GBIF Africa Biodiversity Information for Development (BID) Data Mobilisation Training Workshop
Good morning, colleagues, representatives of the GBIF Secretariat, trainers and participants.
It is a pleasure to welcome you to the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) and to Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden for the GBIF Africa Biodiversity Information for Development (BID) Data Mobilisation Training Workshop.
On behalf of SANBI, I would like to extend a warm welcome to all participants who have travelled from across Africa to join us for this important capacity-development activity.
I would particularly like to acknowledge Dr Mélianie Raymond, Programme Head of Community and Capacity at the GBIF Secretariat, and Laura Anne Russell, Training Officer for Community and Capacity, who is leading this training event. We are also pleased to welcome the wider GBIF Secretariat team and regional support colleagues whose contributions are helping to make this workshop possible.
I would also like to recognise our trainers and technical facilitators, Ben Freeman, Luke Jimu, Fhatani Ranwashe, and regional support contractors Laban Musinguzi, Tsiky Rabetrano, for sharing their expertise and guiding participants through the practical components of the workshop.
We are grateful to the European Union, whose funding through the Directorate-General for International Partnerships (INTPA) supports the BID programme. This represents an important investment in strengthening biodiversity data mobilisation and institutional capacity across Africa.
The importance of the BID programme in Africa
The Biodiversity Information for Development programme is an important GBIF initiative. Its central purpose is to strengthen the capacity of institutions and countries to mobilise biodiversity data, make these data openly accessible and support their application in research, policy and decision-making.
The importance of this work cannot be overstated.
Africa is home to extraordinary biodiversity, but significant gaps remain in the availability, accessibility and use of biodiversity information. Biodiversity data are generated and held by universities, museums, research institutions, government departments, conservation organisations and individual researchers across the continent. However, much of this information remains inaccessible, fragmented or insufficiently standardised to support wider scientific and policy needs.
The challenge is therefore not simply about generating more biodiversity data. It is also about ensuring that the information we already have is properly mobilised, organised, quality-assured, published and made available for reuse.
This is where biodiversity informatics and initiatives such as GBIF play an essential role.
Open and accessible biodiversity data provide an important evidence base for understanding biodiversity change, monitoring conservation outcomes, supporting environmental assessments and informing national and international biodiversity commitments, including the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
The BID programme recognises that achieving these objectives requires more than financial investment. It requires technical skills, institutional capacity, collaboration and sustained commitment to sharing biodiversity information.
The 2025 BID Call for Proposals and approved African projects
The 2025 BID Call for Proposals for Africa represented an important opportunity to strengthen biodiversity data mobilisation across sub-Saharan Africa.
Following a competitive selection process, 22 projects were selected for support. These projects are led by institutions in 16 African countries and involve 136 collaborating institutions across 35 countries.
This is particularly encouraging because it demonstrates the breadth of institutional interest and collaboration around biodiversity data mobilisation in Africa.
The approved portfolio reflects the diversity of biodiversity information needs across the continent. Projects address areas such as natural history collections, plant diversity, pollinators, aquatic biodiversity, microbial data, invasive alien species, biodiversity monitoring and the mobilisation of data for conservation and policy applications.
Importantly, these projects are not simply about making datasets available online. They seek to address specific biodiversity information gaps and strengthen the capacity of institutions to generate, manage, publish and use biodiversity information.
The multi-institutional nature of many of these projects is also significant. Building effective partnerships between institutions and countries is essential if we are to move beyond isolated data mobilisation efforts towards more coordinated and sustainable approaches to biodiversity information sharing.
To all the project representatives here today: congratulations on having your proposals selected. Your projects represent an important contribution to strengthening the biodiversity information landscape in Africa.
You now have an opportunity, and a responsibility, to translate these funded proposals into tangible outcomes.
Why this training matters
This brings us to the purpose of our gathering over the next three days.
The training is an integral part of the capacity-development support associated with the BID programme. Each selected project is required to nominate a representative to participate in a biodiversity data mobilisation capacity-enhancement workshop and obtain the associated skills certification.
This is an important requirement because the success of the BID projects will depend not only on the activities described in their proposals, but also on the ability of the participating institutions and their teams to implement those activities effectively.
The training has therefore been designed to provide practical, applied knowledge that participants can take back to their respective institutions and project teams.
Over the next three days, you will engage with biodiversity data standards, including Darwin Core, data capture and processing, data cleaning and validation, and the use of tools such as OpenRefine. You will also be introduced to the Integrated Publishing Toolkit, which supports the publication of biodiversity datasets through GBIF, as well as the Global Registry of Scientific Collections.
These are important technical capabilities within the biodiversity data mobilisation process.
However, I would encourage participants to look beyond the individual tools and technical exercises. The real value of this training will be demonstrated when the knowledge gained here is applied within your projects and institutions.
I would encourage you to think about how you will share these skills with colleagues, how you will strengthen your institutional data management practices, and how you will ensure that the datasets mobilised through your projects are maintained, accessible and used beyond the duration of the BID funding.
The expectation should be that this training serves as a catalyst for wider institutional capacity development, rather than an intervention that benefits only the individual participants attending this workshop.
SANBI’s role and partnership with GBIF
SANBI, through the SANBI-GBIF Node, has a longstanding commitment to strengthening biodiversity data mobilisation, management and publication in South Africa and across the African region. Over the years, we have worked with national institutions and partners to build capacity, strengthen data publishing practices and make biodiversity information more accessible for research, conservation and decision-making.
SANBI-GBIF’s contribution to the BID programme extends beyond hosting this workshop. We contribute to the programme through participation in its Advisory Committee, bringing a regional perspective and supporting the programme’s broader objectives of strengthening biodiversity data mobilisation and institutional capacity.
SANBI also serves as the GBIF Africa Regional Representative, providing an important link between African GBIF Nodes, the GBIF Secretariat and the wider global biodiversity informatics community. This role provides an opportunity to strengthen regional collaboration, share experience and identify opportunities to advance biodiversity data mobilisation and capacity across the continent.
This workshop is therefore an important part of a broader effort to strengthen the skills, institutional capacity and regional connections needed to advance biodiversity informatics in Africa. It is through sustained collaboration between national institutions, regional networks and global partners that we can ensure biodiversity data are not only mobilised and published, but are also accessible, used and translated into meaningful scientific and policy outcomes.’
A wider week of GBIF-Africa engagement
This training also forms part of a broader week of GBIF-Africa activities that SANBI is pleased to host in Cape Town.
Following the training, 8 November will provide an opportunity for networking and informal engagement through an excursion to Table Mountain.
This will be followed by the GBIF Africa Node Managers Meeting on 9–10 November, which will bring together representatives of the regional GBIF network for discussions on collaboration, coordination and the continued development of biodiversity informatics in Africa.
Although these are separate activities with different participant groups and objectives, together they reflect the importance of combining practical capacity development with opportunities for professional exchange and regional cooperation.
We hope that the interactions during this week will contribute to stronger relationships and continued collaboration across the biodiversity information community.
Closing and formal opening
In closing, I would like to encourage all participants to make the most of the next three days.
Engage actively with the trainers, ask questions, share your experiences and challenges, and learn from the different institutional contexts represented in this room.
Most importantly, take the knowledge and skills gained here back to your institutions and translate them into practical results through your BID projects.
The longer-term success of this initiative will be measured not only by the number of people trained or datasets published, but also by the extent to which we strengthen institutional capacity and make biodiversity information more accessible and useful for science, conservation and decision-making across Africa.
Before I conclude, I would like to acknowledge the SANBI team who have worked behind the scenes to make this event possible. In particular, our SANBI-GBIF Node Manager, Fatima Parker-Allie, together with Maxine Manickum, Razeena Arai and Minoli Appalasamy, who have coordinated the local arrangements and supported the hosting of this workshop.
I would also like to thank the GBIF Secretariat, our trainers, the European Union and all participating institutions for their contributions to making this workshop possible.
SANBI is delighted to host you, and we wish you a productive and rewarding training experience.
It is now my pleasure to officially open the GBIF Africa BID Data Mobilisation Training Workshop.
Thank you.