Demanding but not sharing: barriers and counteracting strategies for compilation of biodiversity data from researchers and practitioners

• There is a paradox: a demand for large databases and a resistance to creating them. • Resistance barriers were identified by those who shared and those who compiled data. • Strategies are proposed to encourage individuals and institutions to participate. The urgency of the environmental crisis calls for evidence-based conservation, demanding comprehensive databases. However, there is resistance among researchers and practitioners regarding data sharing and participation in the development of such bases. Drawing from experiences compiling wildlife data in Brazil, we identified two categories of resistance barriers: "sharing barriers" faced by who shares the data and "compilation barriers" faced by who compiles the data. Key sharing barriers include the lack of short-term benefits and concerns about originality, authorship credit, and contractual issues. Compilation barriers involve difficulties in engaging and contacting collaborators, incomplete data submissions, and a critical lack of funding. To counteract these challenges, we propose several strategies: raising awareness of the benefits of data sharing, reinforcing open access policies and principles, developing user-friendly spreadsheets and tutorials, and securing funding for data compilation projects. Adopting these measures is crucial to foster a more collaborative process and accelerate the creation of valuable open data sets for conservation.