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Governed by a Board comprising representatives from each of its participants, GBIF has as its goal a worldwide network of participating nodes. In setting up a GBIF node, participants guarantee that they will openly and freely share biodiversity data. At the same time, data providers are assured that they will retain control of their own data. The majority of the work of GBIF is carried out by the participating nodes and their data providers.
By focusing on precise areas of emphasis, GBIF is making progress toward its goal:-
DATA ACCESS AND DATABASE INTEROPERABILITY (DADI) - Answering complex questions involving many disparate types of data from many sources depends on the development of standards for data and metadata.
- DIGITISATION OF NATURAL HISTORY COLLECTIONS (DIGIT) - GBIF encourages and supports the online provision of primary biodiversity data from natural history specimens and observational databases.
- ELECTRONIC CATALOGUE OF NAMES OF KNOWN ORGANISMS (ECAT) - Scientific names are the key to all scientific literature about species. A complete electronic listing is even more important for digital searching.
- OUTREACH AND CAPACITY BUILDING (OCB) - GBIF aims to provide software tools and training to bridge biodiversity information technology gaps for all countries around the world. GBIF also addresses scientific and technical collaboration in many areas, including repatriation of data and intellectual property rights.
Interactions among participating nodes, institutions, individuals and organisations that are working together toward the goals of GBIF are coordinated by a small Secretariat located in Copenhagen, Denmark. The Secretariat staff also work to develop the network itself and to increase participation in GBIF by data providers, software developers and information scientists and other participants.
Financial support of GBIF by countries is a wise investment in the present and future availability of readily accessible biodiversity data, and will contribute to society's ability to attain a sustainable future.
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