Additional information on implementation of this programme of work

Release date	14/02/2006

Conclusions

Belgium has an excellent infrastructure for taxonomy, not only in the major taxonomic institutions but also at universities and regional research institutes. The country possesses major collections and comprehensive libraries, many of which are of great historical importance. In the past few years, Belgium has also set up a number of capacity building activities in the field of taxonomy, therefore taking a rather proactive role in the implementation of the Global Taxonomy Initiative.

Despite the availability of a well-developed taxonomic infrastructure, funding for taxonomic research has declined over the years, generally to the profit of other scientific disciplines. This has led to a decrease in research at the roots of biodiversity conservation. It has also placed the reference collections of natural history specimens at risk. Another worrying factor is the precarious nature of the taxonomic expert base. Belgian research increasingly relies on an aging taxonomic community, with permanent staff often over 50 years old and with a significant input by retired researchers and skilled amateurs who frequently have to self-fund their research. Finding enthusiastic young people with an interest in becoming taxonomists is probably not so hard. Major stumbling blocks are insufficient training opportunities, insufficient funding for research and a lack of long-term professional prospects.

Increased funding for basic taxonomic research and for the management of collections (including their transposition into digital form) is urgently needed. Training a new generation of young researchers and curators is also essential, not only in the more 'popular' disciplines of molecular systematics and bioinformatics, but also in the traditional approaches such as morphology and anatomy. It is only through those means that the loss of taxonomic expertise will be halted. The correct identification, description, classification and monitoring of biological diversity is an important factor - too often undervalued in the establishment of national policies for biodiversity - that allows successful and effective implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity and of other international agreements such as CITES. 

Major international and European initiatives and processes mentioned in the report (by alphabetical order) 

Biodiversity Collection Access Service for Europe (BIOCASE), 2001-2004: three-year research project funded by the European Commission, EESD Programme, to establish a web-based information service providing researchers with unified access to biological collections in Europe while leaving control of the information with the collection holders. Its objectives are to develop common procedures to network and share collection data across European biological collections, to implement a sustainable and expandable Biological Collection Access Service for Europe, to create an innovative information system with measurable amounts of data. The Belgian participant in the project is the National Botanic Garden of Belgium via its project 'Biodiversity Resources in Belgium' (BIODIV). http://www.biocase.org/ 

Common Access to Biotechnological Resources and Information (CABRI), 1996-1999: CABRI is an online service where users can search a number of European Biological Resource Centre catalogues. The catalogues may be searched independently, or as one, and the located materials ordered online or by post. The Belgian partner is the Belgian Coordinated Collections of Micro-organisms. http://www.cabri.org/ 

Consortium of European Taxonomic Facilities (CETAF): CETAF is a networked consortium of scientific institutions in Europe formed to promote training, research and understanding of systematic biology and palaeobiology as well as access to the information and expertise of its member institutions, by improving the efficiency of their taxonomic facilities through co-operation. In support of its aims, CETAF will act as a forum for the exchange of information and policies, working towards co-ordinated activities. It has produced a position paper: 'Biodiversity and Europe: the contribution of taxonomy and the European taxonomic facilities'. CETAF institutions worked together to set up the project 'SYNTHESIS' under the 6th Framework Programme for Research of the European Union. The Belgian representatives to CETAF are the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, the Royal Museum for Central Africa and the National Botanic Garden of Belgium. http://www.cetaf.org 

Creating a long term infrastructure for marine biodiversity research in the European economic area and the newly associated states (MARBENA), 2002-2005: MARBENA aims to develop a network and open its activities and engages cooperation with any interested partner, including museums of natural history, universities and government laboratories; to create a long-term research infrastructure, to create visibility for marine biodiversity issues and maintain the network via: communication with other initiatives, internet, (electronic) conferences, workshops, and projects. The Belgian partner is the Flanders Marine Institute. http://www.vliz.be/marbena 

European Biological Resource Centre Network (EBRCN), 2001-2004: The objectives of EBRCN are to: establish a network of biological resource centres; develop the European Standard for BRCs based on existing collection quality management systems; establish a framework to maximise complementarity and minimise unnecessary duplication among European BRCs; introduce new techniques in information technology to the EBRCN to add value to current catalogue information and enhance accessibility; collate and disseminate information on legislation on access to, and distribution of, living organisms and health and safety to BRCs and users through the EBRCN central web site. The Belgian partner is the Belgian Coordinated Collections of Micro-organisms. http://www.ebrcn.org/ 

European Nature Information System (EUNIS): this European information system is developed and managed by the European Topic Centre for Nature Protection and Biodiversity (ETC/NPB in Paris) for the European Environment Agency (EEA) and the European Environmental Information Observation Network(EIONET). EUNIS consists of a central unit integrating data models on species, habitats and sites; several secondary databases which are managed by different partners; and an increasing number of satellite databases. This data is used for environmental reporting and for assistance to the NATURA2000 process (EU Birds and Habitats Directives) and coordinated to the related EMERALD Network of the Bern Convention. Belgium contributes to EUNIS via its EEA national focal point and its regional nature & environment research centres (Flemish Institute of Nature Conservation, Walloon Research Centre for Nature, Forest and Wood, Brussels Institute for the Management of the Environment). http://eunis.eea.eu.int/ 

European Network for Biodiversity Information (ENBI), 2003-2006: ENBI is a thematic network funded by the European Union for a period of three years with the aim of coordinating Europe's efforts in the broad field of biodiversity information, and providing an integrated contribution to the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). Work package 5 'Cooperation of pan-European checklist and Species bank' database projects' has for one of its objectives to identify the gaps in taxonomic coverage, and associated data, and identify ways of filling them. Belgium is member of several of the ENBI work packages. The Belgian representatives in ENBI are the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, the Royal Museum for Central Africa and the National Botanic Garden of Belgium. http://www.enbi.info/ 

European Platform for Biodiversity Research Strategy (EPBRS), 2001-2005: The European Platform for Biodiversity Research Strategy is a forum for scientists and policy makers to ensure that research contributes to halting the loss of Biodiversity by 2010. The participants in the EPBRS Meeting held under the Italian Presidency in Florence, 20-24 November 2003 expressed their concern that taxonomy has not been recognized among the priorities of 6th Framework Programme for Research (FP-6) of the European Union. They prepared a paper called 'Supporting European taxonomy - current state and possible future actions' that was submitted to the European Commission. The Belgian representative to the EPBRS is the Belgian Biodiversity Platform. It is also in charge of the secretariat of the EPBRS. http://www.bioplatform.info/EPBRS.htm 

European Register of Marine Species (ERMS), 1998-2000: A 'Concerted Action' project funded under the European Union MAST research programme to produce a register of marine species in Europe, linked with a bibliography of identification guides, register of taxonomic experts, locations of collections of reference specimens, and an Information Pack on European marine biodiversity. http://www.vliz.be/vmdcdata/erms/index.php 

Fauna Europaea, 2000-2004: this project, funded under the 5th Framework Programme for Research of the European Union for a period of four years (2000-2004), was set up to assemble a database of the scientific names and distribution of all living multicellular European land and fresh-water animals. Other activities include the networking of researchers, database custodians, and users to build and maintain the database infrastructure that will promote continuity in the collation of validated taxonomic data, and the production of an overview of the state of art with respect to our knowledge and expertise (including gap analysis). The Belgian partner in the project is the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences. http://www.faunaeur.org/ 

Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF): the mission of GBIF is to make the world's primary data on biodiversity freely and universally available via the Internet. http://www.gbif.org 

Global Information System on Fishes (FishBase): FishBase is a global information system with all you ever wanted to know about fishes. It is a relational database with information to cater to different professionals such as research scientists, fisheries managers, zoologists and many more. FishBase on the web contains practically all fish species known to science. It was developed at the WorldFish Center in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and many other partners, and with support from the European Commission (EC). Since 2001 FishBase is supported by a consortium of seven research institutions, which includes a Belgian one: the Royal Museum for Central Africa. The Museum is responsible for all information concerning African fresh- and brackish water fishes http://www.fishbase.org. 

International Network for the Improvement of Banana and Plantain (INIBAP): This network was created in 1985, with the objectives of creating partnerships and supporting research carried out by its partners in both developing and industrialized countries. Many of the producing countries have limited research capacity, but participation in regional networks supported by INIBAP helps them to make the best use of available resources. INIBAP has established the world's largest Musa germplasm collection, which is located at KULeuven. INIBAP has put in place a system for the safe movement of these varieties, and this material is distributed freely worldwide. 

International Working Group on Taxonomic Databases (TDWG): TDWG is a not for profit scientific and educational association, affiliated to the International Union of Biological Sciences, formed to establish international collaboration among biological database projects so as to promote the wider and more effective dissemination of information about the World's heritage of biological organisms for the benefit of the world at large. To achieve its goals, TDWG (a) develops, adopts and promotes standards and guidelines for the recording and exchange of data about organisms, (b) promotes their use through the most appropriate and effective means, (c) acts as a forum for discussion through holding meetings and through publication such as a newsletter.Belgian Institutional Members are the Belgian Biodiversity Information Facility (BeBiF), the Belgian Co-ordinated Collections of Micro-Organisms (BCCM) and the National Botanic Garden of Belgium. One Belgian personal member also participates in TDWG (Dr Claude De Broyer, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences). http://www.tdwg.org/ 

Marine Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning (MARBEF), 2004-2008: The network aims at integrating research efforts by forming a group of marine scientists and institutes and creating a virtual European institute with a long-term research programme and dedicated links with industry and the public at large. This involves besides coordination of research the training, exchange and outreach activities in several relevant fields of science, including marine ecology and biogeochemistry, fisheries biology, taxonomy and socio-economic sciences. Belgian partners are the Flanders Marine Institute and UGent. http://www.marbef.org/ 

Species 2000 is a "federation" of database organisations working closely with users, taxonomists and sponsoring agencies. The thrust of the Species 2000 plan is to create an array of participant global species databases covering each of the major groups of organisms. Each database will cover all known species in the group, using a consistent taxonomic system. Species 2000 has the objective of enumerating all known species of organisms on Earth (animals, plants, fungi and microbes) as the baseline dataset for studies on global biodiversity. http://www.sp2000.org/

Species 2000 Europa (official name: The Catalogue of Life: Biodiversity Resource and e-Science Gateway), 2003-2006: the project will establish the infrastructure to collate and sustain a comprehensive catalogue of organisms, using existing databases from taxonomic experts around Europe. It will display a uniform and validated synonymic checklist for those groups of plants, animals, fungi and micro-organisms currently available, including indigenous and non-indigenous species in Europe. It will operate as a desktop biodiversity resource on the Internet and GRID, as an e-science gateway, serving professionals and members of the public, and serving national, European and global biodiversity agencies including GBIF. The Belgian participant in the project is the National Botanic Garden of Belgium via its project 'Biodiversity Resources in Belgium' (BIODIV). http://sp2000europa.org/ 

Synthesis of systematic resources (SYNTHESYS), 2004-2008: the project aims to create an integrated European infrastructure for researchers in the natural sciences. It will bring together resources for scientific research, consisting of collections, institute facilities and expertise. The five-year grant comprises two parts: 1) Access: funding is available to provide scientists based in European Member and Associated States to undertake short visits to utilize the infrastructure (namely the collections, staff expertise and analytical facilities) at one of the 20 partner institutions for the purposes of their research., 2) Networking Activities: comprises a series of five Networking Activities (Complementarity, Standards, Databases, New collections, New analytical methods). The Belgian participants to SYNTHESYS are the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, the Royal Museum for Central Africa and the National Botanic Garden of Belgium. http://www.synthesys.info 

The tree of Life: a collaborative Internet project containing information about phylogeny and biodiversity. It is produced by biologists from around the world. On more than 2600 World Wide Web pages, the Tree of Life provides information about the diversity of organisms on Earth, their history, and characteristics. Belgian participants are: Dr Michel Milinkovitch, Free University of Brussels (Mammals) and Dr Ernest Schockaert, Limburgs Universitair Centrum (Platyhelminthes). http://tolweb.org/tree/