As part of the GBIF-led Capacity Enhancement Support Programme, "Establishing a national node for Chile to enhance Latin America regional capacity", this seminar was held to highlight the usefullness of the GBIF biodiversity information platform and OBIS (Oceanic Biodiversity Information System).
Opening the seminar, Environmental Minister Marcelo Mena emphasised the importance of the having free access to biological information globally and also, nationally, to identify the real and underlying problems in environmental projects and processes in Chile.
Thomas Saucéde from the University of Burgundy in France and Bruo Danis from the University of Brussels in Belgium spoke about the importance of open-access biodiversity databases for scientific purposes as well as for the management of environmental resources.
In addition to introducing GBIF, the seminar included a proposal of protocols and tools to systemise the collection of biodiversity data through similar projects financed by the state.