An International Workshop
Creating the Information Commons for e-Science:
Toward Institutional Policies and Guidelines for Action
 UNESCO Headquarters, Paris, France
1-2 September 2005


Case Study:

Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)

James L. Edwards, Executive Secretary
Global Biodiversity Information Facility

The Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) (http://www.gbif.org/) is an independent intergovernmental organisation with the goal of making primary scientific biodiversity data openly and universally available over the Internet. The idea for GBIF arose in a working group of the Megascience Forum of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). In 1999 OECD science ministers endorsed the proposal to establish GBIF, but insisted that it be developed outside of OECD and be open to participation by any country, economy or relevant international organisation.

GBIF came into existence in March 2001. It was established via a simple, non-binding Memorandum of Understanding, with Voting Participants paying a yearly contribution based on Gross Domestic Product. This has proven to be a flexible, efficient mechanism that has allowed GBIF to move into operation much quicker than if it had followed the more traditional, treaty-based approach to founding an intergovernmental body.

GBIF's major product is a prototype data portal (www.gbif.net) which at the end of July 2005 provided access to more than 78 million data records served by more than 130 data providers located in 30 countries. The portal specialises in species and specimen data, but eventually intends to link to a wide range of other kinds of biodiversity information.

Each data provider retains control and intellectual property rights to the information it serves. Some providers restrict access to sensitive data elements, such as the geographic localities of endangered species, but otherwise the data are not distributed under copyright or database licenses. Any restrictions on data use are stipulated in the metadata for each database. Users of the system agree to cite the source databases in any publications or other reuses of the data and to abide by any terms and conditions set by the providers.

An independent review of GBIF's first three years of activities, carried out by CODATA and KPMG and completed in February 2005, characterised GBIF as "the right initiative at the right time with the right goals".