Version 1; last updated 17 October 2019

Thank you for your interest in the Pollinator Monitoring Scheme – Kýpros (PoMS-Ký and Mini-PoMS-Ký) within the Researching Invasive Species in Kýpros (RIS-Ký) project, and for your help in providing data on pollinators. This privacy notice sets out the basis on which we will process any personal data we collect from you, or that you provide to us.

1. Who we are

The project Researching Invasive Species of Kýpros (RIS-Ký) was launched in April 2017 and ran for two years looking at the impacts of invasive alien species in a variety of habitats (terrestrial, freshwater and marine). The project focused on the UK Overseas Territories (UKOTs) in Cyprus and was funded by the Darwin Initiative. RIS-Ký will continue to run as part of a new Darwin Plus project addressing drivers of ecological change in Lake Akrotiri SBA, Cyprus. This project started in 2019 and will run until March 2021.

Within RIS-Ký the PoMS-Ký project aims to encourage the recording of pollinators in Cyprus. People taking part in PoMS-Ký can register with this website and add the results of the pollinator surveys that they carry out for the project. Also within RIS-Ký there is the Mini-PoMS-Ký project, which is aimed at school groups carrying out pollinator surveys, with data being entered by the groups’ teachers.

PoMS-Ký uses a data warehouse for storing the pollinator records collected as part of the project. The data warehouse is run and funded in the UK by the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology. UKCEH is strategically funded by the Natural Environment Research Council, part of UK Research and Innovation.

UKCEH is the controller for all processing of personal data for the purposes of the data warehouse used by PoMS-Ký.

2. Why are we collecting your information?

The RIS-Ký website is being run by UKCEH. UKCEH is collecting your personal data in order to administer and run the PoMS-Ký and Mini-PoMS-Ký surveys, and to share the results. If you register on the RIS-Ký website we will store your name, and email address.

When you submit pollinator records to PoMS-Ký, your name (but not your email) will be included alongside the survey information (including location and time of record) to form the ‘biological record’. You may be contacted with queries about the records you provide for the purpose of validating and verifying the survey data.

If you add your data to the PoMS-Ký survey we will collect the following personal data about you:

  • Name (as a recorder)
  • Email address
  • Location and date of any survey results you submit

If you add your data to the Mini-PoMS-Ký survey we will collect the following personal data about you:

  • Name of your school and group
  • Location and date of any survey results you submit

In data protection terms we are using the ‘lawful basis’ of ‘legitimate interest’ for collecting, processing and sharing your personal data.

All data held by UKCEH is compliant to UK data protection legislation and the basis on which we process any personal data we collect from you, or that you provide to us, is covered by the UKCEH privacy notice.

In addition to the information we ask you to provide through the website, we also collect information automatically about visits to the site using Google Analytics and in our server logs. This does not include any personal data but does include

  • Your IP address
  • The pages you request, when you request them, and how you interact with them
  • The type of device and browser you use

We use this information to support our work in various ways including monitoring performance, improving design, protecting against malicious behaviour and supporting funding applications.

3. How are we storing your information and will we share it?

All of your personal data that we collect will be stored securely in a database for as long as you have a user account on the RIS-Ký website. If you no longer wish to be registered, please contact info@ris-ky.info to let us know. The component of your personal data that forms part of the biological record (i.e. your name as a recorder, and the location and time of the record) will be kept permanently as part of the scientific dataset.

Sharing your email address with others

We will not openly publish your email address. We may use your email address to provide you with information and feedback on RIS-Ký, and in case of any enquiry over the survey results that you submit.

Sharing your name that forms part of the biological record

Biological records produced by PoMS-Ký and Mini-PoMS-Ký will also be shared with other organisations and individuals worldwide for purposes of scientific research. For PoMS-Ký your name will be included as part of the scientific records in these datasets; for Mini-Poms-Ky your school group name will be included as part of the scientific records in these datasets. Once the PoMS-Ký datasets are published they will be freely available for redistribution. As use of the PoMS-Ký data is for research in the public interest it is retained as part of our work and your personal data (recorder name or school group name) will remain public; open data can be downloaded, remixed, and redistributed by third parties.

Where data is openly published it will be available to anyone and it will be available for use anywhere.

Other than as set out above, and except where we have a legal obligation to so do, we will not share your personal data with anyone else, nor will we transfer your personal data outside the European Union.

4. Your rights and our contact details

You are entitled to access any of your personal data that we hold. You can view the personal data we hold of yours by logging in to your account on the RIS-Ký website. Alternatively please contact info@ris-ky.info with as much detail as possible on the information you would like us to provide and we will aim to respond within one month.

You have the right to object to the processing of your personal data where we have relied on legitimate interest as the lawful basis for processing. You also have the right to request that we restrict or stop processing, rectify or delete your personal data (with the exception of names from datasets that have already been published openly). Where the personal data we hold has not been supplied by yourself, you are entitled to ask how we obtained the personal data. You can request that your RIS-Ký user account is cancelled at any time by emailing info@ris-ky.info.

Please contact cehdataprotection@ceh.ac.uk if you wish to progress any of these rights.

If you have any concerns about how your personal data is being used, we will try to answer any questions you have. You have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK Information Commissioner’s Office. You also have the right to an effective judicial remedy against decisions of the Information Commissioner’s Office.

5. Changes to the privacy policy for the RIS-Ký website

This Privacy Policy may be updated from time to time. The latest version will always be available at https://www.ris-ky.info/privacy-notice. If changes are made to this privacy policy in the future, a prominent notice will be posted on the website.