The Tana River Basin in Kenya is an important biodiversity hotspot with a wide variety of habitat types. Freshwater ecosystems in the basin, including swamps, riparian forests, oxbow lakes, and the delta, are rich in plant and animal biodiversity. Although there are 12 protected areas as well as six IUCN Red List species, biodiversity data for the basin is disparate, largely undigitized, and mostly inaccessible. The National Museums of Kenya will mobilize existing data, collect supplemental field data, and make data accessible through an interactive web platform.

1. Key partners in the Tana River Basin will formally recognize the importance of sharing biodiversity data for improved ecosystem management.
2. Mobilize and publish biodiversity data from existing sources.
3. Field expeditions to fill data gaps and rapidly assess the current state of biodiversity and threats.
4. Develop an interactive data portal with GIS data layers for integration with biodiversity spatial data.
5. Conduct outreach through workshops, train at least 30 stakeholders in using the data portal, develop capacity to capture data and maintain the portal, and secure sustainable support.

With COVID-19 restricting travel and meeting with our grantees, JRS invited our projects to submit a short update for the JRS Board of Trustees. Though intended for an internal JRS audience, we loved these videos and share them here with permission. Enjoy!

• Partnerships will solidify via a Memorandum of Understanding to facilitate data sharing.
• At least 6,000 new records captured from field expeditions published, and 1,800 voucher specimens collected for preservation.
• Key parameters mapped as GIS layers for integration with biodiversity spatial data for deeper analysis and visualization.
• At least 30 stakeholder representatives will be trained to use the portal, demonstrating its value.

By designing the data mobilization and collection through expert committees, the process will encourage the development of best practices and the sharing of resources. A data platform developed as a partnership among key stakeholders will demonstrate the shared need for more comprehensive biodiversity data and lead to improved collaboration among the various stakeholders. Once existing data and new data is made available on the portal, the public will be able to better understand the Tana River Basin.  Decision-makers, too, will have access to simplified knowledge in easy to understand visual formats.

• Inter-institutional Data Sharing Policy Committee met in mid-January 2019 to bring together seven partner institutions to discuss the importance of data sharing and information for the Tana River Basin’s management. a Memorandum of Understanding was drafted.
•  The first stakeholder workshop brought together 48 participants to present the project and to learn about the data needs of the end-users for the project.
• Currently the technical team is piloting the Species Explorer GBIF plug-in for QGIS.
• A total of 7,403 records have been digitized from specimens, observations, literatures and internal NMK databases representing 785 mammals, 853 reptiles and amphibians, 271 birds, 2324 invertebrates, 570 fish, and 2600 vascular plants.

Dr. Siro Masinde is a Senior Research Scientist in botany with over 25 years experience. He has participated in many biodiversity and digitization projects. Notable ones include Biodiversity Monitoring Transect Analysis for Africa (BIOTA) and JSTOR Global Plants. Masinde has local and international experience gained from ITHAKA, USA, where he was the Regional Coordinator for Africa and at the GBIF Secretariat where he served as the Program Officer for Content Mobilization.

The National Museums of Kenya has been a long-standing center for biodiversity informatics activity in Kenya and hosts a very successful current effort in pollinators biodiversity data and knowledge. In our third year of grantmaking in our Freshwater Biodiversity program, few projects are successfully connecting to institutions involved in basin management and conservation.  The National Museums of Kenya will certainly succeed to digitize specimens and collect new data. The challenge for the team and their partners is to connect to Tana River Basin management authorities and water users to create tools that are vital for future sustainable development of the basin.