South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI), in partnership with African Participants of the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), is holding a workshop in Pretoria, South Africa from March 25th-27th. The purpose of this workshop is to implement an innovative and collaborative project aimed at ensuring relevant biodiversity information is available to support efficient policy formulation and decision-making in Africa and will host over 25 delegates representing 19 African countries.

The overarching aim of the project is to develop and implement a strategy for mobilizing African biodiversity data while strengthening regional collaboration and capacity in biodiversity informatics. The strategy will recommend priorities for capturing, digitizing and publishing biodiversity data with a view to reinforcing the knowledge base on which policies and decisions concerning biodiversity are made.

In biodiversity conservation, natural resources management, and many other sectors biodiversity data is essential for evidence-based policymaking. Convening a group of leading African biodiversity informaticians will present new opportunities for networking, mentoring and knowledge exchange. The momentum generated by such interactions will serve to accelerate the mobilization of policy-relevant biodiversity data. In doing so, it is anticipated that the business case for biodiversity informatics will become more self-evident and, consequently, this important field will draw greater financial, human and technical resources.

JRS began funding this grant to SANBI, “Mobilizing Africa’s Biodiversity Data,” in 2012.

For more information on this workshop, please click here.