wildlife observations irecord.org.uk, enabling them to be checked by experts.
This website is maintained for your personal use and viewing. The access and use of the website featuring these terms of use constitutes your acceptance of these terms of use. They take effect from the date on which you first use this website after these terms and conditions apply. We reserve the right to delete accounts of users who infringe these terms and conditions.
You agree to use this site only for lawful purposes, and in a manner that does not infringe the rights of, or restrict or inhibit the use and enjoyment of this site by any third party. Such restriction or inhibition includes, without limitation, conduct which is unlawful, or which may harass or cause distress or inconvenience to any person, and the transmission of obscene or offensive content or disruption of normal flow of dialogue within this site.
If you do not agree, please do not use the site.
Except where noted and excluding logos and website code this work is shared under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0) Licence
Unless otherwise noted please attribute as: “Habitat Matters (2022) by ACO Technologies Plc, licensed under CC BY 40”. Images may also feature named photographer credit. The website was produced by Biodiverse IT and code is licensed under GPL 3.0.
Age of users
Do not use this website if you are under 13 years of age.
Cancelling your account
You can request that your Habitat Matters website account is cancelled at any time by emailing contact@habitat-matters.com. Any records you have submitted will be preserved as part of a long term scientific data set which will continue to contribute to our research and understanding, and be stored indefinitely. This includes the details of sites, habitat, features and biological records you have submitted, the analytical information associated with them, and including your name as the recorder and an automatically generated code to uniquely identify individual users of the Habitat Matters website. This data will continue to be maintained in accordance with the terms of use that you agreed to when signing up to the Habitat Matters website. Your email address will be removed from the Habitat Matters dataset and will no longer be associated with your records.
Personal data
The basis on which we process any personal data we collect from you, or that you provide to use, is covered by our Privacy Notice.
Non-personal data content
When you use the Habitat Matters website, you create and upload content - for instance, submitting site recorded information, mitigation and ecological data pertaining to the site, site photos, wildlife observations, photos of wildlife, your descriptions of it, and messages in the comments session. By putting this information on the site, you are saying that:
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the content is yours, or you have the permission of the owner to agree to this usage
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you agree that the content can be used on this site
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you agree that your wildlife observations (excluding photos) can be made publicly available for wider use and may be shared with other relevant data users (see below)
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you agree that your records will be available to expert verifiers acting on behalf of the National Recording Scheme, who may contact you in connection with those records, and may add comments or add a corrected species identification to the records
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you agree that any media (photos, videos, sound recordings) uploaded with site, habitat, features or biological records will be assigned to your preferred Creative Commons Licence.
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you warrant that media (photos, video, sound recordings) uploaded with site, habitat, features or biological records are entirely your own work and have not been copied in whole or in part from any third party and do not infringe any third-party intellectual property rights.
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you retain ownership of the copyright in the media (photos, video, sound recordings) uploaded with site, habitat, features or biological records as the author.
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media (photos, video, sound recordings) you upload with site, habitat, features or biological records should not include images of people without their explicit permission
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you agree that your media (photos, video, sound recordings) uploaded with site, habitat, features or biological records may be used by UKCEH or partners we work with for training classification algorithms, regardless of the licence applied to your photos, in accordance with advice from the government’s Intellectual Property Office.
Records will also be made available to other organisations with a bona fide use for site, habitat, features or biological records. This may include the following organisations and may be extended to other organisations in future: UKCEH, ACO Technologies Plc, Local Environment Record Centres, Country Nature Conservation Bodies, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the National Trust, the National Trust Scotland, the Woodland Trust, the National Biodiversity Network (via their Atlas websites), and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.
Treatment of sensitive species records
Where species are deemed to be “sensitive” by the Habitat Matters or by iRecord the record may have its location blurred, or may be treated as confidential. Lists of sensitive species may include, but may not be limited by, lists agreed with the UK government conservation agencies.
Habitat Matters treats location as "sensitive" within iRecord meaning records have location blurred to 1Km and no site name is displayed in public view (recorder name and other site, habitat, feature or biological record details are visible). Registered verifiers from the County Recorder network, UKCEH or administrative staff or contractors can view and download records with the detailed location information as entered i.e. not blurred. Onward uses of records from local or national databases maintained by County Recorders may include sharing of records with data users including location at "capture resolution" i.e. detailed location as entered, not blurred. More information on sharing is also available in the Privacy Notice.
Relationship with the iRecord website
Records and photos that you add to the Habitat Matters website will be shared with the iRecord website (irecord.org.uk) where they will be publicly visible. As described above, expert verifiers may contact you with queries and feedback about your records, and such messages will come from the iRecord website, which is where the verification process happens.
If you use, or wish to use, the iRecord website or related apps as well in addition to the Habitat Matters website, we strongly recommend that you use the same email address to register on the different sites, so that your records will be linked together and all shown as part of your set of records. However, there is no requirement for Habitat Matters website users to register with iRecord.
Accuracy of information
The information in this website is given in good faith and for general information and interest only. It is subject to change without notice. We are not responsible for any inaccuracies and make no representation and give no warranty as to its accuracy.
The information in this website should not be relied on and does not constitute any form of advice or recommendation. By using this website you confirm that you have not relied on any such information. Any arrangements made between you and any third party named or referred to on the website are entirely at your sole risk and responsibility.
Nothing on this website is intended to be nor should be construed as an offer to enter into a contractual relationship.
Linking to the Habitat Matters website
The Habitat Matters website welcomes and encourages other websites to link to the information that is hosted on these pages. You do not have to ask permission to link but wording and linking graphics can be requested if necessary by emailing contact@habitat-matters.com.
Links from this site
Links and frames connecting this site with other sites are for convenience only and do not constitute endorsement or approval by Habitat Matters, ACO Technologies Plc, BRC or UKCEH, or our parent bodies of those other sites, their content or the people who run them. We cannot guarantee that these links will work all of the time and have no control over the availability of linked pages or their content.
It is the responsibility of the Internet user to make their own decisions about the accuracy, currency, reliability and correctness of information found at sites linked from this website.
Virus protection
We make every effort to check and test material at all stages of production. It is always wise for you to run an anti-virus program on all material downloaded from the internet. We cannot accept any responsibility for any loss, disruption or damage to your data or your computer system which may occur while using material derived from this website.
Cookies
We want to make the website is easy to use, useful and reliable. This involves placing small amounts of information on your computer or mobile device in small files known as cookies. This website uses cookies to maintain your browsing session and enhance site functionality, and to monitor the usage of the site with Google Analytics. Please read more detail in the Cookies notice.
Disclaimer
All information provided by Habitat Matters, UKCEH and our partners on this website is made available to provide immediate access for the convenience of interested persons. While we believe the information to be reliable, human or mechanical error remains a possibility. Therefore, we do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, timeliness, or correct sequencing of the information. Neither we, nor any of the sources of the information, shall be responsible for any errors or omissions, or for the use of or results obtained from the use of this information.
Changes to these terms
These terms may be updated from time to time (current version is 23 February 2022). If material changes are made to these terms in the future, a prominent notice will be posted on the website.