Sharing Biodiversity Information: The Inter-American Biodiversity Information Network

Gladys Cotter Chair, IABIN Council Inter-American Workshop on Access to Environmental Data 3-6 March, 2004, Campinas, Brazil

Summit of the Americas: Mandate

Internet-based forum for technical and scientific collaboration for the collection, exchange, and use of biodiversity information relevant to decision-making and education

IABIN Goals

• Integrate data from all nations • Provide easy access • Enhance informatics capacity • Fill information gaps • Facilitate incorporation of data into global networks

Promoting Interoperability

• Select standards:  Exchange protocols  Record formats  Controlled vocabularies • Encourage adoption of standards • Share tools, methodologies, expertise

IABIN Principles

• Provider-controlled data – no central repository • Respect for intellectual property • Free and universal access • Broadly inclusive and collaborative • Oriented toward science and sustainable development • Backed by government policy

Voluntary, diverse, distributed managed network

Building on National Initiatives

Links national networks to others in the Western Hemisphere…

CHM

… and to biodiversity networks worldwide

Links with GBIF

• • Associate member of GBIF • IABIN participants led first GBIF Science Subcommittees • Eight IABIN countries are GBIF members IABIN will build a GBIF node for other countries

Links with CHM

• • • • MOU IABIN supports CHM implementation in Western Hemisphere IABIN Focal Point = CHM Focal Point IABIN representative on CHM Informal Advisory Committee

Harmonizing the Visions

IABIN Council Meeting

(2003, Cancun, Mexico) • • • IABIN implementation plan Jointly with CHM GRULAC Regional Meeting GBIF participation

Collaboration encourages complementarity

Creating IABIN: Challenges Identifying and narrowing objectives Intellectual property rights 5 official languages Differing user requirements Data restrictions and sensitivities Special issues of small countries Economic value of biodiversity information Technology infrastructure Catalog Data supplier commitment and incentives Access to technology Data quality Vocabularies Training Differing standards: taxonomy, geo-referencing, … Financial viability: short- and long-term

• • • Summit of the Americas for Sustainable Development Santa Cruz Plan of Action Governance documents

Building IABIN

• • • • International working groups National and regional initiatives Institutions Individual researchers

Governance Structure

• IABIN Council  Official Focal Points (34 countries)  IGO representatives (CHM, GBIF)  NGO representatives • IABIN Executive Committee  8 countries + 1 IGO/NGO • IABIN Planning Team  Secretariat

Consensus decisions

Pilot Projects

Criteria

• Advance technical objectives • Advance creation of network • Add value through regional extension • Address transnational issues • Have relevancy for decision-making

Pilot Projects: Completed

• Inventory of European collections • Examination of metadata standards in Mesoamerica • Training of Latin American computer specialists • Invasives Information Network

Pilot Project Information Network I 3 N

I ABIN I nvasives I nformation N etwork • Web-accessible catalogs • Distributed  Local ownership • Integrated  Common standards  Single entry point  Search across all catalogs

GEF Project

• Consultative process  $670 / 1 year • Project Implementation Plan  $6 million / 5 years • Financial sustainability  International Biodiversity Foundation  $30+ million co-financing

70+ institutions

Institutional Relationships

Initial Thematic Networks

• Specimens • Species • Ecosystems • Invasive Species • Pollinators • Protected Areas • Migratory Birds

Photo by R. Westbrooks. U. S. Geological Survey. 2001

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Current Activities

• Catalog of biodiversity data sources in Latin America and the Caribbean • Cataloging and rescuing Paraguayan databases • Images of Western Hemisphere species • Development Gateway • NBII Web Resources Tool • Global Invasive Species Information Network • BioInventory Builder • I3N search • Web sites

Invitation

For more information

Websites: , Listservs: iabinFriends, i3nlist E-mail: [email protected]