The Central African Biodiversity Information Network (CABIN): a Contribution to the Sub-Saharan African Biodiversity Information Network (SABIN)
Patricia Mergen, Charles Kahindo Muzusa-Ngabo, Michel Louette, Franck Theeten, Bart Meganck
Abstract
The aim of this multi-donor initiative is to establish a thematic sub-Saharan African Biodiversity Information Network of African institutions and research centers that hold and manage information about local biodiversity and natural environments.
For historical reasons as well as current cooperation and development projects that include biodiversity investigation, a large proportion of scientific knowledge and specimens from sub-Saharan Africa are located and managed in European and North American research facilities. These facilities are members of international initiatives, such as the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), Biodiversity Information Standards (TDWG) or the Consortium of European Taxonomical Facilities (CETAF), whose goals are to make biodiversity and scientific collection Information and knowledge available to all. The Royal Museum for Central Africa (RMCA) and several African partner institutions are active collaborators in these initiatives.
These networks have developed informatics tools and standards to share biodiversity and associated geospatial information. For example, more than 120 million of records, from more than 1000 collections institutions are freely accessible via the GBIF network. According to rough estimates more than 1.5 million of the specimen/observation records served by GBIF concern sub-Saharan African species. However, except for South Africa, it appears that no African institutions are providing information to GBIF directly. Instead, the information resources of African institutions are usually hosted by institutions outside Africa. Recently a GBIF national node has been setup in Tanzania in the framework of the GBIF CEPDEC (Capacity Enhancement Programme for Developing Countries) in collaboration with the Danish cooperation and development agency.
The intention is to enhance the capacity of African partner institutions to serve information to the GBIF network using TDWG standards and informatics tools. These goals are intended to be achieved by:
1. Assessment of the current ICT infrastructure in African partner institutions and prioritization of their needs in collection management systems and biodiversity information sharing;
2. Cataloguing of African biodiversity collections and research projects;
3. Enhancing the ICT infrastructure and implementation of GBIF/TDWG informatics tools at several identified African partner institutions based on the results of points 1 and 2;
4. Setting up a thematic data access and data usage portal targeting sub-Saharan Africa;and
5. Organize capacity building and training sessions in collaboration with GBIF on how to become a data provider, on how to access and process biodiversity information data available through the GBIF network with a special focus on georeferencing techniques.
The Afro tropical Zoology and Geological Departments of RMCA are currently joining forces and will use funding from the Belgian Cooperation and Development and the Belgian Science Policy offices to enhance access to both biodiversity and geological information resources in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo and to upgrade the ICT infrastructure of institutions managing those resources.
The resulting Sub-Saharan African Biodiversity Information Network will enhance access to African biodiversity information, to support joint scientific research and publication. Free access to biodiversity information will also improve local decision making in conservation and environmental protection.
For historical reasons as well as current cooperation and development projects that include biodiversity investigation, a large proportion of scientific knowledge and specimens from sub-Saharan Africa are located and managed in European and North American research facilities. These facilities are members of international initiatives, such as the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), Biodiversity Information Standards (TDWG) or the Consortium of European Taxonomical Facilities (CETAF), whose goals are to make biodiversity and scientific collection Information and knowledge available to all. The Royal Museum for Central Africa (RMCA) and several African partner institutions are active collaborators in these initiatives.
These networks have developed informatics tools and standards to share biodiversity and associated geospatial information. For example, more than 120 million of records, from more than 1000 collections institutions are freely accessible via the GBIF network. According to rough estimates more than 1.5 million of the specimen/observation records served by GBIF concern sub-Saharan African species. However, except for South Africa, it appears that no African institutions are providing information to GBIF directly. Instead, the information resources of African institutions are usually hosted by institutions outside Africa. Recently a GBIF national node has been setup in Tanzania in the framework of the GBIF CEPDEC (Capacity Enhancement Programme for Developing Countries) in collaboration with the Danish cooperation and development agency.
The intention is to enhance the capacity of African partner institutions to serve information to the GBIF network using TDWG standards and informatics tools. These goals are intended to be achieved by:
1. Assessment of the current ICT infrastructure in African partner institutions and prioritization of their needs in collection management systems and biodiversity information sharing;
2. Cataloguing of African biodiversity collections and research projects;
3. Enhancing the ICT infrastructure and implementation of GBIF/TDWG informatics tools at several identified African partner institutions based on the results of points 1 and 2;
4. Setting up a thematic data access and data usage portal targeting sub-Saharan Africa;and
5. Organize capacity building and training sessions in collaboration with GBIF on how to become a data provider, on how to access and process biodiversity information data available through the GBIF network with a special focus on georeferencing techniques.
The Afro tropical Zoology and Geological Departments of RMCA are currently joining forces and will use funding from the Belgian Cooperation and Development and the Belgian Science Policy offices to enhance access to both biodiversity and geological information resources in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo and to upgrade the ICT infrastructure of institutions managing those resources.
The resulting Sub-Saharan African Biodiversity Information Network will enhance access to African biodiversity information, to support joint scientific research and publication. Free access to biodiversity information will also improve local decision making in conservation and environmental protection.