Missouri Botanical Garden Open Conference Systems, TDWG 2013 ANNUAL CONFERENCE

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OPENING UP THE AFRICAN SAVANNAH BIODIVERSITY INFORMATION
Kudzai Mafuwe

Building: Grand Hotel Mediterraneo
Room: Sala dei Continenti
Date: 2013-10-30 04:55 PM – 05:10 PM
Last modified: 2013-10-25

Abstract


The most common ecosystem in Africa is the Savannah, occupying about 40% of the territory with a large range of highly specialized plants and animals. The richness of the savannah biodiversity in Zimbabwe is represented in the National Herbarium of Zimbabwe, the Forest Commission Herbarium, the Gene Bank for Agricultural Crops and the insect collection at The Plant Protection Research Institute. However, accessing institutional collections is expensive undertaking because the available data is scanty, unorganised, incomplete and in most of the times inaccessible. Specimens in the collections are not digitalised and in some cases they are not classified. In comparison to neighbouring countries such as South Africa and Tanzania, Zimbabwe is lagging behind. In this regard the support from Belgium and the governments through the Royal Museum of Central Africa, a group of natural scientists from the African savannah countries deliberated to work together and network to improve the status of biodiversity information availability in the region under the umbrella of Opening Up The African Savannah Biodiversity Information. The initiative aims at establishing the African Savannah Biodiversity Information Facility (ASBIF), which will make the available biodiversity information of the savannahs biome accessible to the scientific community. Specifically this project proposes to establish a functional biodiversity information facility that will provide long-term and unified access to all relevant sources of biodiversity information for science and environmental management. Secondly it proposes to establish a regional network of data providers and users of biodiversity information who are able to access and exploit the data for scientific, conservation and development. Thirdly it proposes to install a set of tools and procedures for developing and sustaining a regional biodiversity facility. Finally it proposes to facilitate partnerships for funding of regional capacity enhancement in individual countries. A pilot project  is proposed to be implemented in four institutions namely, Natural History Museum of Zimbabwe, National Museums of Kenya, Tanzania Biodiversity Information Facility and Université Shalom de Bunia in DRC. We call upon interested mentor, donor and experts to support this initiative for the benefit of the world.