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The CABIN project is multidisciplinary, involving several departments and units of RMCA. Contacts have already been made to involve other institutions in Belgium, Europe and worldwide holding information on Africa.
Activities of this project, which each include both training and capacity building aspects, focus on:
- Assessing the needs of scientists from Central Africa in terms of access to taxonomic and biodiversity information on the Internet.
- Helping researchers from Central Africa identify collections, databases and literature in their possession that are relevant to online publishing
- Involving scientists from Central Africa and RMCA in digitising, accessing and sharing data using protocols and tools compatible with GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility) and TDWG (Taxonomic Database Working Group) standards.
This project will contribute to the GBIF Capacity Enhancement Programme for Developing Countries (CEPDEC). CABIN is the first building block of a larger initiative announced at the 2007 Annual Meeting of TDWG: Sub-Saharan African Biodiversity Information Network (SABIN). The aims of SABIN are to collaborate with existing initiatives in the region and to encourage new projects, as well as to promote additional funding in the region and in the discipline.
Enthusiastic persons who work on African-biodiversity related information are invited to contact us. We will refer to their activities on the SABIN website (opening soon), and discuss additional fund raising possibilities with them.
Contacts at the Biodiversity Information Unit of the RMCA are Patricia">http://mailto:Patricia.Mergen@africamuseum.be">Patricia Mergen and Franck">http://mailto:Franck.Theeten@africamuseum.be">Franck Theete.
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