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We can foster collaboration and improve the results of Biodiversity

Informatics

Antonio Mauro Saraiva Universidade de São PauloResearch Center on Biodiversity and Computing - BioCompAgricultural Automation Laboratory

It is not a question !

It is an affirmation !

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Biodiversity Informatics has clearly evolved

Standards development and adoption has increased

New national and global systems Digitization and sharing has increased

GBIF data portal• 405.720.566 indexed registers• 10.139 datasets • 493 publishers

Tim Hirsch, GBIF

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But we are lagging behind the needs of Biodiversity Biodiversity and ecosystem services are

still under huge threat Millennium ecosystem assessment CBD 2010 report IPCC 2013 report …

We have an important role to help change it The increasing power of ICTs is in our hands

How close are our systems hitting their target?How fit for use are they?

Are they effective ?in terms of biodiversity conservation &

sustainable use?

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We already know we need systems with

Richer data content Better quality data Wider coverage (geography and time) Better (& ever changing...) user interfaces Mobile portability More robust modeling algorithms Different contents for different audiences . . . (That) support decision & policy making more

effectively

Huge task!Heavy load!

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In order to achieve that, we need

To be more effective Faster and better results Get more with less money Global engagement

Our systems to be sustainable in the long run Keep alive / online Keep getting new data Keep evolving technologically

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We need

Less repetition, less competition

More collaboration

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New systems, old efforts

How much effort (& time & money) could be saved if we could develop new systems building on top of the best of previous systems?

Learning from previous experiences (good and bad) Sharing code or services Advancing technically mutually Leveraging funding mutually Speeding up biodiversity informatics worldwide

Heterosis or hybrid vigor: Hybrids are sometimes stronger than either parent variety

That is where more collaboration can make a

difference

That is where more collaboration can make a

difference

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Challenges & Opportunities () for collaboration

Willingness Awareness Organization Funding

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Willingness

Do we want to share what we have done? To which extent?

Data must be shared! What about software ?????

Open software is nice (if it is your software) State funded software ~ state funded data ?

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Willingness (2) – Collab is a two way road “Come be part of MY big project and share

YOUR data” approach Get some credit (well hidden in the metadata…) Get feedback on your data problems, etc

Reciprocity is welcome Provide services back:

• ex. aggregated data from others

Share a tool to build a local node of the “big project”

• Hierarchical structure

Collaboration as a partnership, more symmetricalCollaboration as a partnership, more symmetrical

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Good examples

GBIF Receives data from all over

• Global data portal

Provides tools: free software• Data portal tool, IPT, HIT• National /local level

Provides training ALA – Atlas of Living Australia

Open software Coaching groups in Brazil, Costa Rica and Spain

Their funding (working capacity) is limited …

Their funding (working capacity) is limited …

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Awareness

What is out there ? Where to look for existing projects,

experiences, tools, software, methods? TDWG can help

An up-to-date project repository? • TDWG´s “Biodiversity Information Projects of the World”

TDWG Interest Groups & Task Groups• Focal points for specific topics• But they need to be active !!!

TDWG meetings role (one of)

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Organization

Collaboration in software development is a challenge

Requires methods, tools, leadership: feasible

GBIF, TDWG and others might take the lead in proposing some structure to it Services that might be developed and provided Training, guidelines (standards), etc. Collaborate globally and act locally

Some of it has been done? Let´s do it better!

Some of it has been done? Let´s do it better!

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Funding (& Sustainability )

Funding agencies want brand new products Innovation, visibility Can be a problem

Opportunities International collaboration and visibility is welcome Technical and budgetary arguments for software

reuse Collaborators can get funding for specific

components• Why not have GBIF/ALA partners working on specific parts of

their systems regularly?

Co-funding, distributed fundingCo-funding, distributed funding

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IABIN – PTN as an example

Pollinators Thematic Network (PTN) InterAmerican Biodiversity Information Network

(IABIN) Tasks:

IT infrastructure: data portal, digitization tool, experts roster Data Digitization: seed money Training

Budget (~ US$180k) Distributed team: Pollinator Partnership, USP,

Smithsonian/ITIS, NBII/USGS Distributed partners: LatAm countries institutions

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IABIN-PTN: Collaboration was fundamental GBIF - data portal

Code (under development at that time) Support (add other data/schema: interaction)

NBII/USGS expert roster USP – sw dev. and additional funding in Brazil All team: commitment, enthusiasm,

collaboration, despite the huge difficulties Team building with the colleagues from other

LatAm countries Training and seed money for digitization

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specimens interactions

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Do you have a plan?

Data quality Good example of expertise that can be shared

also as code, services, training, etc Symposium on Data Quality

Presentations on Monday and Tuesday Proposal of an Interest Group (TDWG)

Place to organize, collaborate, share … Will we collaborate ?

Not every area has such potential to collaborate as Biodiversity

InformaticsA strong group of volunteers and

enthusiastsTwo organizations such as TDWG and

GBIFLeading role & Recognition

Of course there has been collaboration !

But we need much more !!!

Is this an utopia?

Most of what we do now would be considered an utopia 20 years ago…

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Grazie ! Obrigado! Thank you !

Antonio Mauro Saraiva

BioComp – Research Center on Biodiversity and Computing

Universidade de São Paulo - USP

saraiva@usp.br www.biocomp.org.br