Taiwan Biodiversity Information Facility and GBIF Argentina have been named as joint winners of the 2025 GBIF Node Awards, announced today at the 32nd GBIF Governing Board Meeting in Bogotá, Colombia. These awards celebrate the achievements and impact of work delivered by GBIF nodes in advancing positive biodiversity data outcomes, creating sharable and reusable resources and improving data mobilization capacity and skills across communities. A jury appointed by the GBIF Secretariat competitively assessed submissions based on several criteria, including impact and alignment to the GBIF 2023-2027 Strategic Framework and GBIF 2025 Nodes Implementation Plan.
Achievements of TaiBIF
TaiBIF has faced challenges many nodes share, such as fragmented governance, inconsistent data standards, emerging biodiversity data types and limited long-term funding. To address these pressures, the node has taken a proactive approach to enhance biodiversity data capacity across the community. In the past year, TaiBIF has developed data templates for environmental impact assessments, established working groups to create standards for various data types such as natural history collections and machine observations, launched a suite of publishing tools and services. These include the multilingual TaiBIF Open Data Toolkit, the Digital TaiBIFer (an AI-powered helpdesk based on an Ebbe Nielsen Challenge-winning prototype) and a data mobilizer training and certification system that expands publishing capacity nationwide. TaiBIF has also supported data papers, released comprehensive online training materials, and built a translator community to make GBIF resources more accessible in Traditional Chinese.
“Perhaps the most meaningful progress in recent years lies not only in the partnerships TaiBIF has fostered with over a dozen major biodiversity data-holding institutions across diverse government sectors, but also in the way it has organized and empowered enthusiastic individuals in Taiwan to form a more vibrant biodiversity open data community,” said Mao-Ning Tuanmu, node manager for TaiBIF, which is hosted at the Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica in Taipei. “Together, these collaborations and collective efforts have enabled breakthroughs that were once difficult to imagine.”
TaiBIF has partnered with the Taiwan Biodiversity Information Alliance (TBIA) to coordinate biodiversity data efforts and resources. Workshops and datathons led by TaiBIF also expanded local stakeholder networks, supported innovative uses of biodiversity data and raised public awareness of sharing open data. These achievements have collectively enabled TaiBIF to build a dynamic and collaborative node model that combines technical innovation, capacity building and inclusive engagement, strengthening Taiwan’s data infrastructure.
Achievements of GBIF Argentina
GBIF Argentina successfully reinstated Argentina as a voting participant, securing official support, funding and a renewed Memorandum of Understanding. In 2024 the node launched their national biodiversity data portal, becoming a key tool to support data aggregation and fostering collaboration across government, academia and public initiatives. Additionally, the node has strengthened Argentina’s role in regional and global GBIF activities through representation within the GBIF Science Committee, Nodes Steering Committee and regional contractors.
“The success of GBIF Argentina has come step-by-step, through providers who learned to move from working alone to growing together as a community,” said Anabela Plos, node manager for GBIF Argentina. “What we’ve achieved is the result of extensive training, constant support and above all, trust. Institutions and publishers know they can rely on us, and that trust has become our greatest asset in sustaining and strengthening Argentina’s biodiversity data community."
GBIF Argentina demonstrated significant efforts to expand institutional participation, ensuring mobilization of quality data through leading training and direct engagement initiatives with publishers to increase biodiversity data capacity within the region. Although government mandates in Argentina have required open publication of research data generated with public funds since 2016, publishers in Argentina have been sharing open information on biodiversity since 2002 through the GBIF community.
The jury recognized GBIF Argentina's achievements in demonstrating the impact and resilience of a small and dedicated team in sustaining and growing biodiversity data infrastructure even with limited resources.
"The dedication of TaiBIF and GBIF Argentina in advancing data mobilization and capacity building amidst challenges highlights the essential role that nodes play in making biodiversity data accessible, reusable and impactful worldwide," said Liam Lysaght, Chair of the GBIF Governing Board. "Their efforts demonstrate how strategic innovation and community engagement can drive positive outcomes that support the vision and goals of the global network in addressing urgent biodiversity challenges."
TaiBIF and GBIF Argentina follow previous winners SiB Colombia and NLBIF who jointly won the first edition of the Node Awards in 2023 at the 30th GBIF Governing Board Meeting in Canberra, Australia.
About the Node Awards
The GBIF Node Awards recognize and celebrate the exceptional work and achievements of GBIF nodes, which serve as the central hubs for national and institutional biodiversity data activities across the world. These awards aim to amplify the significant impact of GBIF nodes and showcase diverse methods and approaches that can inspire and be adopted by the wider GBIF network.
2025 Node Award jury
| Name | Organization and position | Country |
|---|---|---|
| Martin Kalfatovic | Managing Director, International Image Interoperability Framework Consortium | United States |
| Niels Raes | Node manager NLBIF, Naturalis Biodiversity Center | Netherlands |
| Joe Miller | Executive Secretary, GBIF | Denmark |