The GBIF Secretariat has awarded capacity enhancement grants to five projects across its international network. These projects will engage 31 partners—29 countries and two international organizations from across five of GBIF’s six regions—and cover key areas of interest and investigation including data digitization, data quality, data standards, technology development, and invasive alien species.
The projects receiving support include
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A Latin American initiative led by SiB Colombia to introduce systematic improvements to the quality of biodiversity data published through the GBIF network
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Another Latin American effort—this one headed by CYTED (The Iberoamerican Programme for Science and Technology for Development)—to expand capacity for digitizing and publishing data from scientific literature, images and multimedia
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Mentoring led by Mexico’s CONABIO to increase the quality and interoperability of GBIF-mediated data through the use of the Plinian Core Standard for species information
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Bilingual training and exchange to establish coordinated early warning and response network for invasive alien species across sub-Saharan Africa, guided by GBIF Mauritania
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An intensive open-source ‘hackathon’ organized by Species 2000 targeted at enhancing the skills and capacity of GBIF’s European Participants to produce national species checklists
By addressing Participant countries’ self-identified needs, GBIF’s capacity enhancement support programme seeks to encourage knowledge transfer and collaboration at both regional and global levels. The programme builds on the previously successful programmes directed toward mentoring and regional training support. The grants’ investment of €40,000 will build on €70,000 in funding that other sources have already committed to the projects.
“Taken together, these projects provide for broad engagement and exchange across topics of shared interest and concern for the GBIF network,” said Donald Hobern, executive secretary of the GBIF Secretariat.