There were 110 registrations for the meeting from 23 Voting Participants, 23 Associate Participants, an Observer country (Uganda) and Secretariat Staff. The Governing Board (GB) meeting was an outstanding success fostered in no small way by the warmth of our welcome from our Tanzanian hosts, the Tanzanian Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH). A highlight for all was the superb field visit to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area where delegates saw biodiversity ‘in action’.

The GB had a tight agenda and through some focused work by delegates, all significant issues were dealt with. Details of decisions, discussions and reports will be available through www.gbif.org once all the draft reports are finalised. Some of the important issues discussed are summarised below:

• Towards the 1 billion records target: At GB14 we accepted the challenge from the new Executive Secretary to aim for 1 bn high quality records being served through the GBIF data portal by the end of 2008. Clearly we will not reach that target but the challenge provided a clear focus for Participants to increase activity to mobilise data in order to make GBIF most useful. The work of the Nodes Committee has shown that the current gap from reality to the target can be readily filled from available data – the issue is one of digitisation and mobilisation, and not one of lack of data.
• Towards a 2 billion + records target: The Secretariat facilitated an extensive consultation process to develop the 2009-10 Work Programme. The Science Committee had extensive input on the draft version of the programme along with the opportunity for comment as well from Participants. In final discussions at the GB meeting, the main issue was the extent of the stretch target of having 2 bn records served and the implication that would have on success measures should we not achieve that figure. The GB accepted that the responsibility for now taking ownership for activities, as spelt out in the document, lies squarely with the Participants, and, with a slight modification to the wording to aim for ‘up to’ 2bn records by the end of 2010, the Work Programme was agreed to and the Secretariat will draft some reporting processes for consultation.
• Implications for Participants: The shift in focus for GBIF from a Secretariat-centred approach to system development to one of a greater focus on Participant action is now in place. This has some significant implications with the expectation that Participants will take on greater responsibility to mobilise resources and capacity to take up activities and enhance individual member benefits from participating in GBIF. It is clear from the reports from Participant Nodes that less than half of the Participants manage to meet their obligations to serve biodiversity-relevant data and thus are not benefitting optimally from GBIF. The future success of GBIF through people using data served through GBIF to answer key questions is in jeopardy unless many Participants rapidly increase data mobilisation. The Secretariat has provided the tools – action must now move to the Participants. Over the next 12 months, GBIF will focus on gaining a greater understanding of the barriers to mobilisation and proposing some solutions.
• The future for GBIF: We are now approaching the mid-point in the current 5 year period for the MOU and it is gratifying to see growth since 2007: Voting Participants has grown from 28 to now 29 countries; Associate Participants Countries from 17 to now 20, and international organisations from 33 to now 39. However, the GB did debate the need for some form of Review and ‘Forward Look’ to assist Participants to prepare cases for ongoing participation when the current MOU expires in 2011. Amongst Voting Participants, there were split opinions on the essential need for a review and a ‘nice to have but not essential’ perspective. Clearly the GB wants a focused Review on performance towards expectations, but the means to achieve that has yet to be finalised. The Executive Committee had a subsequent discussion on this issue and the Secretariat will seek further input from Participants on the nature and form of the Review before the end of the year.
• Campaigns: Campaigns were proposed in the Strategic Plan as a means to widen involvement and funding for data mobilisation activities. At GB14 we agreed to provide ‘seed’ money for four Campaigns with the expectation that each would mobilise additional resources. Each Campaign reported progress at GB15, but the Board felt it was too early to measure the full success of the approach and agreed that no call for Campaigns should be issued in 2009. The Science Committee will seek further input and consider the future of Campaigns at its mid-year meeting.
• Leadership: A significant milestone was the transfer of the Chair for the Nodes Committee from Lawrence Way to Francesco Pando. Lawrence provided outstanding service to the Nodes and established many of the key principles and practices to make Nodes a central part of GBIF. The GB is facing some significant leadership changes at GB16 so members are urged to begin early consideration of candidates for these key positions.
• Financial issues: No doubt we will all be challenged with the current turmoil in the financial markets. We are in a sound financial position going forward into the new Work Programme with almost all arrears for 2008 now met and we urge Participants to consider early payment of 2009 obligations.
• Science: GB members attended the associated Science Symposium and witnessed some outstanding presentations on how GBIF data are being used to address some of the key environmental challenges we face such as climate change, invasive species and food security. The Ebbe Nielsen Prize was presented to Vince Smith (UK) for some very innovative approaches to shared workspace for taxonomists in the form of ‘Scratchpads’.
• Prestige: The GB was honoured by the presence of His Excellency, Dr Mohammed Ali Shein, Vice President, United Republic of Tanzania, to officially close the GB meeting and to launch TANBIF, the exemplar Participant-focused Tanzania Biodiversity Information Facility portal (www.tanbif.or.tz). His remarks reinforced the value of GBIF in addressing key issues facing developing nations such as Tanzania.

GBIF can look forward to an exciting and challenging year in 2009. I urge all Participants to look at their own structures and resources to mobilise relevant data and take up all the other relevant activities described in the Work Programme. We are already beginning to see significant benefits through data sharing and this can only increase, provided we ‘push the limits’ in mobilising resources in making the vision of GBIF a reality.