e-Biosphere 09: The International Conference on Biodiversity Informatics

The first announcement of e-Biosphere 09 is available here.

The first three days of e-Biosphere 09 will bring together many constituencies that range from database developers who are working to integrate biodiversity data, diverse researchers who will benefit from new database capabilities, and other users of biodiversity data, such as government officials and NGOs in conservation, agriculture, sustainable development and land management.

This open scientific meeting will include presentations, software demonstrations, panel discussions, and discussion groups that:

• Demonstrate the latest capabilities that allow researchers to do integrative research across previously disconnected classes of biodiversity data;
• Highlight the research and research discoveries that have been enabled by this new level of database interoperability;
• Present the practical applications in policy, regulation and management that are benefiting from these new capabilities in biodiversity informatics; and
• Give users and potential users of biodiversity information an opportunity to provide input to database developers and operators on their needs and priorities.

The results of the open meeting will set the stage for a smaller two-day planning meeting of invited representatives of the most active major initiatives in biodiversity informatics, in a workshop-type atmosphere. The goal of this workshop will be development of an integrative roadmap for the coming decade of biodiversity informatics developments, and agreement to a collaborative plan of action.