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Introduction
The Tanzania Biodiversity Information Facility (TanBIF) www.tanbif.or.tz is
Tanzania’s national network coordinating node for participation in the
Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). It was established on
30th August 2007 with the overall aim of furthering technical and
scientific efforts to promote the mobilization, sharing and utilization
of biodiversity data and information in Tanzania. TanBIF is an output
of the Capacity Enhancement Programme for Developing Countries
(CEPDEC), a programme designed by GBIF and implemented in Tanzania by
the Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH) in
collaboration with GBIF. Thanks to a grant provided by the Royal Danish
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tanzania has been the first country in the
world to implement and benefit from the GBIF-CEPDEC framework.
Figure 1. 4th TanBIF National Committee Meeting,
COSTECH Conference Hall, 7th August 2008
TanBIF comprises a wide range of Participants, including
national institutions, departments, agencies and organizations that
intend to provide free and universal access to data and information
regarding Tanzania’s biodiversity, captured to GBIF’s globally-mediated
standards.
The TanBIF National Committee is the means by which the
Participants make collective decisions on all matters relating to
TanBIF. The Committee is lead by Prof. Alfeo M. Nikundiwe. Members of
the Committee are Prof. Pantaleo Munishi, Dr. Simon Mduma, Dr. Flora
Ismail, Dr. Zakaria Mbwambo, Dr. Bakari Msangi, Dr. Joseph Mligo, Mr.
Onespholy Kamukuru, Mr. Hamza Rijal, Mr. Efrem-Fred A. Njau and Ms.
Edna Nyika.
The TanBIF Secretariat carries out a Work Programme that
strictly adheres to the plans and directives of the National Committee.
The Secretariat is comprised of the Executive Secretary, Mr. Theophilus
Mlaki, the Node Manager, Ms. Hulda Gideon and the IT Officer, Mr.
Hezron Makundi.
Figure
2. In the TanBIF portal it is possible to find all the contact details
about the TanBIF members, including the National Committee, the expert
group members, and the Secretariat. http://www.tanbif.or.tz/contentpage.php?cat=partners&pag=secretariat.
Service and contents of www.tanbif.or.tz
The TanBIF Portal www.tanbif.or.tz
is a service that provides access to biodiversity data that are being
shared via the TanBIF and the GBIF networks. The Portal is a
multilingual website that provides data on Tanzanian species, specimens
and observations held inside and outside Tanzania. Through the Portal
you can access biodiversity news in both Kiswahili and English.
Figure 3. Overview of the TanBIF Portal homepage.
This Portal has been developed by ETI-BioInformatics in the
Netherlands as part of the GBIF-CEPDEC Pilot Project in Tanzania to
provide long-term, unified access to all relevant sources of
biodiversity data and information held inside and outside Tanzania.
Thanks to the Royal Danish Ministry of foreign Affairs for sponsoring
the GBIF-CEPDEC Pilot Project. Tanzanians are now accessing
biodiversity data and information that are held outside Tanzania, but
also many resources that are served by experts and institutions within
the country. Biodiversity data are searchable through the Portal, and
results may be shown as a list of records or as an occurrence map http://www.tanbif.or.tz/search_map.php
The Portal enables biodiversity experts to discuss issues of
biodiversity through an online forum.
http://www.tanbif.or.tz/forum/index.php
Students can browse the Portal and learn how to identify
various species using an online identification key, including
photographs, common names, and easy to recognise characters ( http://www.tanbif.or.tz/lin2/tanbif_linnaeus.php?menuentry=soorten).
This portal is still in its infancy. It will be launched
officially during the GBIF-GB15 in Arusha, Tanzania by the Vice
President of Tanzania, the Honorable Dr. Ali Mohammed Shein on November
5th. You are all welcome!!!!!
Networking and Cooperation
TanBIF is a consortium of National
institutions/departments/organizations http://www.tanbif.or.tz/contentpage.php?cat=partners&pag=members
which believe in the following:
- Biodiversity data and information are indispensable
resources to support sound policies and decision making in Tanzania
towards sustainable development
- Access to biodiversity data and information will help
Tanzania to address important issues of great social and economic
relevance such as land planning, setting up and managing protected
areas, identifying and tracking agricultural pests and diseases of
livestock, wildlife and humans and predicting the spread of invasive
species
- TanBIF is a tool towards achieving the MDGs and the
National Development Vision 2025.
TanBIF collaborates with National and International Partners
to assure the free and open access on the Internet to the country’s
biodiversity data and information.
Prospects for the Future
- Facilitating research, mobilisation and digitisation of
primary biodiversity data so that more data can be available in the
Internet.
- Provide more training in order to enhance usage of
scientific data in biodiversity policy, decision-making and science.
- Expand our outreach activities to make the Society familiar
with TanBIF activities and convince institutions and organizations to
publish their data through TanBIF Portal.
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