On August 28-29, 2024, the "Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) Asia Regional Nodes Meeting" was successfully held in Beijing. The meeting was an open event, with the host representatives, Director LIU Xiwen of National Science Library of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Dr. XU Zheping, the GBIF Asia regional representative at the same institution, delivering welcoming speeches and introducing the scope and objectives of the meeting.
During the meeting, delegates of Asia regional nodes shared their progress over the past year and the next work plans. Experts from the Asia Pacific Biodiversity Observation Network (APBON), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Asia Office, the Chinese node of the Ocean Biodiversity Information System (OBIS), and the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) delivered presentations about their GBIF associated work. Other invited experts shared use cases of biodiversity data. Participants discussed their experiences and priorities of the GBIF Asia region and envisioned the future development issues. Prof. MA Keping, the Vice Director and Secretary-General of the Biodiversity Committee of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Mr. Joe Miller, the Executive Secretary of GBIF, summarized the key points and wrapped up the meeting. Attendees clarified the future direction and thematic goals for GBIF's development in the Asia region and also expressed a desire to engage in more cooperation and discussions on data sharing, technical training, and promotion of application cases.
During the meeting, the GBIF Secretariat and Asia Regional node experts visited and attended a roundtable workshop in the Institute of Botany, CAS (IBCAS). Prof. MA Keping chaired the workshop and welcomed all delegates. Ms. Maheva Bagard Laursen from the GBIF Secretariat gave a brief introduction of GBIF and showed the value of GBIF in scientific research and policy decision-making supporting. Prof. MA introduced China's progress in the field of biodiversity informatics, detailed the Mapping Asia Plants (MAP+) project. He proposed to work on the Asia Biodiversity Information Facility (AsiaBIF) to promote the data mobilization and sharing in Asia community.
All delegates visited the History Museum, Herbarium, Plant Science Data Center, and the Greenhouse in IBCAS.
GBIF is currently the world's largest biodiversity data platform, with the CAS becoming a GBIF node since 2013. The meeting was organized by the GBIF Secretariat and co-hosted by the National Science Library of the CAS, the Biodiversity Committee of the CAS, and the Asia Regional Members Committee of the IUCN. The meeting was conducted in a hybrid format of both online and offline, with a total of 38 participants. Among them, 25 were on-site attendees from research institutions in 8 countries including Denmark, Australia, Mongolia, Nepal, Timor-Leste, Republic of Korea, China, as well as from Chinese Taiwan and Hong Kong. Another 13 online participants demonstrated the extensive cooperation and exchange in the field of international biodiversity conservation.
Delegates visited the Plant Science Data Center of CAS (Image by Biodiversity Committee, CAS)
On August 28-29, 2024, the "Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) Asia Regional Nodes Meeting" was successfully held in Beijing. The meeting was an open event, with the host representatives, Director LIU Xiwen of National Science Library of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Dr. XU Zheping, the GBIF Asia regional representative at the same institution, delivering welcoming speeches and introducing the scope and objectives of the meeting.
During the meeting, delegates of Asia regional nodes shared their progress over the past year and the next work plans. Experts from the Asia Pacific Biodiversity Observation Network (APBON), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Asia Office, the Chinese node of the Ocean Biodiversity Information System (OBIS), and the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) delivered presentations about their GBIF associated work. Other invited experts shared use cases of biodiversity data. Participants discussed their experiences and priorities of the GBIF Asia region and envisioned the future development issues. Prof. MA Keping, the Vice Director and Secretary-General of the Biodiversity Committee of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Mr. Joe Miller, the Executive Secretary of GBIF, summarized the key points and wrapped up the meeting. Attendees clarified the future direction and thematic goals for GBIF's development in the Asia region and also expressed a desire to engage in more cooperation and discussions on data sharing, technical training, and promotion of application cases.
During the meeting, the GBIF Secretariat and Asia Regional node experts visited and attended a roundtable workshop in the Institute of Botany, CAS (IBCAS). Prof. MA Keping chaired the workshop and welcomed all delegates. Ms. Maheva Bagard Laursen from the GBIF Secretariat gave a brief introduction of GBIF and showed the value of GBIF in scientific research and policy decision-making supporting. Prof. MA introduced China's progress in the field of biodiversity informatics, detailed the Mapping Asia Plants (MAP+) project. He proposed to work on the Asia Biodiversity Information Facility (AsiaBIF) to promote the data mobilization and sharing in Asia community.
All delegates visited the History Museum, Herbarium, Plant Science Data Center, and the Greenhouse in IBCAS.
GBIF is currently the world's largest biodiversity data platform, with the CAS becoming a GBIF node since 2013. The meeting was organized by the GBIF Secretariat and co-hosted by the National Science Library of the CAS, the Biodiversity Committee of the CAS, and the Asia Regional Members Committee of the IUCN. The meeting was conducted in a hybrid format of both online and offline, with a total of 38 participants. Among them, 25 were on-site attendees from research institutions in 8 countries including Denmark, Australia, Mongolia, Nepal, Timor-Leste, Republic of Korea, China, as well as from Chinese Taiwan and Hong Kong. Another 13 online participants demonstrated the extensive cooperation and exchange in the field of international biodiversity conservation.
Delegates visited the Plant Science Data Center of CAS (Image by Biodiversity Committee, CAS)