Terms and conditions

Terms and conditions of use

Version 1.  16/06/2019

These Terms and Conditions cove use of the website and mobile application of the European Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (eBMS).  eBMS is operated by the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH) and Butterfly Conservation Europe, in partnership with a number of organisations running Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (https://butterfly-monitoring.net/partners-ebms).

• CEH is a wholly owned research centre of the Natural Environment Research Council, now part of UK Research and Innovation.
Butterfly Conservation Europe is an independent NGO (a 'stichting' under Dutch law) working as an umbrella body with the aim of stimulating monitoring and research, to help stem and reverse the rapid decline of butterflies, moths and their habitats across Europe

The eBMS privacy policy can be viewed here.

Using the eBMS website and mobile application

The eBMS website and mobile application are maintained for your personal use and viewing. The access and use of the website and mobile application, featuring these terms and conditions, constitutes your acceptance of these terms and conditions. They take effect from the date on which you first use this website or mobile application, 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 website/mobile application 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 website or mobile applications.  Do not use this website if you are under 13 years of age.

You can request that your eBMS account is cancelled at any time by emailing ebms@ceh.ac.uk.  Any records you have submitted will be preserved as part of a long term scientific data set which will continue to contribute to research and understanding, and be stored indefinitely. This includes the details of records you have submitted, the analytical information associated with them, and including your name as the recorder and an automatically generated codes to uniquely identify individual users of eBMS. This data will continue to be maintained in accordance with the terms and conditions that you agreed to when signing up to eBMS.  Your email address will be removed from the eBMS 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 (https://www.butterfly-monitoring.net/privacy-notice).

Licences for non-personal data content

When you use this website/mobile application, you create and upload content - for instance, wildlife observations, photos of nature, your descriptions of it.  By putting this information on the site, you are saying that:

(a) the content is yours, or you have the permission of the owner to agree to this usage, and

(b) you agree that the content can be used on this website/mobile application, and

(c) you agree that your wildlife observations (including photos) can be made publicly available for wider use under a Creative Common universal licence (CCO), and

(d) if you submit a record of a species that could be vulnerable to disturbance or persecution if the record is made publicly available, the record will be flagged as ‘sensitive’ and will not be made publicly available or will be made publicly available in a summary form.

In order to support conservation and research, all biological records submitted to the eBMS will be made available to other organisations with a bona fide use for biological records.  This includes sharing of data with the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

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. CEH is not responsible for any inaccuracies and makes no representation and gives 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 eBMS website

eBMS 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 eBMS@ceh.ac.uk.

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 CEH 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 eBMS website 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. This information helps us to maintain website performance and support funding. Read more about how Google manages the data it collects. Your web browser has settings which allow you to manage these small files yourself by removing or blocking cookies. Learn more about them through advice on the AboutCookies website.

Disclaimer

All information provided by CEH on its websites is made available to provide immediate access for the convenience of interested persons. While CEH believes the information to be reliable, human or mechanical error remains a possibility. Therefore, CEH does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, timeliness, or correct sequencing of the information. Neither CEH, NERC, UKRI 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. The latest version will always be available at https://www.butterfly-monitoring.net/terms-and-conditions. If changes are made to these terms in the future, a prominent notice will be posted on the website.