Biodiversity Informatics and the State of the Data

Transcription

1 Biodiversity Informatics and the State of the Data Fatima Parker-Allie SANBI ATELIER RÉGIONAL /// REGIONAL WORKSHOP SCÉNARIOS DE LA BIODIVERSITÉ AFRICAINE /// SCENARIOS OF BIODIVERSITY CHANGE IN AFRICA MARS 2013 l LIBREVILLE - GABON l MARCH 2013

2 Introduc)on Taxonomy, systema)cs, and biodiversity studies are data- intensive sciences that draw informa)on from many disciplines to build a coherent picture of life on Earth across space, through )me, and over evolu)onary trajectories. These fields are both, old and new old in the sense that the process of cataloguing biodiversity has been going on since the middle 1700s, but new in that large- scale data resources and powerful analy)cal tools are only now being developed and applied to key ques)ons. These steps forward are essen)al to discovery, understanding, and responsible use of the natural world and its resources that provide essen)al ecosystem services.

3 Biodiversity Informa)cs In the past decade, advances in IT such as the development of the Internet and the www have lead to advances and new opportuni)es for data consolida)on and interchange In the biodiversity community, these technologies have been adopted, with massive stores of primary biodiversity data now accessible through the Internet. Broad applica)on of informa)on science and computa)onal tools to the management and analysis of biodiversity data characterizing species occurrences, taxonomic characters, mulumedia and image data have led to the development of the emerging field of biodiversity informaucs

4 Biodiversity Informa)cs Thus, biodiversity informa)cs deals with the interrelated challenges of collec)on, colla)on, analysis, and dissemina)on of data and informa)on related to the bio)c resources of the Earth. The development of key soiware tools, and the eventual establishment of the Global Biodiversity Informa)on Facility (GBIF) were major steps towards enabling sharing the world s biodiversity data via the Internet. GBIF was established in 2001 as a mega- science ini)a)ve, and by 2004 it was serving > 40 million data records and currently it provides access to just under 400 million data records.

5 Global trend in data publishing Primary biodiversity records (Millions) Total data records available through GBIF Network 33 vo)ng par)cipants, 24 ass. Country parts 47 int. organisa)ons Last updated: 1 March 2013

6 Flagged issues in data published by country ParUcipants in six regions and Africa Percentage primary biodiversity records published with flagged errors (%) Percentage of total data published by country Participants in a region with flagged issues Coordinates out of range Country coordinate mismatch Presumed inverted coordinates Presumed negated Latitude Presumed negated Longitude Zero coordinates Unknown Kingdom Missing date Unknown BOR Milliers Data published by country Participants in Africa with flagged issues

7 GBIF Strategic Impera)ves The early success of GBIF in assembling huge amounts of data was largely due to harves)ng the low- hanging fruit of informa)on rich lineages. This approach did not significantly focus on data quality and data enrichment. The new strategic plan however, intends to move towards this objec)ve of ensuring more fit for use data by improving coverage, scope and quality of data content To fulfill the GBIF mission, with 3 key strategic imperauves need to be achieved: 1. Advance the Digital Content Quan%ty: Fill the data gaps Quality: Enhance fitness- for- use Use: Measure data impact 2. Advance the Informa)cs Infrastructure Expand the distributed infrastructure Improve standards and interoperability Foster community- developed standards, tools and services 3. Advance the Engagement Engage a global GBIF community & Strengthen Par%cipant engagement and capacity Recruit new ParEcipant countries Recruit strategic partners

8 GBIF Africa Background and contextualisa)on At GBIF 16 the governing board endorsed the recommenda)on to have a series of regional mee)ngs with the aim of improving the coordina)on of ac)vi)es between the country nodes and the secretariat as well as to support collabora)on amongst nodes at a regional level. A series of mee)ngs and regional engagement opportuni)es were enabled through the regionalisa)on strategy and Node Managers from approximately 16 countries and 5 Par)cipant organisa)ons, have shown a con)nual increase in collabora)on and capacity. Iden)fied the need For An ac)on plan Planning mee)ng In Kenya Oct rd Regional mee)ng, Rwanda ARCOS ACM mee)ng in South Africa July 2010 March 2011 GBIF 16 Sept nd Regional mee)ng in South Africa 4 th Regional MeeUng April 2013 July 2012

9 African Coordina)ng Mechanism An ini)al ac)on plan was developed, but it was iden)fied that an African Coordina)ng Mechanism (ACM) is required, which is the ul)mate Vision for a Formal Regional Structure for biodiversity informa)on management on the con)nent The aim of the ACM is to improve collabora)ve ac)on in data publishing and use. Through the ACM, the African Nodes strive to become the data- science interface for this mega- diverse con)nent, in support of the implementa)on of the Africa s Science and Technology Consolidated Plan of Ac)on The aim of this concept/document is to mobilize resources through the African Ministers Commieee on Science and Technology (AMCOST) which is a component of the African Union network, or alterna)vely through NEPAD This concept and the proposed steps towards the establishment of the ACM has been endorsed by the HoD and a business case for funders is currently being draied. regionaliza)on

10 Highlights of the Regional Strategy and Ac)on Plan Data publishing strategy and ac)on plan Capacity Building 3 Priority Areas were Iden)fied for further implementa)on Strategic Regional Engagement A Data MobilizaUon Strategy is being developed, which includes the establishment of an African Science Commi`ee, which will address key research quesuons and priority areas for the African region. This Commieee will also provide guidance on a research agenda for Biodiversity Informa)cs. A ToR has been developed for this Commieee. GBIF Benin is providing leadership to this area. A regional engagement framework/roadmap has been developed including a log- frame describing milestones, )melines and responsible persons, towards a fully opera)onal GBIF- Africa structure.

11 Holis)c Approach to Capacity Development Grow relevant skills in BI in networks Robust Human Capacity at BIF s Improve data quality and Use Target Market University Network of Node Managers Data providers Data Users Node Managers AcUviUes Develop collabora)ve research programmes in BI postgraduate research hubs Providing bursaries Clear development plans Career- pathing implemented Examples of Node Structures Fitness for Use of data Publishing data Data cleaning Website Use

12 Achievements of the Regional Nodes Many nodes are opera)onal Bridging the research policy- decision making divide MDG s IPBES Training ac)vi)es in biod. inform Regional and interna)onal Partnerships CBD 2020 Aichi Targets WCMC biodiversity indicators Data Mobiliza)on >14.5 m records CEPDEC, SEP- CEPDEC, JRS GBIF Infrastructure IPT, standards & tools

13 Thank you Merci