The Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) launched a new data portal during a side-event, at the margins of the twelfth meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA), which opened this morning at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris.
In welcoming the launch of the new data portal, Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, said, “The creation of this new portal comes at a time when the Parties are enhancing their efforts to achieve the 2010 biodiversity target. This new portal will make a significant contribution in building the capacity of countries – including repatriation of data to countries of origin, and in promoting free exchange of biodiversity information among countries.”
The GBIF portal will also complement the Convention’s clearing-house mechanism (CHM) which seeks to support the Convention's thematic and cross-cutting programmes of work by promoting cooperation, exchanging information and developing a network of partners. The clearing-house mechanism also seeks to increase public awareness of Convention programmes and issues.
http://www.cbd.int/chm
The press release issued by GBIF on the launch of the data portal can be found at http://www.gbif.org/Stories/STORY1183131151. Data can be downloaded from: http://data.gbif.org
For additional information, please contact Marie Aminata Khan at +1 514 287 8701;
