The document discusses the Indo-Norwegian pilot project aimed at enhancing capacity building in biodiversity informatics, emphasizing the urgent need for global collaboration to halt biodiversity loss. It highlights the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) as a crucial platform for data sharing and access, which facilitates scientific research and informs policy decisions on biodiversity management. Additionally, it outlines the importance of national biodiversity information infrastructures and emphasizes the need for strategic planning and proactive measures to address gaps in biodiversity data and support conservation efforts.

1. Project initiation meeting of Indo-Norwegian Pilot Project on Capacity Building in Biodiversity Informatics towards IPBES Role of Biodiversity Information Facilities in sharing and use of biodiversity information Vishwas Chavan, and Olaf Banki Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) Email: vchavan@gbif.org 28 October 2011

2. World governments fail to halt biodiversity loss Reuters UK GLOBAL: World fails to meet biodiversity target University World News Biodiversité: objectifs non atteints selon l'ONU AFP Third of all plants and animals 'at risk of extinction ‘ Times Online Biodiversité : les solutions de l'ONU pour éviter la catastrophe Le Figaro UN fears 'irreversible' damage to natural environment AFP International call for 'bailout' plan to safeguard biodiversity NY Times World risks irreversible biodiversity loss The Hindu Biodiversity: In News

3. Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (2010) Rethinking Global Biodiversity Strategies: Exploring structural changes in production and consumption to reduce biodiversity Loss. http://www.rivm.nl/bibliotheek/rapporten/500197001.pdf MSA: Mean Species Abundance. MSA is an indicator of naturalness or biodiversity intactness Biodiversity: A Global Context

4. “ If the world made equivalent losses in share prices, there would be a rapid response and widespread panic. “ Biodiversity: A Global Context “ a wake-up call for humanity”

5. A simplistic view: one of many scenarios! Environmental and human well-being Significance of biodiversity data Content Publishers Science Policy

6. GBIF, Global infrastructure for biodiversity data Vision: A world in which biodiversity information is freely and universally available for science, society, and a sustainable future OECD Global Science Forum recommendation in 2000: establish a global initiative to facilitate free and open access to worlds’ biodiversity data

7. GBIF, Global infrastructure for biodiversity data “ This facility will enable users to navigate and put to use vast quantities of biodiversity information, thereby: advancing scientific research … serving the economic … providing a basis from which our knowledge of the natural world can grow rapidly..”

8. GBIF, Global infrastructure for biodiversity data Responsive to government needs/demands in biodiversity management – government-initiated, and government funded Developing an advanced informatics infrastructure for the (global) scientific research community for accessing and sharing data and thereby making better use of the huge investments (by national institutions and others) in data collection, storage, management and updating of biodiversity information in countries Started in 2001

9. 56 Countries; 47 International Organisations 1000’s of individuals and datasets..... GBIF, current Participants

10. October 2011: >312 million occurrence records from >18,000 + datasets from >342 publishers and spanning a wide range of geospatial, temporal and taxonomic coverages, being shared through distributed network GBIF, data coverage

11. GBIF, universal access to data

12. GBIF, Improving the Science-Policy interface Conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity Policy development and decision making (at local, national, regional, and global levels) Monitoring of status and trends of biodiversity (sound science) GBIF-enabled data and analyses

13. Data intensive science Data helps in addressing micro to macro level scientific, social, and economic challenges

14. 21 st century India: challenges Exploding population Natural resources based economy Need for biodiversity information

15. It is essential for countries to have a biodiversity data discovery and mobilization strategy in alignment with their overall national biodiversity strategy & action plan (NBSAP) Importance of strategic planning “ However, we currently lack best practice guidelines on how to develop demand-driven strategies and action plans” Berents et.al., 2010 Source: Berents, Hamer and Chavan (2011). Towards demand-driven publishing: Approaches to the prioritisation of digitization of natural history collections data. Biodiversity Informatics, 7(2): 113-119.

16. Participant BIFs: catalysing data intensive biodiversity science Promoting Policies on open access to biodiversity data Sharing and use of biodiversity (demonstrating benefits and applications) Coordinating Data sharing activities, including digitization plans Interactions amongst the network partners, at levels including national, regional, international Facilitating Tools, documentation, best practices for data sharing Information infrastructure for inventory, discovery, and access to biodiversity data

17. National BIF: a national partnership Data Publishers Data Users Research Institutes Universities Biological collections Conservation NGOs Environmental Authorities Private sector Practitiones Rural communities Policy & decision makers Coordination unit = GBIF Participant Node National Biodiversity Information Facilities (BIF) Coordinating unit Steering committee

18. BIF: in service of society Build capacity Help identify data and information gaps Outreach to communities of data holders and users Promote best practices in data management Identify user communities – assess end user needs Data analysis to help adress scientific questions and decision making needs Implement informatics infrastructure Coordinate data sharing activities Helpdesk Help develop information products and services Help formulate and adopt data sharing and manahgement policies BIF (coordinated by Node) Promote online publication of scientific data

19. BIF is a partnership…. Improve access to biodiversity data and information Facilitate the development of biodiversity information products and services for target audiences Support research, education, policy and decision-making activities Promote scientific collaboration (both nationally and internationally) and enable new fields of research Help monitor biodiversity status and trends Contribute to the conservation and sustainable use of the country’s biodiversity

20. InBIF: nation’s response to data intensive biodiversity science ‘ National Biodiversity Information Infrastructure’ Indian Biodiversity Information Facility (INBIF) , a step towards NBII InBIF Effective use and sustainable conservation

21. From data to science to policy…. What are the high-level policy issues? What are the relevant scientific questions? What are the critical information requirements? Survey of MEAs and other international organizations Survey of scientific literature, global assessments (e.g. GBO) and other science based reports. Study of the state of the biodiversity information, identification of existing gaps, assessment of fit-for-use of the content (e.g. invasive species etc.)

22. Network of publishers Biodiversity data Ecological Niche Modeling Uses of biodiversity data Invasive species Disease vectors Migration Adaptation Distribution Pollinators Endangered species Wild relatives Protected areas Genetic diversity Population monitoring

23. Informing policy - Japan The Japanese Diet passed its IAS Act in June 2004 - first list of IAS, based on Act, passed in June 2005. Invasive alien bass introduced from N. America; predatory, huge impact on indigenous spp; Policymakers needed to know which areas of the country are most at risk from invasion; Used N. American locality data (via GBIF) to establish EN, applied ENM to Japan; Instrumental in convincing authorities to develop IAS Act. Iguchi, K., et al. 2004. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society , 133:845-854.

24. Greater changes than have occurred in the last 10 000 years – way beyond human experience! Variations in the Earth’s surface temperature AD 1000 to 2100 .

25. Predicting climate-induced changes in tropical forests composition ….. Species richness - forest genera of Sterculiaceae, Meliaceae, Dipterocapaceae

26. Summary of CC impacts on tropical forests … All families and genera suffer >50% niche loss; species loss ; Some gain in potential, but this would require migration and suitable ecological/climate niche (for forests) at destination; Important implications for REDD, LULUCF and many other CC adaptation/mitigation programmes…..

27. Agriculture and climate change

28. The geography of crop suitability….

29. Gmin: 60, Gmax: 100 Ttmp:0, Tmin: 7, TOPmn: 16, TOPmx: 27, Tmax: 32 Rmin: 220, ROPmn: 350, ROPmx: 900, Rmax: 1500 Current suitability: common beans

30. Changes in bean suitability….

31. Impact of a 100mm more drought resistant bean in Africa; Change in the range with Ropt less 100mm; Green areas show regions that will benefit from such a technology; But where are the drought tolerant genes? Technological options….

32. Drought tolerance germplasm accessions….

33. mapping Human Disease Vectors Aedes albopictus “Asian Tiger Mosquito” Invader - fastest spreading mosquito in the world Known to transmit Dengue, La Crosse, St. Louis, Eastern Equine, Ross River, Rift Valley, and West Nile Viruses

34. Tiger mosquito – native range…… Modeled native range in Asia from specimens & observations

35. Tiger mosquito : modeled potential continental-US invasion…. Projected Asian ecological niche onto present USA ecological zones to create invasion risk-map.

36. Tiger mosquito : observed actual US invasion (by county)

37. Asian Tiger mosquito : world risk-map (present climate niches)

38. Data intensive science Data helps in addressing micro to macro level scientific, social, and economic challenges

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