IODE Steering Group for OBIS (SG-OBIS), second session, IOC Project Office for IODE, Oostende, Belgium, 19-21 November 2012
IOC/IODE (2012). IODE Steering Group for OBIS (SG-OBIS), second session, IOC Project Office for IODE, Oostende, Belgium, 19-21 November 2012. IOC Reports of Meetings of Experts and Equivalent Bodies, IOC/IODE-SG-OBIS-II/3. UNESCO: Paris . 30 pp.
Part of: IOC Reports of Meetings of Experts and Equivalent Bodies. UNESCO: Paris. ISSN 1014-9538
The Second Session of the IODE Steering Group for OBIS took place at the IOC Project Officefor IODE, Oostende, Belgium on 19–21 November 2012. In 2012, OBIS has undergone changesin management and operation, and all activities previously carried out at Rutgers University, USAhave now been transferred to the IOC Project Office for IODE in Oostende, Belgium. Themeeting resulted in several decisions and recommendations that will move OBIS forward. Inaddition, several task teams were formed to further develop OBIS and support the execution ofthe 2013 Work Plan. The new data system architecture was presented and new procedures willbecome operational from June 2013 onwards. It is expected that this will greatly enhance the dataflow and provide tools to further improve data quality.Despite the fact that the new OBIS manager was only recruited in May 2012, considerableprogress was made with establishing international partnerships, engaging OBIS in globalinitiatives and increasing public awareness through social media. In 2012, 92 new datasets werecollected and integrated in OBIS. OBIS now integrates 1,125 datasets, serving 33 million georeferencedspecies observations of 120,000 marine species and is by far the largest globaldatabase of its kind. OBIS is increasingly picked-up by the scientific community; scientificpapers using OBIS data appear on a weekly basis (80 publications in 2012) and 50,000 peoplevisited the data portal in 2012 (35% are returning visitors). OBIS continues playing a crucial rolein providing guidance and information for the identification of Ecologically or BiologicallySignificant marine Areas (a process developed within the Convention on Biological Diversity).The 22 OBIS nodes (data assembly centres) are engaged in a wide spectrum of activities, whichdemonstrates that the role of OBIS is not limited to raw data encoding but also to develop toolsand products and offering services (including capacity building) for data-science and sciencepolicyactivities on a local, regional to global scale.In 2013, the task teams will produce an IOC Manual and Guides for OBIS nodes that will includethe definition of OBIS nodes, the terms of reference and procedure to establish OBIS nodes,standards and best practices (OBIS handbook) and a section on quality assurance, criteria andevaluation of OBIS nodes.Funding remains an issue for the OBIS project office as well as for many OBIS nodes. TheNovember 2011 decision of the USA to cease funding to UNESCO is threatening all programmesand activities of the IOC, including OBIS. OBIS now relies almost completely on extra budgetaryfunding. An OBIS business plan will be finalized early 2013 and will address OBIS' vision andmission, objectives and key priorities, budget needs in relation to the work plan and potentialfunding opportunities. An OBIS data manager, bringing the staff to two professional positions,will join the OBIS project office in 2013.
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