Annual Report 2014www.gbif.org

1

What is GBIF?
The Global Biodiversity Information Facility is a network of governments
and international organizations, collaborating with a Secretariat in
Copenhagen, Denmark, to provide a vital infrastructure for research andpolicy. It enables information about all forms of life on Earth, gathered
over centuries in all parts of the globe, to be readily accessible byanyone, anywhere. Through GBIF.org, web services and a growing numberof national and thematic portals, GBIF users have free access to morethan 14,000 datasets published by over 750 institutions, ranging fromzoological and botanical collections to observations by citizen scientists
and surveys from research expeditions.

GBIF’s vision
A world in which biodiversity information is freely and universallyavailable for science, society and a sustainable future.

22014 Highlights

GBIF GOVERNING BOARD AGREES NEW
APPROACH TO STANDARD LICENSING OFDATASETS AND STREAMLINED PROCESSFOR ENDORSING DATA PUBLISHERSNUMBER OF SPECIES OCCURRENCE
RECORDS PASSES HALF A BILLIONDETAILED PAGES ON RECORDSINCLUDE FIELD NOTES, SAMPLINGMETHODOLOGIES, COLLECTOR NAMES

1.1m
VISITS TO GBIF.ORG PASS 1.1M,
NEARLY 85,000 REQUESTSFOR DATA DOWNLOADSUSERS CAN NOW FILTER FOR RECORDSWITH IMAGES, VIDEOS, SOUND
RECORDINGS AS WELL AS TYPE STATUS

DATA PUBLISHING TRENDS ANDANALYTICS AVAILABLE ON
GBIF.ORG FOR ALL COUNTRIES

357
AGREEMENTS IN PLACE TO ENABLE
BETTER CITATION AND PERSISTENCE OFDATASETS PUBLISHED THROUGH GBIF

357 PEER-REVIEWED RESEARCHARTICLES CITE USE OF GBIFAS DATA SOURCE

3

Contents

Foreword
Work programme 2014–2016
GBIF at a glance

4
5
6

8
A snapshot of datasets published in 2014 10
Developments in informatics and data publishing 12
Data access and use 14
Participation and collaboration 16
GBIF events 17
Developing capacity for data-sharing 18
GBIF in Africa 19
GBIF in Asia 20
GBIF in Europe 21
GBIF in Latin America 22
GBIF in North America 23
GBIF in Oceania 24
Appendices 25
Data mobilization

4

Foreword

We have great pleasure in presenting the GBIF
Annual Report for 2014. This year marked the startof a three-year work programme (2014-2016).
Many of the activities started during the period
covered by this report are still continuing, but thiswas a highly successful year for GBIF, with many
important advances described in this document.
Significant improvements have been made to GBIF’s
technical infrastructure, bringing richer accessto the wealth of data published throughout the
network and benefitting data publishers and users
alike with increasing support for standardized
use and attribution. The volume of data in the
network has passed a significant milestone of halfa billion records and we have seen steady growthin the number of users accessing these data andacknowledging GBIF data within their publications.
These are excellent foundations for the remainderof this three-year work programme and for GBIF as
it moves into its next phase of operation under a
new strategic plan for 2017-2021. GBIF serves as
the connection point between the many institutions
and communities which collect or hold data on
biodiversity, the researchers and policy-makers
who depend on efficient access to these data, andglobal efforts to deliver open data infrastructures.
Our focus in coming years is on improving thecoverage, completeness and fitness-for-use of alldata within the network and removing barriers toparticipation throughout the world.
During 2014, the GBIF Secretariat continued torestructure in response to staff turnover and toincrease efficiency and responsiveness to theParticipants and other stakeholders. Some work
programme activities were delayed as relevant staff
positions were filled. With Siro Masinde recruitedas Programme Officer for Content Mobilization andDmitry Schigel as Programme Officer for Content
Analysis and Use, we are confident that theseareas will move forward rapidly during 2015.
During 2014, the Secretariat also saw the arrivalsof Kyle Copas as GBIF Science Writer and Marlene
Dalsgaard Nielsen as Administrative Assistant.
The GBIF Executive Committee and Budget
Committee have been working to develop a stable
and achievable funding model to take GBIF into
the years beyond 2016. Securing continuous
funding for existing infrastructures is difficult andwill depend on all our friends highlighting GBIF’s
successes and the continuing importance of our
mission to national stakeholders. We hope thatyou will find this report useful in telling this story.
GBIF continued to perform well in 2014, supported
by an enthusiastic and dedicated community.
We look forward to our progress in 2015.

Peter Schalk
Chair of the Governing Board

Donald Hobern
Executive Secretary5Work programme 2014-2016
A new, three-year work programme for the GBIF community was agreed during the 20th meeting of theGoverning Board in Berlin in October 2013. This table summarizes progress towards key deliverablesof this work programme during 2014.

Work streams

Key deliverables

2014 progress

Advance the informatics –Stable operation of GBIF.org and services
persistence and validation								Stable identifiers for datasets and records
				
				
			
Tools to support data citation
				
				

Plan presented to Governing Board for implementationof Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) for datasets anddownloads for rollout in 2015.

			
Clear machine-readable data licences			and guidelines
				
				

Consultation on licensing options; decision from
Governing Board to implement mandatory selectionof one of three Creative Commons licences withrecommendation to select most open licence possible.

			Repositories to improve long-term			persistence							Expanded model for data publisher			
endorsement
				

Memorandum of Cooperation with DataONE to implement
pilot repository for datasets published through GBIF.
Consultation on new endorsement model; Governing Board
decision to implement streamlined publisher endorsement
and guidelines during 2015.

			
Mobilization of sample-based datasets
				
				
				

Collaboration through EU BON to set up pilot repository
for monitoring datasets; proposal to Biodiversity
Information Standards (TDWG) of new terms toaccommodate sampling events and species abundance.

Advance the engagement –Communication strategy
communication and implementation		

Draft communication strategy identified key audiences
and messages relevant to GBIF.

			
Essential documentation
				
				

Review of key documents required by GBIF community;
publication of new guides on data cleaning tools andmanaging camera trap data.

			National biodiversity information facilities
				
				

Draft revision of guide to establishing an effective
GBIF node; implementation of data analytics on
GBIF.org to track national progress on data mobilization.

			Capacity enhancement strategy
				
				
				
				

Consultation with nodes community on draft framework
to guide GBIF capacity evaluation and enhancement;
new integrated capacity enhancement support
programme merges former mentoring and regional
training support programmes.

Advance the content – relevance andfitness for use

Postponed to 2015 due to staff vacancies.

Engagement of expert communities
to form fitness-for-use working groups

Web service API stabilized; indexing of wider set of data
elements for occurrence records.
Version 2.1 of Integrated Publishing Toolkit (IPT) requirespresence and uniqueness of stable identifiers.

			
Metrics and indicators to assess relevance			of GBIF-mobilized data				Completeness of data coverage included in new analytics
service on GBIF.org; creation of combined GBIF/TDWG data
quality interest group.

			

Identification of content mobilization priorities

Postponed to 2015 due to staff vacancies.

			
			

Evaluation of models for creating and curatingreference datasets within GBIF network

Dependent on 2015 implementation of DOIs andpersistent repositories.

			
			

Support for publishing metadata for undigitized
natural history collections

Postponed to 2015 due to staff vacancies.

6

GBIF at a glance

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Voting Participants

Associate Country ParticipantsParticipants with signature of 2012 MOU pending

Uruguay rejoined GBIF as Voting Participant (see pg 16) and Japan moved from Voting Participant to Associate Participant status in December 2014 (see pg 17).

> Non-country Participants(* virtual networks with no fixed headquarters)

1. Albertine Rift Conservation Society(ARCOS)

12. Consortium for the Barcodeof Life (CBOL)

22. International Barcode of Life
Project (IBOL)

31. Scientific Committee on Antarctic
Research (SCAR)

2. ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB)

13. Consortium of European
Taxonomic Facilities (CETAF)

23. International Centre for Insect
Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE)

14. Discover Life

24. International Centre for Integrated
Mountain Development (ICIMOD)

32. Society for the Management ofElectronic Biodiversity Data
(SMEBD)*

3. Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL)
4. Bionet-Andinonet
5. Bionet-International
6. Bioversity International
7. Botanic Gardens Conservation
International (BGCI)
8. Canadensys
9. Chinese Academy of Sciences(CAS)

15. Diversitas
16. Encyclopedia of Life (EOL)

25. International Long Term EcologicalResearch (ILTER)*

17. Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT)

26. Naturalis

18. European Environment Agency
		(EEA)

27. Natural Science Collections
Alliance (NSCA)

19. ICLEI - Local Governments for
Sustainability (ICLEI)

28. NatureServe

10. Chinese Taipei

20. Integrated Taxonomic Information
System (ITIS)

11. Ciencia y Tecnología para el
Desarrollo (CYTED)

21. Inter-American Biodiversity
Information Network (IABIN)

29. Nordic Genetic Resource Center(NORDGEN)
30. Pacific Biodiversity Information
Forum (PBIF)

33. Society for the Preservation of
Natural History Collections (SPNHC)
34. Species 2000
35. Taxonomic Databases Working
Group (TDWG)*
36. United Nations Environment
Programme – World Conservation
Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC)
37. VertNet
38. Wildscreen
39. World Federation For Culture
Collections (WFCC)

7

GBIF at a glance> Data publication> Data download requests

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25000

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MILLIONS

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Figure 1: Top 10 countries by total number of species occurrence records published on
GBIF.org. More information on pg 9.

Figure 2: Top 10 countries by number of data download requests from GBIF.org. See pg 15 fordetails.

> Web visitors> Research uses

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Figure 3: Top 10 countries by visits to GBIF.org in 2014. More information on pg 15.

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Figure 4: Top 10 countries with peer-reviewed articles published in 2014 that cite theuse of GBIF-mediated data, ranked by location of researchers’ institutions. More information on
pg 14 and 15.

8Data mobilization
The figures on these pages provide a summary of the trends and breakdown of the biodiversity data
shared by GBIF’s registered institutions by the end of 2014.

• The number of species occurrence records passed 500 million,
		 with over 450 million of them georeferenced (Fig 5).

Number of occurrence records (millions)

600
Total

500

Georeferenced• Animal observations remain the largest category of data records,
		 increasing by 69.6 million to 286 million between 2013 and 2014.
		 More than 22 million plant records were added during the year
		 (Fig 6).

400

300

200

100

0
2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

Millions

Figure 5. The number of data records accessible through GBIF, from December 2007 to
December 2014.

• The proportion of records shared by North American institutions
		 rose sharply, from 25% to over 40% during 2014. This was largely		 due to the update of the eBird Observational Dataset, managed
		 by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in the United States, which		 added more than 50 million records. The proportion of records
		 of species originating in North America rose more modestly,		 from 34% to 37%, reflecting the fact that North American		 institutions share records of biodiversity from all over the world
		 (Fig 9).
• In the country rankings for the number of published records, the		 eBird refresh also accounted for a sharp increase in records from		 the United States. Sweden, the United Kingdom and Australia
		 remained in second, third and fourth place respectively. The
		 Netherlands moved up from seventh to fifth position, while		 Germany moved up from tenth to seventh position (Fig 10).

300

250

200

150

100

50

Observation
Specimen0
Animalia

Other data types

Plantae

Other kingdoms

Figure 6. Primary biodiversity records by kingdom and record type, at end 2014.

Observation

Specimen

About own regions

Other

Oceania

Oceania

North America

North America

Latin America

Latin America

EuropeEuropeAsia

Asia

AfricaAfrica
0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

Figure 7. Occurrence records published by regional institutions by basis ofrecord (observation, specimen, and other).

100%

0%

20%

About other regions

40%

60%

80%

100%

Figure 8. Data published from each GBIF region, with percentages relating tobiodiversity within the region, and to biodiversity from outside the regions.

9> Data records breakdown
By location of publishing institution
2%

1.5%

2%

2.5%

By origin of biodiversity
3%

3%

44%

7%

40%

4%

7%

25%

10%

5%
8%

3%

1%

2%

1%
48%

4%

11%

2014
12%
41%

37%

All records
3%

4%

4%

48%

5%

1%

7%

Specimen records only

1%

34%

25%

EuropeNorth America (incl. Mexico)

5%

30%

3%

1%
1%
52%

11%

2013

8%

2%

8%

9%

Observation records only

1%

6%
46%

4%

41%

19%

16%

OceaniaSouth And Central America

Africa

36%

25%

20%

High Seas

Asia

International Networks

Figure 9. GBIF-mediated occurrences by location of publishing institution and species occurrences. The comparable breakdown for 2013 is shown in the lower row of charts.

> Data breakdown by GBIF Participant
Indexed occurrence records (millions)250

22

Indexed by end 201420

Indexed by end 2013

5

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Figure 10. Number of records published on GBIF.org from participating countries and organizations, ranked by endorsing Participant node (top 25 shown). Note that the top four are
shown on a different scale, followed by the next 10 and the last 11 on different scales. For a full list of data records published by GBIF Participants, see Appendix 1.

10

A snapshot of datasets published in 2014
Datasets shared in 2014 reflected the diversity of data sources contributing to GBIF.org – from museum
specimens to citizens’ observations, living collections of seeds and microorganisms, wildlife monitoring
and tracking projects, and even fossils. Some examples are shown on these pages.

> CITIZEN OBSERVATIONS
GlobalThe eBird Observational Dataset (EOD)
Publisher: Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Total records: 153 million
Date range: 1810–2013
Run by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon
Society, eBird is a vast collection of high-quality observations
collected by professional ornithologists, recreational birders
and citizen scientists alike.
More info at http://www.gbif.org/page/6564.

> MUSEUM AND HERBARIUM SPECIMENS
Republic of Korea
Diplopoda (Millipedes)
Publisher: National Science Museum of Korea
Total records: 5,549
A dataset containing 6,668 records of algae and another with 2,500
records of zooplankton were also among other data published by
the museum.

Chinese Taipei
Plant specimens at the National Taiwan University
Publisher: Taiwan E-Learning and Digital Archives Program
Total records: 119,366
Date range: 1895–2012
Data are from the collections of the herbarium at the National Taiwan
University, which holds representative specimens of about 95% ofvascular plant species of Taiwan. Most of the collection of 260,000
specimens has been digitized.

Chinese Academy of Sciences
Plants of Yunnan
Publisher: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Total records: 163,199
Date range: 1992–2008
The Academy also published botanical datasets from five Chinese
herbaria in Lushan, Wuhan, Chengdu, Guangxi, and Jiangsu, adding
more than 360,000 plant records and significantly increasing thegeographic coverage of data from China.

ThailandAmphibians of Thailand
Publisher: Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Natural History Museum
Total records: 800
Date range: 2005–2013
This is the first dataset published by a Thai institution. 90% of
the records contained in it relate to specimens collected fromthe Thai peninsula.

Belgium / Central Africa
Endemic plants of the Congo Basin
Publisher: Botanical Garden Meise
Total records: 24,121
Date range: 1955–2014
The Belgium Biodiversity Information Facility (BeBIF) worked withthe publisher to publish this dataset of specimen records fromBurundi, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Lulilaka river, Salonga National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo. By Radio Okapi.
Licensed under CC-BY-2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

BrazilSpiders of the order Araneae
Publisher: Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi
Total records: 22,683
Date range: 2006–2013
The museum, which specializes in the biodiversity of the Brazilian
Amazon region, also published 25,000 records of Amazon fish
specimens, 46,400 reptile records and 20,000 records from its
bird collection.

Chile
Herpetological collection of the National Museum of Natural History
Publisher: Ministry of Environment of Chile
Total records: 4,490
Date range: 1882 – 2010
Other data mobilized by GBIF Chile included collections of flatworms(Platyhelminthes), crustaceans and algae from Chile’s National
Museum of Natural History. These were among the first datasetsfrom the country to be published via GBIF and were the result ofa mentoring project with partners in Costa Rica.

>RECORDS EXTRACTED FROM LITERATURE
Belgium/UK
Flora of Northumberland and Durham
Publisher: Belgian Biodiversity Information Facility (BeBIF)
Total records: 5,583
Date range: 1797-1828
The observation records of plants and fungi in this dataset were
derived from The Flora of Northumberland and Durham (N.J. Winch1831). The Botanic Garden Meise initiated the digitization of thishistoric literature reference by providing a semantically enhanced
XML file, from which academic publishers Pensoft created an HTMLre-publication.

11

Czech Republic – Iran
Literary descriptions of Iranian lizards
Publisher: National Museum in Prague
Total records: 8,525
This particular dataset is described by a data paper presenting acomprehensive summary of the distribution of the lizards of Iran.
Because the Czech Republic is not a national Participant in GBIF,
the Consortium of European Taxonomic Facilities (CETAF), a GBIF
Associate Participant, endorsed the museum as a new publisher.

>MONITORING / SURVEY DATA
RussiaPlant distribution in the Meshchera National Park, Russia
Publisher: Moscow University Herbarium
Total records: 22,625
This dataset is based on a grid scheme and contains records of uniqueoccurrences of 812 species of vascular plants from the Meshchera
National Park. Because Russia is not yet a GBIF national Participant,
GBIF Finland (a Voting Participant) endorsed Moscow University
Herbarium as a new data publisher.

>CAMERA TRAP DATA
Apathya cappadocica urmiana. By Omid Mozaffari. Licensed under CC0 via Wikimedia
Commons.

> LIVING COLLECTIONS
Germany
Collection of myxobacteria
Publisher: Leibniz Institute DSMZ - German Collection of
Microorganisms and Cell Cultures
Total records: 13,937
The institute’s collection comprises 7,000 strains of myxobacteria.

FranceNational collection of Solanum tuberosum
Publisher: Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)
Total records: 99
The dataset relates to young potato plants maintained in test tubes
by INRA or as field-produced tubers, and are available as genetic
resource material. These specimens come from old cultivars ofpotato grown in France in the past. INRA also published records
from national collections of other species including barrel clover(Medicago truncatula), soft wheat and grape cultivars.

> FOSSILS
Czech Republic
Paleontological collection
Publisher: National Museum in Prague
Total records: 55,563
The museum published two datasets of over 55,000 species
occurrences from the museum’s paleontological collection of faunaand flora.

>CHECKLISTSNetherlands
Taxa Watermanagement the Netherlands
Publisher: Laboratory for Hydrobiological Analysis, Rijkswaterstaat
Total records: 13,349 species
This dataset, containing a list of species relevant to the managementof Dutch inland water bodies, is regularly updated by specialists at
the Rijkswaterstaat, the body responsible for public works and water
management in the country.

India
Tiger records from Rajaji National Park
Publisher: Wildlife Institute of India
Total records: 306
Date range: 2008-2011
The publishing of this dataset was a result of a pilot project todemonstrate capacity building for the Intergovernmental Platform for
Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). A guide for publishingcamera trap data was also produced by the GBIF Secretariat, with
Indian and Norwegian partners, as part of the project.

> AUDIO RECORDINGS
United States
Sound recordings of animals, birds and insects
Publisher: Museum of Biological Diversity, the Ohio State University
Total records: 44,770
Records in this dataset were gathered by the Borror Laboratory,
which holds one of the largest animal sound archives in the world.

> TRACKING DATA
Belgium
GPS tracking of gulls
Publisher: Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO)
Total records: 1,181,274
The dataset contains occurrences recorded in 2013 and 2014 by 60
GPS trackers mounted on 44 lesser black-backed gulls (Larus fuscus)and 16 herring gulls (Larus argentatus) breeding on the Belgian coast.

> GENE SEQUENCE DATA
United Kingdom
Geographically tagged genetic sequences
Publisher: European Molecular Biology Laboratory
Total records: 4,661,554
This dataset of geographically tagged genetic sequences pilots the
publication of genomic data through GBIF.

12

Developments in informatics and data publishing

Enhancements to GBIF.org

Refinements in publishing

To serve users and enhance their ability to access data mediatedby GBIF.org, the Secretariat responds to feedback and prioritizes
ongoing improvements to the platform. Significant new features andrefinements in 2014 included:

With nearly 650 institutions publishing their data through GBIF.org, thepublishing community represents another sizeable audience servedby the GBIF network. As with data users, the Secretariat maintains an
ongoing programme of improvements that serve publishers’ needs andactivities. New features and refinements for 2014 include:• Release of version 1 of the GBIF API, which enables the use of		 GBIF-mediated data via web services by other online applications.
• ‘Widened’ occurrence records, exposing more details provided by		 publishers in the species data shared through GBIF.org, including
		 for example the type status of specimens, sampling methodology,
		 collectors’ names and field notes providing context for the		 collection or observation record.
• Filtering and display of multimedia files, allowing users to view		 images and play back audio and video files associated with
		 occurrence records where they are provided by data publishers.
• New ‘data trends’ visualizations offering insight into both global
		 and national trends in data mobilization, which could aid national
		 partners in organizing their efforts and networks.
• Richer information about GBIF’s national nodes added to the		 Participation section of each country page (see for example
		 http://www.gbif.org/country/BE/participation)

80%
BioCASe
DiGIR

TAPIR

IPT + DwC-A

40%

20%

0%
2010

2011

2012

2013

• A new workflow to simplify publication of ‘small data’ associated		 with taxonomic research such as new species descriptions,		 developed with Pensoft Publishers through its Biodiversity Data
		 Journal, and also involving Encyclopedia of Life (EOL) and Plazi,		 an association supporting open access to data from taxonomic
		 literature.
Two other developments during 2014 paved the way for futureenhancements to the persistence and provenance of data.
• A new partnership with the Data Observation Network for Earth		 (DataONE) targeted data persistence by designing a pilot
		 repository to archive datasets shared through GBIF.

>Data publishing protocols, by percentage of publishers

60%• The release of version 2.1 of the Integrated Publishing Toolkit (IPT)		 in April, with a number of enhancements including versioning of		 datasets, a development detailed in PLOS ONE in August, and an		 additional translation of the user interface into Japanese.

2014

Figure 11. Use of data publishing protocols, by percentage of publishers. The number ofpublishers using the GBIF Integrated Publishing Toolkit (IPT) and the associated Darwin
Core Archive (DwC-A) continued to increase in 2014, with three-quarters serving data to
GBIF.org through the IPT.

• The GBIF Secretariat released a detailed plan for assigning Digital		 Object Identifiers (DOIs) to datasets, thus simplifying citation of		 biodiversity data and tracking of its use, with rollout scheduled		 for 2015.

13

Data licensing and endorsement

New national portals

The GBIF Secretariat carried out two open consultations during
2014 on proposed changes to the licensing conditions attached
to data published through GBIF.org, and on the process for adding
new publishers to the GBIF network. After analysis of responses
received from GBIF Participants, nodes, data publishers and thewider community, principles and next steps relating to licensing andpublisher endorsement were approved at the 21st meeting of the GBIF
Governing Board. The decisions will be implemented during 2015.
On licensing, the Governing Board approved the proposal that all
species occurrence datasets within the network be associated withdigital licences equivalent to one of the following three choices
supplied by Creative Commons:• CC0, under which data are made available for any use without
		 restriction or particular requirements on the part of users

Above: The Netherlands Biodiversity Information Facility launched a new portal in Dutch todeliver news, events, an overview of biodiversity datasets published from the Netherlands
to the GBIF network, a list of organizations and institutions in the country that manage
biodiversity data, tools, and other information on publishing data online.

• CC-BY, under which data are made available for any use provided
		 that attribution is appropriately given for the sources of data used
• CC-BY-NC, under which data are made available for any use
		 provided that attribution is appropriately given and provided the		 use is not for commercial purposes
The Governing Board agreed that GBIF should encourage publishers to
adopt the most open licence possible in their situation.
On endorsement, GBIF will retain the current requirement for new data
publishers to be endorsed by a Participant country or organization.
However, two significant enhancements will be introduced:• The GBIF Secretariat, in consultation with the community, will draw
		 up guidance and simple decision criteria, helping Participant
		 nodes to evaluate potential new data publishers during the
		 endorsement process.

Above: GBIF Spain released its new national biodiversity data portal providing free accessto more than 10 million biodiversity records from 69 Spanish institutions and projects aswell as nearly another million records of biodiversity in Spain published by institutions
abroad. The site builds on an open-source system originally developed by the Atlas of Living
Australia (ALA).

• For cases in which a prospective data publisher is in a country not		 yet participating in GBIF, and has no connections with an existing		 Participant node, the Nodes Steering Group (NSG) will develop		 procedures for endorsement by the community following similar		 decision criteria.

Above: The GBIF national node for Brazil, SiBBr, launched a new data and information portal,
developed through a mentoring project, between SiBBr and its counterpart in Colombia, SiB
Colombia. It included collaboration with Canadensys, a GBIF Associate Participant, which
supported Brazil in re-using the tools behind its data explorer providing digital access to
Canada’s natural history collections.
Also in 2014, GBIF Benin worked closely with INBio (Costa Rica’s national node) to create
a new national portal that displays GBIF-mediated data.

14

Data access and use

Use of GBIF-mediated data in scientific research
The Secretariat maintains an ongoing programme of literature
tracking that identifies research citations and uses of biodiversity
data accessed through GBIF’s global infrastructure.
400

The 2014 Science Review compiles more than 350 scientific papers
from peer-reviewed literature that apply data drawn from the GBIF
network of Participants and publishers.

United States
Spain
GBIF discussed
GBIF-mediated data used

United Kingdom
Germany

300

Australia
Italy
MexicoBrazil200

FranceNetherlands
Portugal
South Africa

100

CanadaArgentina
Switzerland

0

China
2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

Figure 12. Annual totals of peer-reviewed publications citing GBIF as a source of data
or discussing GBIF, 2008-2014

The examples on these pages briefly highlight a few key areas ofinvestigation and research enhanced by free and open access tobiodiversity data via GBIF. These include:• ‘Traditional’ scientific applications that improve understanding		 about biology, ecology, conservation and protected areas• High-priority policy issues such as invasive alien species• Contributions that biodiversity data makes to setting human		 health priorities• Potential impacts of climate change• Demonstrations of the importance and relevance of biodiversity
		 to human economy and livelihoods
Download the 2014 Science Review
http://www.gbif.org/2014-science-review

0

30

60

90

120

Figure 13. Number of peer-reviewed publications in 2014 citing use of GBIF-mediateddata, ranked by country according to affiliation of authors. Top 16 countries shown.

Reducing invasive species risks through rapid watch lists
For many resource-poor nations, creating biosecurity schemes toprevent the introduction of potentially invasive alien species can beexcessively complicated and expensive. South African researchers
proposed a rapid, cost-effective method of creating invasive species
watch lists based on three consistent predictors of invasion success:past precedents, environmental suitability and introduction effort.
Using GBIF-mediated data on 419 invasive species combined with datafrom other sources, the authors demonstrate a quick, transparent andreplicable technique for producing initial assessment of key invasive
threats across taxa and at different national and provincial scales
without substantial financial or scientific inputs.
Faulkner KT, Robertson MP, Rouget M et al. (2014) A simple, rapid methodology
for developing invasive species watch lists. Biological Conservation 179: 25-32.
doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2014.08.014.
Author country: South Africa

15

The wealth that built the Cornish town of Mevagissey derived from the success of small fishingboats that called its harbour home. By Loco Steve. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Flickr.

Hammer-headed fruit bat (Hypsignathus monstrosus) with young. By Stephen C Smith.
Licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0 via Flickr.

Predicting climate impacts on the profitability of UK fisheriesWith climate change expected to lead to large-scale shifts in the
distribution of marine species, researchers applied a scenario-based
approach to investigate the possible impacts on UK fisheries. GBIF andother global databases supplied the occurrence data for 31 fish andvertebrate species needed to build species distribution models, which
are then linked in turn to cost-benefit analyses.

Mapping the niche of Ebola host animals
In 2014, as the Ebola virus disease took hold in West Africa —an
outbreak that is both the largest ever recorded and the region’s first—
an international team of researchers sought to identify regions andcountries at greatest risk from the epidemic. While uncertainty remains
about the true reservoir of the virus, bats are suspected to play animportant role in the life cycle of Ebola and other filoviruses. Relying on
GBIF-mediated occurrence data, the researchers modelled the rangesof three species believed to be the most likely reservoirs for Ebola’stransmission to humans: the hammer-headed bat (Hypsignathus
monstrosus), little collared fruit bat (Myonycteris torquata) and
Franquet’s epauletted fruit bat (Epomops franqueti).

Despite predictions that a few species like European sea bass andsardines may increase, the results indicate future decreases in marine
productivity, total catch value and weight and, thus, the fisheries’
profitability. Whether these impacts derive directly from changes
in species distribution or abundance or indirectly from alteredoperating costs, the authors recommend increased adaptive capacityand diversification as the most effective means of minimizing the
anticipated reduction in profitability.
Jones MC, Dye SR, Pinnegar JK et al. (2014) Using scenarios to project thechanging profitability of fisheries under climate change. Fish and Fisheries.
doi:10.1111/faf.12081
Author countries: Canada, United Kingdom>Users of GBIF.org

Combining these data with location data on previous zoonotic
transmissions, the study identified at-risk areas across 22 countries
in Central and West Africa with a combined human population of 22
million. The authors argue that these findings will help to prioritize
surveillance for Ebola outbreaks and improve the diagnostic capacity
in at-risk regions.
Pigott DM, Golding N, Mylne A et al. (2014) Mapping the zoonotic nicheof Ebola virus disease in Africa. eLife 3:e04395.
doi:10.7554/eLife.04395
Author countries: United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Sweden>Data download requests from GBIF.org

2014
2013

United States 22,525

Total visits
1,130,031

Total visits852,478

Other 20,829

Denmark 2,491

Users
598,033

Users
738,649

Australia 2,635
Mexico 11,370

Colombia 2,685
Costa Rica 2,764
China 2,786
United Kingdom 2,882

Figure 14. Year-by-year comparison of visitors to GBIF.org.

Spain 6,228
Brazil 4,130

Figure 15. 81,325 requests for downloads were received from users in 145 countries,
islands and territories in 2014.

16

Participation and collaboration
The year saw significant strengthening of GBIF’s collaboration with a number of partners during 2014.

Convention on Biological Biodiversity (CBD)The GBIF Secretariat contributed to the Fourth Global Biodiversity
Outlook (GBO4), a mid-term review of progress towards the Aichi
Biodiversity Targets incorporated in the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity
2011-2020. In particular, GBO4 used mobilization of data through GBIF
as an indicator of progress towards Target 19 on sharing of knowledge
and data. Among the recommendations of GBO4, launched at the 12th
meeting of the Conference of Parties to the CBD (COP12) in Korea in
October, was further mobilization of and access to primary biodiversity
data.
Also at the COP12 meeting, GBIF helped launch the Global Invasive Alien
Species Information Partnership (GIASIP) Gateway, a collaboration tobring together information from various sources to support decision
makers in tackling the threat posed by invasive species in theircountries.

potential for capacity building within IPBES to bring relevant data to
support conservation policies. Among the products of this project werea guide on best practices in publishing data from camera traps, andpublication on GBIF.org of a dataset of tiger records from camera trap
images captured in India’s Rajaji National Park.

European Union Biodiversity Observation Network(EU BON)
GBIF continued its partnership within EU BON through a range ofactivities including development of a pilot repository for samplebased data through a prototype installation of the Integrated
Publishing Toolkit (IPT), using a new extension to the Darwin Core
standard submitted to Biodiversity Information Standards (TDWG)
for ratification. The aim is to mobilize datasets from biodiversity
monitoring projects using defined sampling protocols, including
measures of species abundance.

New GBIF Participants and Affiliates• URUGUAY rejoined GBIF as a full Voting Participant, establishing		 its node at the Museo Nacional de Historia Natural in Montevideo.
• BIODIVERSITY HERITAGE LIBRARY (BHL) joined as an Associate
		 Participant. BHL is a consortium of biodiversity-related libraries
		 that has digitized millions of pages of taxonomic literature.
• CANADENSYS, based at the Université de Montreal, Canada, also		 joined as an Associate Participant. Canadensys hosts datasets		 from biodiversity collections across Canada, helping them to		 publish data through GBIF as well as on its own Canadensys
		 Data Explorer. The group also collaborated with GBIF Brazil to		 support development of its national portal in November
		 (see pg 13).

Fourth Global Biodiversity Outlook (GBO4)

Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity andEcosystem Services (IPBES)• THE DATA OBSERVATION NETWORK FOR EARTH (DataONE) signed
		 a Memorandum of Cooperation with GBIF relating to ongoing work		 to support data persistence (see pg 12). The memorandum, which		 recognizes DataONE as a GBIF Affiliate, also supports the network’s		 efforts to improve its own data indexing services by building on
		 GBIF’s solution for handling large-scale tabular data.

During the first year of the 2014-2018 IPBES Work Programme, GBIF
established links with the Task Force on Knowledge and Data, which
will advise the platform on the management of data and information
resources in the various assessments to be carried out in the
coming period. GBIF is assisting this group with information aboutdevelopments that could help IPBES in identifying, accessing andarchiving relevant data, and is among candidate strategic partners to
support these functions of the platform.

• THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL OCEANOGRAPHIC COMMISSION (IOC),
		 of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
		 Organization (UNESCO) signed a Letter of Agreement with
		 GBIF, focussed on improving exchange of marine data with the		 Oceanographic Biodiversity Information System (OBIS). Under		 this agreement IOC becomes a GBIF Affiliate, and GBIF an Associate		 Data Unit under the International Oceanographic Data and		 Information Exchange (IODE) programme.

In addition, GBIF completed a project with the Wildlife Institute of India(WII), the Norwegian Institute of Nature Research (NINA) and theNorwegian Biodiversity Information Centre (NBIC) to demonstrate the• NATURALIS BIODIVERSITY CENTRE, based in Leiden Netherlands,
		 joined as an Associate Participant. Naturalis holds a collection
		 of more than 37 million specimens and is already a significant
		 data publisher through the GBIF network.

17

GBIF events

2014 GBIF Governing Board meeting

GBIF public symposium

Indian Minister for Environment, Forests and Climate Change Prakash
Javadekar opened the GBIF’s Governing Board 21st meeting (GB21) in
September, welcoming 89 delegates from 32 countries. In his address
to the Governing Board, the minister reinforced India’s commitment
to developing a robust digital infrastructure for biodiversity data, andexpressed the value to India of becoming a full Voting Participant in
GBIF, moving from its current associate status.

A public symposium held on 17 September, in association with themeeting of the GBIF Governing Board, highlighted examples ofnational-scale tools and services and shared insights frominternational researchers on key recent uses of GBIF-mediateddata to support sustainable development.

Highlights of the week included:• Approval of new approaches to licensing of datasets and		 endorsement of data publishers through GBIF (see pg 13).
• A message from the Executive Secretary of the Convention on
		 Biological Diversity (CBD), Braulio Dias, emphasizing the critical		 role that GBIF has played in improving the scientific knowledge		 needed in order to sustain healthy ecosystems.
• Discussion of some of the successes and challenges of setting
		 up biodiversity information facilities, through a series of		 presentations followed by open discussion among GBIF		 Participant delegations and node managers.

• Staff from the Secretariat kicked off the symposium with		 presentations on recent developments in enriching data accessible		 through GBIF.org; in GBIF’s capacity enhancement programme; and		 the network’s contribution to global processes such as the CBD.
• GBIF national Participants from Ireland, Benin, the United Kingdom
		 and Australia related examples showing how informatics
		 investment and collaboration support national priorities on		 biodiversity.
• Tony Rees, winner of the 2014 Ebbe Nielsen Prize, presented
		 an overview of four innovative biodiversity informatics tools		 he developed. Following a brief video update on 2013 YRA winner
		 Emma Gomez on using GBIF to research nectar corridors for bats,		 attendees heard about 2014 Young Researcher Award recipients		 Caoimhe Marshall and Vijay Barve.

At the meeting, Hanna Koivula from GBIF Finland was elected as
the Chair of the Nodes Committee. Delegates also elected Leonard
Krishtalka as the 1st Vice-Chair of the Budget Committee, Alex Asaseas the 1st Vice-Chair of the Nodes Committee, Manuel Vargas as 2nd
Vice-Chair of the Nodes Committee and Mark Costello as 1st Vice Chairof the Science Committee.

• The symposium concluded with experts from Spain, the United		 Kingdom, the United States and India presenting on their uses
		 of data accessed through GBIF to support conservation, food		 security, public health, invasive species control, and human		 innovation.

Japan announced that under current conditions, it was unable to pay
the full contribution required to retain voting rights at the Governing
Board, and would therefore change its status to Associate Participant.
However, Japan agreed to pay €156,000 to a supplementary fundsupporting GBIF-related activities in the Asia region.

Launch of the GBIF Ebbe Nielsen Challenge

GB21 provided the occasion for presenting the 2014 Ebbe Nielsen
Prize to Tony Rees, whose groundbreaking informatics tools havesignificantly advanced the delivery of biodiversity data. The 2014
Young Researchers Awards (YRA) were also presented at GB21,
recognizing the work of Caoimhe Marshall, a Master’s student atUniversity College, Dublin, Ireland, helping to detect biases and identify
gaps in biodiversity data and Vijay Barve, an Indian PhD student at the
University of Kansas, United States, looking at the potential for social
networking sites to provide valuable biodiversity data.

Named after one of GBIF’s principal founders, who tragically died justbefore the network came into being, the Challenge recasts the Ebbe
Nielsen Prize as an incentive competition aimed at encouraging new
advances in biodiversity informatics.

With the aim of inspiring scientists, informaticians, data modellers,
cartographers and other experts to develop innovative uses ofopen-access biodiversity data, GBIF launched the GBIF Ebbe Nielsen
Challenge on 2 December.

The GBIF Ebbe Nielsen Challenge site was created to take insubmissions from participants. An expert jury will judge the initial
entries and select three to six finalists to receive €1,000 each while
competing for a €20,000 First Prize.

I… appeal, not only to this forum but also within the CBD constituency, to recognize the benefitsof a viable, active and strong GBIF, primarily to benefit countries in having access to information
to guide their own sustainable development agenda.”– Braulio Dias, Executive Secretary of the CBC, in his message at GB22

18

Developing capacity for data-sharing

Capacity enhancement support programme

Results of 2013 mentoring projects

Building on its successful mentoring and regional training support
programmes, GBIF initiated a new programme on capacity
enhancement in 2014. The programme’s integrated approachenables Participants to seek support for mentoring and regional
training activities while combining these with support for developing
documentation and for advocacy.

Three projects, which received support in 2013 to build capacity for
publishing and use of biodiversity information, ended in 2014.

For 2014, GBIF awarded capacity enhancement grants to fiveprojects, engaging 31 partners – 29 countries and two internationalorganizations. The €40,000 investment from GBIF core funds in theseprojects is matched by €70,000 in co-funding from other sources.
The projects to receive support were:• A Latin American initiative led by SiB Colombia to introduce		 systematic improvements to the quality of biodiversity data		 published through the GBIF network• Another Latin American effort—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• 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• Bilingual training and exchange to establish coordinated early		 warning and response network for invasive alien species across		 sub-Saharan Africa, guided by GBIF Mauritania• 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
The overall approach of the programme is explained in the GBIF
capacity enhancement framework, which was drafted during 2014.

Colombia-Brazil
The Information System for Brazilian Biodiversity (SiB Brazil), withsupport from SiB Colombia and Canadensys, developed and launched
the national biodiversity portal in 2014 (see pg 13). Additionally, thedevelopment of scientific workflows has benefited both SiB Colombia
and Brazil in providing analysis services. A tutorial on the Metacat
repository for data and metadata helped both teams to improve theircapacity in managing ecological data.
Belgium-Togo-Mauritania
GBIF Togo and GBIF Mauritania installed the Integrated Publishing
Toolkit (IPT) and published a total of 12 occurrence datasets andchecklists with information on algae, fungi, plants and animals in
the two countries. The IPT installations are hosted by the French andBelgian nodes respectively.
Two workshops trained 36 scientists and data managers in using
the GBIF portal and the IPT, and in cleaning datasets.
As a result of the mentoring programme, the Togolese node enteredinto discussions with the Ministry of Higher Education and Researchon Togo becoming a Voting Participant of GBIF.
Spain-France-Portugal
GBIF Spain, France and Portugal benefited from each other’s skills
in a three-way mentoring programme. GBIF Spain shared their data
quality workflow and tools for GBIF France and Portugal to run on
new datasets. The node also demonstrated its use of e-learning tools
and created two environments in the platform for use by the French
and Portuguese nodes. GBIF Spain also trained the two nodes on
publishing data papers using the GBIF IPT and shared its experiencein implementing the Spanish national biodiversity data portal using
the ALA code (see pg 13).
GBIF Portugal presented their use of the Google Refine tool to improvedatasets, while GBIF France shared its statistics tools and its
experience in crowdsourcing digitization of collections via the volunteer
platform Les Herbonautes. GBIF Portugal has translated the code into
Portuguese for future implementation.

19

GBIF in Africa

Voting Participants

Associate Country Participants
See pg 6 for information on Non-country Participants.

>Events

GBIF nodes in the region developed a two-year work plan in 2014
to realize GBIF-Africa’s vision, “A world in which Africa’s biodiversity
information is freely and universally available, in service to science,
economy and the public good for a sustainable future in Africa”.
The first African Science Committee meeting was held to advise
regional node managers on the strategic direction for the work plan.

GBIF Africa regional meeting
2-4 July 2014, Cotonou, Benin
Strategic meeting of the partners of the JRS project‘Mobilizing Africa’s policy and decision-making relevant
biodiversity data’
25-27 March 2014, Pretoria, South Africa

Two workshops were organized in 2014 in the context of the JRSfunded regional project ‘Mobilizing Africa’s policy-relevant biodiversity
data’. At the workshops, participants identified nine priority themes formobilizing biodiversity data and training needs for key stakeholders.

Workshop on data papers and data use
Belgium-Mauritania-Togo GBIF mentoring project 201318-19 June 2014, Lomé, Togo
Workshop on data publication and cleaning
Belgium-Mauritania-Togo GBIF mentoring project 2013
2-3 September 2014, Nouakchott, Mauritania

21%

30
All data available through GBIF about biodiversity in Africa
Data published by country Participants in Africa

22.5
Animalia
Millions

Plantae

15

7.5
79%
0

Figure 16. Data published by GBIF Participants in Africa by kingdom

2009

2010

2011

Figure 17. Trend in data relating to Africa

2012

2013

2014

20

GBIF in Asia

Voting Participants

Associate Country ParticipantsParticipants with signature of 2012 MOU pending
See pg 6 for information on Non-country Participants.

Japan moved from Voting Participant to Associate Participant status in December 2014 (see pg 17).

>Events

Participant nodes in Asia identified collectively that there is a lack of
biodiversity information about the region. To start to address this gap,
nodes in the region have started collaborating for the mobilization of
species checklists. The work to date has included a first assessmentof Red list and invasive species checklists, and a scoping of checklists
on freshwater and marine fishes and their endangered status.

GBIF regional meeting of Asian nodes
17-18 July 2014, Tsukuba, Japan

An approach to contribute to improving the GBIF taxonomic backbone
has been agreed upon.

51%

2%
1%

16
All data available through GBIF about biodiversity in Asia
Data published by country Participants in Asia

12
Millions

Animalia
Plantae
Fungi
Bacteria

8

5
46%

Figure 18. Data published by GBIF Participants in Asia by kingdom

0

2009

2010

2011

Figure 19. Trend in data relating to Asia

2012

2013

2014

21

GBIF in Europe>Events

6th GBIF European Nodes Meeting
8-10 April 2014, Brussels, Belgium
Symposium on the Digitization of Swedish Natural History Collections
9 Jan 2014, Stockholm, Sweden
1st workshop France-Portugal-Spain GBIF mentoring project 201321-23 January 2014, Madrid, Spain
V eLearning workshop on data quality in biodiversity databases
19 February – 5 March 2014, online
Organized by GBIF Spain
Course on biodiversity data quality, use, and publication by GBIFFrance and BioVeL
24-25 March 2014, Paris, France
2nd workshop France-Portugal-Spain GBIF mentoring project 201328-30 April 2014, Lisbon, Portugal
IV eLearning workshop on data digitization for natural history
collection staff
7-21 May 2014, online. Organized by GBIF Spain
II eLearning georeferencing workshop using GEOLocate
8-29 October 2014, online. Organized by GBIF Spain.
Training course on the use of GPS and collecting species
occurrence data
13-14 October 2014, Oslo, Norway
Organized by GBIF Norway for the ForBio Research School in
Biosystematics

Voting Participants

Associate Country ParticipantsParticipants with signature of 2012 MOU pending

3rd workshop France-Portugal-Spain GBIF mentoring project 201314-16 October 2014, Paris, France

See pg 6 for information on Non-country Participants.

GBIF Information Day seminar series
1-19 December 2014, six cities in Portugal (Faro, Évora, Lisbon,
Coimbra, Porto, Vila Real). Organized by GBIF Portugal

GBIF nodes in Europe identified mobilization of European forest andvegetation data as a priority to support the European Environment
Agency. GBIF Belgium, Spain and Netherlands published data
related to freshwater invasive alien species in 2014.

Training for Norwegian scientists on publishing data papers
2-3 December 2014, Oslo, Norway
Organized by GBIF Norway and the Belgium Biodiversity
Information Facility

51%

1%
3%

240

2%
Animalia
Plantae
Chromista
Fungi
Protozoa

All data available through GBIF about biodiversity in Europe
Data published by country Participants in Europe

Millions

180

120

60
43%

Figure 20. Data published by GBIF Participants in Europe by kingdom

0

2009

2010

2011

Figure 21. Trend in data relating to Europe

2012

2013

2014

22

GBIF in Latin America

Voting Participants

Associate Country ParticipantsParticipants with signature of 2012 MOU pending
See pg 6 for information on Non-country Participants.

>Events

GBIF nodes in Latin America collaborated on a number of projects in theregion, with support from the GBIF capacity enhancement programme,
resulting in the development of the Brazilian national biodiversity
portal and in improvements in data publishing and quality (see pg 18).

4th GBIF Latin American Nodes Meeting
1-3 September 2014, Petrópolis, Brazil
3rd meeting Brazil-Colombia GBIF mentoring project 201310-14 February 2014, Bogotá, Colombia

Additionally, nodes developed and submitted three project proposals
for funding. Of these, the proposal to collaborate with the Atlas of
Living Australia on developing national portals was funded.

I3B Workshop: Foundations, evaluation and future of species
distribution models
2-6 June 2014, Tepoztlán, Mexico
4th meeting Brazil-Colombia GBIF mentoring project 201325-29 September 2014, Petrópolis, Brazil
Bogotá data quality workshop
18-21 November 2014, Bogotá, Colombia
SiBBr launch event
24-25 November 2014, Brasília, Brazil

59%

1%
30
All data available through GBIF about biodiversity in Latin America
Data published by country Participants in Latin America

22.5
Millions

Animalia
Plantae
Fungi

15

7.5
40%

Figure 22. Data published by GBIF Participants in Latin America by kingdom

0

2009

2010

2011

Figure 23. Trend in data relating to Latin America

2012

2013

2014

23

GBIF in North America

Voting Participants

Associate Country Participants
See pg 6 for information on Non-country Participants.

>Events

Two regional projects have been identified for North America –investigating the potential of an invasive species project between
USA and Canada, and inclusion of DNA barcoding data in GBIF andthe linkage with specimen collection records.

GBIF regional meeting: North American nodes
21-22 July 2014, Guelph, Canada

92%
8%

220
All data available through GBIF about biodiversity in North America
Data published by country Participants in North America

165
Millions

Animalia
Plantae

110

55

0

Figure 24. Data published by GBIF Participants in North America by kingdom

2009

2010

2011

Figure 25. Trend in data relating to North America

2012

2013

2014

24

GBIF in Oceania

Voting Participants
See pg 6 for information on Non-country Participants.

>Events

The Oceania nodes work together to share relevant technology andexpertise that support the development and use of the region’s
national biodiversity infrastructure. In 2014, the Atlas of Living
Australia (ALA) simplified and shared its successful web application
for reuse by GBIF nodes. GBIF Spain’s new data portal uses thetechnology and is the first of several results expected from the
ALA collaboration.

Developers’ workshop
21-21 July 2014, Canberra, Australia

33%
1%

50
All data available through GBIF about biodiversity in Oceania
Data published by country Participants in Oceania

37.5
Millions

Animalia
Plantae
Fungi

25

12.5

66%
2009

Figure 26. Data published by GBIF Participants in Oceania by kingdom

2010

2011

Figure 27. Trend in data relating to Oceania

2012

2013

2014

25

Appendix 1>Records published through GBIF, by endorsing Participant node
Node

Total

With coordinates

Publishers

Datasets

81,816
886,073
36,653,791
6,593,580
95,881
8,658
15,541
1,890,440
3,206,744
9,070,022
316,093
18,443,592
17,395,604
18,168,637
93,346
458,705
2,534,189
1,924,225
18,7481,812
2,757,667
20,606,464
1,361,258
16,944,587
77,131
161,728
115,151
266,295
8,973,006
10,184,958
47,325,772
10,03447,171,388
205,702,157

78,008446,474
21,853,994
6,062,892
87,282
8,552
14,238
1,583,316
3,145,072
8,892,863
245,099
18,170,453
10,301,998
15,158,973
51,420438,505
2,534,155
2,445
6,285
1,493
2,406,412
18,027,864
884,764
16,599,910
8,401
55,814
2,716
140,9318,063,926
7,962,849
46,099,111
9,459
45,873,767
185,919,821

1
9
30
9
1
2
2
49
5
23
2
12
42
30
1
1
1
31
3
2
4
20
4
4
4
8
1
3
2
71
7
3
12
115

7
141
108
77
10
2
7
170
10
177
4
57
149
9729
2
4
106
116
3
5
390
124
12
87
6
14
1
5
22
184
36
12
497
358

Associate Country Participants
Austria
BrazilCanada 	
GuineaIndia
IsraelJapan*
Luxembourg
Pakistan
PolandSwitzerlandTogo

3,249,994
602,034
4,407,101
493
7,683
433,4633,667,892
933,394853
1,625,043
1,558,889
7,983

2,958,903
323,3933,498,518
468
5,660
433,463865,557
902,874
176
1,317,005
1,321,691
7,983

12
7
22
1
1
1
3
1
1
28
11
1

13
49
127
1
7
22
278
1
3
97
18
7

Other Associate Participants
ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity
Bioversity International
Canadensys
Chinese Academy of Sciences
Ciencia y Tecnología para el Desarrollo
Consortium of European Taxonomic Facilities
Inter American Biodiversity Information Network
International Centre for Insect Physiology and Ecology
NatureServe
Nordic Genetic Resource Center (NORDGEN)
Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS)
Pacific Biodiversity Information Forum (PBIF)
Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR)
Society for the Management of Electronic Biodiversity Data (SMEBD)
Chinese Taipei
VertNetWorld Federation for Culture Collections (WFCC)

175
1,980,963
3,253
530,542
131,642
175,689
70,087
3,939
896,704
37,641
11,909,277
2,487
290,742306,378
1,156,908
4,400
48,9130641,4443,253
530,280
106,0118,771
43,766
3,909
0
6,093
11,548,752
2,382
290,640
306,210879,346
3,279
0

4
2
3
1
1
3
1
1
1
1
7
1
2
3
5
1
1

13
4
11
9
1
9
1
3
1
1
188
2
83
12
37
1
19

Voting Participants
AndorraArgentina
Australia
Belgium
Benin
Burkina Faso
Chile
Colombia
Costa Rica
Denmark
Estonia
FinlandFranceGermany
Ghana
Iceland
Ireland
Korea, Republic ofMadagascar
Mauritania
MexicoNetherlands
New Zealand
NorwayPeru		
Portugal
Slovakia
Slovenia
South Africa
Spain
SwedenTanzania
UK		
USA		

* Moved to Associate Country Participant status in December 2014

26

Appendix 2>New publishers in 2014

Publisher

GBIF Node

Datasets

Record count

Asociación Bogotana de Ornitología

Colombia

2

1,998

Botanical Garden of Barcelona

Spain

1

2,994

Botanical Garden Meise

Botanisches Institut, Universität zu Köln
Cabildo Verde de Sabana de Torres

CBGP (UMR INRA, Cirad, IRD, Montpellier SupAgro)

CFE - Centre for Functional Ecology, Department of Life Sciences,
University of Coimbra

Belgium

Germany

Colombia
FrancePortugal

1
1
1
1
1

29,787
1,614
525

5,262
4,024

Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)

Chinese Academy of Sciences

9

530,542

Colecciones naturales de la Asociación BIGA para el estudio del

Spain

2

9,545

City of Amsterdam

patrimonio natural de Galicia: FBIGA y ABIGA.

Netherlands

1

26,811

Corporación San Jorge

Colombia

151

Dutch Foundation for Botanical Research (FLORON)

Netherlands

1

599,260

Costa Rica Bird Observatories

Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon

European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL)Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nürnberg
Fundación Bosques y Humedales
Fundación El Refugio
Fundación Trópico
GBIF Portugal

Gouvernement du Québec

Herbiers Universitaires de Clermont-Ferrand (CLF)

Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)
Institut Ruđer Bošković, Center for Marine Research			Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine,

Costa Rica
FranceUK

Germany

Colombia
Colombia
Colombia
Portugal

Canadensys
FranceFranceConsortium of European

Taxonomic Facilities (CETAF)

1
1
1
1
1
2
1
1
1
1

10
1

27,290581

4,661,554
16,060
2,012
0

1,003
0

3,240
1,914
2,494
52

UK

1

21

Instituto Boto Cinza

Brazil115Kathryn Kalmbach Herbarium (Denver Botanic Gardens)USA1

56,302

College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow
Jeju Biodiversity Research Institute of Korea (JBRI)

Laboratoire EDB “Evolution et Diversité Biologique”

Laboratorio de Recursos Naturales y Vida Silvestre (LARNAVISI).
Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica (UNA)

Korea, Republic ofFranceCosta Rica

1
2
1

3,000
2,068
8,928

Laboratory of Ecology and Evolution of Plants, at Universidade Federal de Vicosa

Brazil21

3,310

Moscow University Herbarium (MW)GBIF Participant Node1

22,625

Le Parc National du Banc d’Arguin
			Museu Nacional / UFRJ
Museum TwentseWelle

National Museum in Prague			

Natural Heritage Center of Administration (NHCA)

Natural History Museum of Alava (Museo de Ciencias Naturales de Álava)
Natural History Museum of Denmark
naturgucker.deObservatoire PELAGIS, UMS 3462 Système d’Observation pour la Conservation
des Mammifères et Oiseaux Marins, Université de la Rochelle-CNRS

Mauritania

Managers Committee

10Brazil2

68,740Consortium of European

10

68,080Netherlands

Taxonomic Facilities (CETAF)

1

1,440

Korea, Republic of

2

204

Denmark

3

2,581

Spain

Germany
France11385,4494,286,173
26,834

Ohio University, Invertebrate Paleontology Collection

USA

1

2,412

POLLICHIA – Verein für Naturforschung und Landespflege e.V.

Germany

1

181,698

Parques Nacionales Naturales de Colombia

Sam Mitchel Herbarium of Fungi (Denver Botanic Gardens)Société Québécoise de Bryologie
SP/CONEDD-DCIMEThe Virtual Museum of Life

Universidad Industrial de Santander

Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia
Universidad Tecnológica del Chocó
Université d’Aix-Marseille
University of Bergen

University of Lethbridge
Vanderbilt University

Colombia
USA

Canadensys

Burkina Faso
Spain

Colombia
Colombia
Colombia
FranceNorwayCanada
USA

				

3
1
2
1
1
1
1
4
1
2
1
1

Total

8,294

17,400
3,253
979
193

23,845
3,010

11,595
1,004

362,939
21,7493,633

11,206,387

27

Appendix 3>GBIF Participants in 2014

Voting Participant

Member as of

Other Associate Participants

Acronym

Member as ofAndorraSeptember 2010

Albertine Rift Conservation Society

ARCOS

January 2010

Argentina*

March 2002

ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity

ACB

August 2009

Australia

February 2001

Biodiversity Heritage Library

BHL

August 2014

Belgium

February 2001

BioNet-AndinoNet		

October 2007

Benin

December 2004

BioNET-INTERNATIONAL		

May 2001

Burkina Faso

January 2007

Bioversity International		

January 2007

Chile		

December 2009

Botanic Gardens Conservation International

August 2004

Colombia

September 2003

Canadensys		

August 2014

Costa Rica

May 2001

Chinese Academy of Science

September 2013

Denmark

January 2001

Chinese Taipei		March 2001

Estonia

September 2003

Ciencia y Tecnología para el Desarrollo

CYTED

April 2006

FinlandApril 2001

Consortium for the Barcode of Life

CBOLMarch 2005

FranceApril 2001

Consortium of European Taxonomic Facilities

CETAF

June 2007

Germany

February 2001

Discover Life		

February 2008

Ghana

March 2001

DIVERSITAS		May 2007

IcelandJune 2001

Encyclopedia of Life

EOLJanuary 2008

IrelandJanuary 2008

Endangered Wildlife Trust

EWT

July 2008

Kenya

July 2008

European Environment Agency

EEA

September 2010

Korea, Republic of

May 2001ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability

ICLEI

October 2010

Madagascar

January 2003

Integrated Taxonomic Information System

ITIS

March 2001

Mauritania

August 2009

Inter-American Biodiversity Information Network

IABIN

May 2001

MexicoMarch 2001

International Barcode of Life ProjectiBOL

April 2011

Netherlands

February 2001

International Centre for Insect Physiology

ICIPE

March 2004

New ZealandFebruary 2001

and Ecology

NorwayFebruary 2004

International Centre for Integrated

ICIMOD

September 2009

Peru*

September 2002

Mountain Development

Portugal

June 2001

International Long Term Ecological Research

ILTER

July 2008

Slovakia*

August 2001

Natural Science Collections Alliance

NSCA

December 2004

Slovenia*

February 2001

Naturalis Biodiversity Center		July 2014

South Africa

April 2003

NatureServe		

June 2001

Spain

February 2001

Nordic Genetic Resource Center

NordGenMarch 2004

SwedenFebruary 2001

Pacific Biodiversity Information Forum

PBIF

August 2004

Tanzania

September 2002

Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research

SCAR

February 2008

UgandaOctober 2009

Society for the Management of Electronic

SMEBD

March 2009

United Kingdom

August 2001

Biodiversity Data

United States

January 2001

Society for the Preservation of Natural

SPNHC

January 2007

Uruguay

Rejoined in October 2014

History Collections* Participants that had yet to sign the 2012 Memorandum of Understanding

Associate Country Participant

Member as ofAustria

September 2001

BrazilOctober 2012

CanadaMarch 2001

Central African Republic

March 2011

Congo, Republic of

May 2011

GuineaMarch 2005

India		

July 2003

Indonesia*

October 2004

IsraelApril 2013

Japan

February 2001, moved			from Voting Participant to			Associate Country			Participant in December 2014

Luxembourg

April 2008

Pakistan

August 2001

Philippines

March 2005

PolandMarch 2001

Switzerland*

February 2001

Togo		

October 2009

BGCI
CAS

Species 2000		

March 2001

Taxonomic Databases Working Group

TDWG

March 2002

United Nations Environment Programme –UNEP-WCMC

May 2001

World Conservation Monitoring Centre
VertNet		August 2013

Wildscreen		

January 2003

World Federation for Culture Collections

WFCC

October 2002

Affiliate

Acronym       Member as ofData Observation Network for Earth

DataONE

August 2014

Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission

UNESCO (IOC)

October 2014of the United Nations Educational Scientificand Cultural Organisation

28

Appendix 4>Preliminary 2014 financial statement, in EUR

Income statement

Realized in 2014 (EUR)

Budget 2014 (EUR)

Received basic financial contribution

2,878,400

2,918,000

Total income

3,466,200

3,504,000-102,348-120,000

IncomeReceived basic financial contribution former years

587,800

586,000

Expenditure

Work Programme 2014:- Informatics, Stream 1- Engagement, Stream 2- Content, Stream 3- Implementation-128,3540-150,0000-1,490,768-1,477,000

Staff expenditure-795,755-754,000

Secretariat facilities-81,105

Governance - Committee costs and awards

Running expenditure
Total expenditure
Financial income

Changes in foreign exchanges rates
Interest

End of the year result

Balance sheet
AssetsOther receivables and VAT
Cash and cash at bank

-94,930-158,760-2,852,019-125,000-180,000-80,000-2,886,000

2,150
4,618

0

5,000

620,949

623,0002013 (EUR)

2014 (EUR)

20,592

84,3701,048,714

2,056,680

Net capital (equity)

30,994654,444

Supplementary funds

527,176

646,991

Other payables

15,603

Total assets

Net capital and liabilities
Provisions

Prepayments re. 2015-2016
Total equity and liabilities

1,069,306

56,299439,234

2,141,050

44,963766,700

27,952

1,069,306

2,141,050

Balance at 1 January347,504

527,176

Income 2014

580,552

473,869

GBIF Supplementary Fund
Exchange rate dif. at January 1
Expenditure

Balance at 31 December

0-400,879
527,176

1,080-355,133
646,991>Externally Received Grants 2014
For supplementary funds

University of Copenhagen (IT Equipment)1

I4LifeEye on Earth
OpenUp
EU BonGIASIP, CBD

EMODnet Biology 2
VIBRANTCBD - GBO4

Total external funding
1)

DKK

EUR

170,000

22,834

1,776,724

392,006

247,491
17,25003,456

44,572453,667
205,387

2,918,547

33,242
2,317
0

464

5,987

60,934

27,587545,371

University of Copenhagen in addition, annually provide in kind contributions, such as accountancy services, free office spaceincl. electricity, landline telephone/fax.

29

Appendix 4 continued...

Appendix 5>Contributing agencies for 2014

>GBIF Governing Board and Standing
Committees 2014

Voting Participants

Financial Contributors

Argentina

CONICET - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas

AndorraAustralia
Belgium
Benin

Chile		

Colombia

Costa Rica
Denmark
Estonia
FinlandFranceGermany			

Ghana

Iceland
Ireland
Kenya

Madagascar
Mauretania
MexicoNetherlands

New Zealand
NorwayPortugal

Republic of Korea
Slovak Republic
Slovenia

South Africa
SwedenTanzania
UgandaUnited Kingdom
			
			
			
			
USA		
			
			
			

Executive Committee
Chair
1st Vice Chair
2nd Vice Chair
3rd Vice ChairPeter SchalkJorge Sóberon
Motomi Ito
Claude-Anne GauthierCommittee Chairs
Science
Budget
Nodes
			
			
			

Roderic Page
Walter Berendsohn
Stephen Wilkinson(until September 2014)
Hanna Koivula(from September 2014)

Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG)

Ex-officio
Executive Secretary

Donald Hobern

Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)

Standing Committee

Institute d´estudis Andorrans

Atlas of Living Australia, CSIRO National Research Collections Australia
Belgian Federal Science Policy Office (belspo)
Laboratoire des Science Forestieres

Comision Nacional del Medio Ambiente (CONAMA)

Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biólogicos Alexander von Humboldt
Asociación Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad (INBio)

The Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation
Ministry of Environment
Academy of Finland

Direction Générale pour la Recherche et l´Innovation (DGRI)
German Aerospace Center, BMBF

Ministry for the Environment and Natural Resources
National Parks & Wildlife Service
National Museums of Kenya

Centre National de Recherches sur l´Environnement (CNRE)
L´Ecole Normale Supérieure de NouakchottConsejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia (CONACYT)
Ministry of Education, Culture and Science

Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment
The Research Council of Norway

Foundation for Science and Technology

Ministry of Education, Science and Technology
Ministry of the Environment

Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology
Department of Science and Technology
Swedish Research Council

Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH)
Uganda National Council for Science and Technology

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA)
Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Natural History Museum, London

Joint Nature Conservation Committee
National Science Foundation
Smithsonian Institution

U.S. Department of State

U.S. Department of Agriculture

Science Committee
Chair
Vice Chairs						Members						Roderic Page
Mark Costello
Arturo Ariño
Jean Cossi Ganglo
Elizabeth Arnaud
Guy Cochrane
Kathy Willis

Ex-officio
Chair Governing Board
1st Vice Chair Governing Board
2nd Vice Chair Governing Board
3rd Vice Chair Governing Board
Executive Secretary

Peter SchalkJorge Sóberon
Motomi Ito
Claude-Anne Gauthier
Donald Hobern

Budget Committee
Chair
1st Vice Chair
			
			
			
2nd Vice Chair
			
Members
			
			
			
			
			
			
Ex-officio
Chair Governing Board
Executive Secretary

Walter Berendsohn
Eli van der Heide(until September 2014)
Leonard Krishtalka(from September 2014)
Selwyn Willoughby(until June 2014)
Eric Chenin(from September 2014)
Joanne Daly
James Holborow(from October 2014)
Patricia Koleff
Ben WheelerPeter Schalk
Donald Hobern

Node Managers Committee
Chair
			
			
			
1st Vice Chair
2nd Vice Chair
Members

Stephen Wilkinson(until September 2014)
Hanna Koivula(from September 2014)
Alex Asase
Manuel Vargas
All Node Managers

Nodes Steering Group
Chair
			
			
			
1st Vice Chair
2nd Vice Chair

Stephen Wilkinson(until September 2014)
Hanna Koivula(from September 2014)
Alex Asase
Manuel Vargas

Regional Node Representatives
AfricaAsia		
									EuropeLatin America
North America
Oceania

Hulda Gideon
Sheila Vergara(until July 2014)
Tsuyoshi Hosoya(from July 2014)
André Heughebaert
Luiz Gadelha
Robert Hanner
Pending

30

Appendix 6>GBIF Affiliations

GBIF affiliations

StatusBiodiversity Indicators Partnership (BIP)

PartnerConvention on Biological Diversity (CBD)

Observer

Biodiversity Knowledge Network for the European Union (KNEU)
Convention on Migratory Species
Encyclopedia of Life (EOL)

European Biodiversity Observation Network (EU BON)
Eye on Earth Biodiversity Special Initiative

Global Genome Biodiversity Network (GGBN)

Global Invasive Alien Species Information Partnership (GIASIP)
Global Partnership for Plant Conservation (GPPC)
Group on Earth Observations (GEO)

Group on Earth Observations Biodiversity Observation Network (GEO-BON)
Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity & Ecosystem Services (IPBES)IOC-UNESCO International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange/ Ocean Biogeographic Information System (IODE/OBIS)LifeWatch

Appendix 7>GBIF-commissioned publications in 2014

• Publishing sample data using the GBIF IPT, Jun 2014

• The GBIF Integrated Publishing Toolkit: facilitating the efficient publishingof biodiversity data on the Internet. PLoS ONE 9(8): e102623. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0102623• Draft for public review: GBIF communication strategy, Aug 2014

• Draft for consultation: Establishing an effective GBIF Participant Node.
Concepts and general considerations, Sept 2014

• Publishing camera trap data, a best practice guide, Sept 2014
• Data refinement using the BioVeL Portal, Oct 2014

• GBIF brochure, 2014 edition in French, Portuguese and Spanish• Draft for public review: GBIF Capacity Enhancement Framework, Dec 2014

Member, Dialogue group
ObserverCouncil

ParticipantPartnerMember, Steering committee
PartnerPartner

Participant

Member, Advisory Board
Observer

Associate data unit

Member, Policy & Science Board

31

Appendix 8>GBIF Secretariat staff

GBIF Secretariat Staff as of December 2014
Management group
Donald Hobern

Executive Secretary/Director

Tim Hirsch

Deputy Director and Head of Participation

Anne Mette Nielsen

Head of Administration

Tim Robertson

Head of Informatics

Andrea Hahn

Programme Manager

Secretariat staff
Sampreethi Aipanjiguly

Communications Officer

Maheva Bagard Laursen

Communications Officer (maternity replacement, from 1 June)

Olaf Bánki

Senior Programme Officer for Participation

Kyle Braak

Developer

Søren Bundgaard-Jensen

Financial Officer

Andrei Cenja

System Administrator

Kyle Copas

Science Writer (from 12 May)

Marlene Dalsgaard Nielsen

Administrative Assistant (from 1 March)

Alberto González-Talaván

Senior Programme Officer for Training

Burke Chih-Jen Ko

Informatics Liaison

Jan Krzysztof Legind

Data Manager

Siro Masinde

Programme Officer for Content Mobilization (from 1 September)Federico Mendez Hernandez

Developer

Oliver Meyn

Developer

Éamonn Ó Tuama

Senior Programme Officer for Interoperability

Mélianie RaymondSenior Programme Officer for Node Development

Dmitry Schigel

Programme Officer for Content Analysis and Use (from 15 October)

Susanne Lønstrup Sheldon

HR Manager & PA to the Director

Ciprian Vizitiu

Webmaster and Network Administrator

Staff departures
Vishwas Chavan

Senior Programme Officer for Data Mobilisation (until 30 June)

Samy Gaiji

Senior Programme Officer for Science and Scientific Liaison (until 6 February)

New staff at the GBIF Secretariat

Dmitry Schigel, Adjunct Professor of Mycology, University of Helsinki,
Finland, joined as the new Programme Officer for Content Analysis
and Use. Originally from Russia, Dmitry previously acted as taxonomy
coordinator for the ICT team at the LUOMUS-Finnish Museum of Natural
History, host of the GBIF national node for Finland, and ran research andeducation projects on dead wood, fungi and insects at the university’s
Metapopulation Research Group.
Kyle Copas started as the Secretariat’s Science Writer, focused on
creating content for GBIF.org and other communication platforms, aswell as crafting and leading implementation of GBIF’s communication
strategy. Kyle contributes experience across the realms of biodiversity
conservation and sustainability, having spent the past seven years
in a variety of content, communications, and strategy roles at
NatureServe, a U.S.-based Associate Participant in the GBIF network.
Maheva Bagard Laursen joined as Communications Officer, as
maternity-leave replacement for Sampreethi Aipanjiguly. Maheva has
worked in communications, networking and project management inEurope and in China, most recently as an outreach communication
consultant at the European Environment Agency (EEA).

Marlene Dalsgaard Nielsen joined the GBIF Secretariat as
Administrative Assistant. Trained at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
in Copenhagen, Marlene worked at the Royal Danish Embassy andEuropean Medicines Agency (EMA) in London, and most recently
worked in Copenhagen for Novo Nordisk.
Siro Masinde, the new Programme Officer for Content Mobilization waspreviously senior research scientist and head of the botany department
at the National Museums of Kenya, which includes the East African
Herbarium and Nairobi Botanic Garden. Siro has extensive experience indigitization and databasing, including as African regional coordinator for
JSTOR/ITHAKA, for which he helped develop the Global Plants Initiative.

Secretariat
Universitetsparken 15
DK-2100 Copenhagen Ø
Denmark

Compiled and edited by:
Sampreethi Aipanjiguly,
Kyle Aaron Copas,
Tim Hirsch

Tel: +45 35 32 14 70
Fax: +45 35 32 14 80
Email: info@gbif.org
Web: www.gbif.org

Design: Hoogs Design

ISBN: 87-92020-61-5

Credits for cover photos:
Tamaguramo, Mevans,
GBIF Sweden, Eduardo Rivero,
Eric Isselee, Sergio Martínez, Zampa, Lilithlita