Field research yields valuable biodiversity data, and this can be shared far beyond the original study or institution.  Accurate, timely data is key to decision-making for sound land use planning as well as for conservation.  This is why platforms such as the Freshwater Biodiversity Information System play such a critical role in making diverse data streams accessible and readily available for planning, analysis and time series trends.

The Life of a Data Point is available on YouTube.

“The Life of a Data Point” is a short video that spotlights the value of each and every data point and celebrates the platforms that house and serve biodiversity data – platforms that allow our hard-earned data to be re-used, repurposed and recycled. The Freshwater Biodiversity Information System (FBIS) is one of several new biodiversity data platforms in Africa developed with support from the JRS Biodiversity Foundation. The FBIS, created by the Freshwater Research Centre (FRC) in partnership with the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) and Kartoza, provides comprehensive and reliable freshwater data for national decision-making and reporting, environmental management and conservation, as well as for furthering scientific research.

 The film brings together and highlights key themes emerging from a recent Freshwater Bioinformatics in Africa Seminar series. We hope that the film inspires a greater appreciation for biodiversity data, encourages better data management and sharing, and thereby results on in better-managed ecosystems in the future.

Additional Links
Freshwater Research Centre: https://www.frcsa.org.za/
Fishwater Films: https://www.fishwaterfilms.com