GLOBAL
BIODIVERSITY
INFORMATION
FACILITY
TDWG Annual Meeting
9-13 Nov 2009, Montpellier
GBIF – Strategic
Perspectives on
building the
Biodiversity Informatics
Commons
Dr Nick King
Executive Director
GBIF
WWW.GBIF.ORG
Building the Biodiversity Informatics Commons
Context
Third year of Strategic Plan 07-11, of moving GBIF
”from prototype towards full operation”
- how far are we?
07-11 Strategic Plan, to:
1. Make a whole world of biodiversity data that are
currently exceedingly difficult to access freely
and universally available via the Internet;
2. Enable scientific research that has never before
been possible; and
3. Facilitate the use of scientific data in biodiversity
policy- and decision-making.
Millenium Assessment
(2005)
“Balance sheet more red
than black”
Nature Vol 461: 24
Sept 2009
Living on credit….
Fishing Down the Food
Web….
Trophic level
5
4
3
2
Growth of the nationally designated protected areas in
39 EEA countries
Source – EEA 2009
1 200 000
80 000
70 000
1 000 000
800 000
2
Area, km
50 000
600 000
40 000
30 000
400 000
20 000
200 000
10 000
0
0
1895
1905
1915
1925
1935
1945
1955
1965
1975
1985
1995
2005
Number of sites
60 000
Common birds in Europe, population index (1980 = 100)
140
120
100
80
Common farmland birds
Common forest birds
60
40
20
0
All common birds
Needs for Biodiv information?
Open Access: International mandates
CBD Decision VIII/11: Scientific and
technical cooperation and the CHM
“Invites Parties and other Governments to provide free and open
access to all past, present and future public-good research
results, assessments, maps and databases on biodiversity, in
accordance with national and international legislation …”
Open Access: International mandates
The (OECD) governments
(Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland,
France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Mexico, the
Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, the Russian Federation, the Slovak Republic, South Africa,
Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the UK, and the US):
DECLARE THEIR COMMITMENT TO work towards the establishment of access
regimes for digital research data from public funding in accordance with the
following objectives and principles:
Openness: balancing the interests of open access to data to increase the quality
and efficiency of research and innovation with the need for restriction of
access in some instances to protect social, scientific and economic interests …
OECD/CST Science, Technology and Innovation for the 21st Century, 29-30 Jan 2004
Establishment of GBIF originally endorsed by Science Ministers to the OECD, 2000
What is GBIF?
GBIF is a global science/informatics research infrastructure:
- promoting global participation,
working through and linking up a
global network of participants;
- enabling publishing of biodiversity data;
- promoting development of data capture
& exchange standards;
- building an informatics architecture;
- building capacity;
- catalysing
development of
data provider
analytical tools.
/ aggregator
GBIF’s Mandate
”To facilitate free and open access to biodiversity data
worldwide, via the Internet, to underpin scientific
research, conservation and sustainable development.”
The GBIF Secretariat role is
to be a facilitator, catalyst and
service provider to the global
BI community, particularly in
service to govts, as a global
‘public good’ initiative
Growth in GBIF Participation
96
88
72
78
81
79
63
51
39
NB: Drop in Associate Participants in 2007 is attributable to delays in signing the new MOU 2007-2011
GBIF Country Participants
Currently 53 countries…
GBIF Voting Participants 2009: 31
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Argentina
Australia
Belgium
Canada
Costa Rica
Denmark
Equatorial Guinea
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
•
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Iceland
Ireland
Japan
Korea, Rep. Of
Mauritania
Mexico
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Peru
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Portugal
Slovakia
Slovenia
South Africa
Spain
Sweden
Tanzania
United Kingdom
Uruguay
USA
GBIF Associate Country Participants 2009: 22
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Austria
Benin
Bulgaria
Burkina Faso
• Cameroon
• Colombia
• Cuba
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Ghana
Guinea
India
Kenya
• Indonesia
• Luxembourg
• Madagascar
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Morocco
Nicaragua
Pakistan
Philippines
Poland
Switzerland
Togo
Uganda
Int. Organisation Participants 2009: 43
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ACB
•
DIVERSITAS
•
NatureServe
•
ANDINONET
•
EOL
•
NORDGEN
•
BioNET-ASEANET
•
ETI Bioinformatics
•
OBIS
•
BioNET-EASIANET
•
EWT
•
PBIF
•
BioNET-INTERNATIONAL
•
Finding Species
•
SCAR
•
BioNET-SAFRINET
•
FreshwaterLife
•
SINEPAD
•
Bioversity International
•
IABIN
•
SMEBD
•
BGCI
•
ICIMOD
•
Species 2000
•
CABI Bioscience
•
ICIPE
•
SPNHC
•
CBOL
•
ICZN
•
TDWG
•
CETAF
•
ILTER
•
UNEP-WCMC
•
Chinese Taipei
•
ISIS
•
WDCBE
•
CYTED
•
ITIS
•
WFCC
•
Discover Life
•
MSEF
•
Wildscreen
•
NSCA
GBIF Working Principles

Worldwide network of collaborating institutions that share
data (data publishers) — not central compilation;

Ownership of data remains entirely with publishers;

Open, standardised schemas for data sharing — software free
to data publishers;

GBIF Participant Nodes promote and coordinate activities of
data publishers;

”Towards full operation” = increasing decentralisation
and ownership
Building Community Ownership
Improving outreach,
promoting ownership,
growing benefits…
the next generation of
GBIF…
NBIF
ReBIF
GBIFS
Nodes: from IT gateway to Participant BIF
Build capacity
Help develop information
products and services
Help address data &
information needs
Help identify data
and information gaps
Coordinate data
sharing activities
Engage data holders
Participant
BIF
Promote online publication
of scientific data
Promote best practices in
data management
Identify user communities – assess
end user needs
Implement informatics
infrastructure
Help formulate and adopt data
sharing and manahgement policies
Helpdesk
How formal mandates affect capacity and
resourcing
Participants leading…France
Train the trainers…
Spatial Analysis
Spatial Analysis
Partnerships: UNEP-WCMC (WDPA)
Spatial analysis and integration
Forests (using GBIF-enabled data)
l
Three major plant families and selected a
range of forest-based genera:
Family
Dipterocarpaceae
Meliaceae
Sterculiaceae
Species
analysed
37
22
388
Genera
analysed
9
16
49
Number of
Records in
GBIF with
Coordinates
705
701
13582
Using GBIF data in CC models
Sterculiaceae (Meliaceae, Dipterocapaceae)
Summary of CC impacts
Family
Dipterocarpaceae
Meliaceae
Sterculiaceae
Percent of
Percent of
Average
species with species with
habitat
more than 50%
more than
expansion
loss
90% loss
57.1
34.4
56.8
40.5
50.6
29.6
54.5
18.2
51.0
32.8
50.3
12.4
Average
habitat
loss
All families and genera suffer >50% habitat loss;
 Some gain in potential, but this would require migration
and suitable ecological niche (for forests) at destination;
 Important implications for REDD and other CC
adaptation/mitigation programmes

Agriculture and climate change
Grapes
Groundnut
Lentil
Linseed
Maize
Mango
Millet
Natural rubber
Oats
Oil palm
Olive
Onion
Oranges
Pea
Pigeon pea
Plantain bananas
Potato
Rapeseed
Rice
Rye
Perennial reygrass
Sesame seed
Sorghum
Perennial soybean
Sugar beet
Sugarcane
Sunflower
Sweet potato
Tea
Tobacco
Tomato
Watermelon
Wheat
Yams
Vitis vinifera L.
Arachis hypogaea L.
Lens culinaris Medikus
Linum usitatissimum L.
Zea mays L. s. mays
Mangifera indica L.
Panicum miliaceum L.
Hevea brasiliensis (Willd.)
Avena sativa L.
Elaeis guineensis Jacq.
Olea europaea L.
Allium cepa L. v cepa
Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck
Pisum sativum L.
Cajanus cajan (L.) Mill ssp
Musa balbisiana Colla
Solanum tuberosum L.
Brassica napus L.
Oryza sativa L. s. japonica
Secale cereale L.
Lolium perenne L.
Sesamum indicum L.
Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench
Glycine wightii Arn.
Beta vulgaris L. v vulgaris
Saccharum robustum Brandes
Helianthus annuus L v macro
Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.
Camellia sinensis (L) O.K.
Nicotiana tabacum L.
Lycopersicon esculentum M.
Citrullus lanatus (T) Mansf
Triticum aestivum L.
Dioscorea rotundata Poir.
The geography of crop suitability
Crop
Alfalfa
Apple
Banana
Barley
Common Bean
Common buckwheat
Cabbage
Cashew nuts
Cassava
Chick pea
Clover
Cocoa bean
Coconut
Coffee
Cotton
Cow peas
Grapes
Groundnut
Lentil
Linseed
Maize
Mango
Millet
Natural rubber
Oats
Oil palm
Olive
Onion
Oranges
Species
Medicago sativa L.
Malus sylvestris Mill.
Musa acuminata Colla
Hordeum vulgare L.
Phaseolus vulgaris L.
Fagopyrum esculentum Moench
Brassica oleracea L.v capi.
Anacardium occidentale L.
Manihot esculenta Crantz.
Cicer arietinum L.
Trifolium repens L.
Theobroma cacao L.
Cocos nucifera L.
Coffea arabica L.
Gossypium hirsutum L.
Vigna unguiculata unguic. L
Vitis vinifera L.
Arachis hypogaea L.
Lens culinaris Medikus
Linum usitatissimum L.
Zea mays L. s. mays
Mangifera indica L.
Panicum miliaceum L.
Hevea brasiliensis (Willd.)
Avena sativa L.
Elaeis guineensis Jacq.
Olea europaea L.
Allium cepa L. v cepa
Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck
Area
Harvested
(k Ha)
15214
4786
4180
55517
26540
2743
3138
3387
18608
10672
2629
7567
10616
10203
34733
10176
7400
22232
3848
3017
144376
4155
32846
8259
11284
13277
8894
3341
3618
7400
22232
3848
3017
144376
4155
32846
8259
11284
13277
8894
3341
3618
6730
4683
5439
18830
27796
154324
5994
5516
7539
41500
92989
5447
20399
23700
8996
2717
3897
4597
3785
216100
4591
Current suitability for agriculture
No. of crops
Future suitability -2050
18 GCM models, A2a scenario
Number of crops that lose out
Number of crops that gain
IAS – 100 Worst Invaders list
GBIF-enabled
data mean of
14,800 records
per species.
Need >~20
unique
occurrence
points for
robust model
development
(83 of 100
Worst Invaders
list).
Asian longhorn beetle
TEEB study
The `Stern
report´
equivalent for
biodiversity loss,
2009
Biodiversity, Ecosystems, and their Services
(TEEB study, 2009)
OECD
Baseline
scenario
International
Policies
Change
in
Land use,
Climate,
Pollution,
Water use
Change
in
Biodiversity
Change
in
Ecosystem
functions
Quelle: Dr Carsten Neßhöver, Heidi Wittmer & Christoph Schröter-Schlaack, UFZ
Change
In
Ecosystem
Services
Change in
Economic
Value
The Science-Policy Interface
Policy development
and decision
making (at local,
national, regional,
and global levels)
GBIF-published
data and analyses
Scientific monitoring of
status and trends of
biodiversity
Management,
conservation and
sustainable use
of biodiversity
Influencing Policy - Japan
l
l
l
l
Large- and small-mouth bass
introduced from N. America;
predatory, huge impact on
indigenous spp.
Japanese policymakers needed
to know which areas of the
country are most at risk from
invasion
Used N. American locality data
(from GBIF) to establish EN,
applied ENM to Japan and
tested with (GBIF) locality
records – very high correlation.
Instrumental in convincing
authorities to develop IAS Act
Iguchi, K., et al. 2004. Transactions of the
American Fisheries Society, 133:845-854.
The Japanese Diet passed its IAS Act in June 2004; first list of
IAS, based on Act, passed in June 2005.
‘towards full operation’…
07-11 Strategic Plan, to:
 Make a whole world of biodiversity data that are currently
exceedingly difficult to access freely and universally available
via the Internet;
 Enable scientific research that has never before been
possible; and
 Facilitate the use of scientific data in biodiversity policy- and
decision-making.
“Achieving the ambitions laid out in these plans will require a
great deal of involvement and funding from GBIF’s Participants
and other partners and stakeholders.”
The Challenge
now?
The problems
are rising
exponentially;
Linear
responses will
not help solve
them!
Access to GLOBAL BIODIVERSITY INFORMATION
can only be achieved by all in the BI community
working together – that’s what GBIF was established
for!
We can make a difference;
We must make a difference – not only is it needed,
only then can policy-makers justify investing in
biodversity informatics!
The Global Biodiversity
Information Facility