GBIF has published its Annual Report for 2012, alongside a new Science Review detailing peer-reviewed papers making use of GBIF-mediated data.
Another innovation in the 2012 report is the presentation of regional summary sections, highlighting news and examples of biodiversity data publication, data use and training events in each of the six GBIF regions.
The Science Review compiles over 230 research publications that cited use of data accessed through GBIF in 2012. They were extracted from a continuing programme by the GBIF Secretariat to monitor scientific literature and tag papers according to use, discussion and mention of GBIF, through the Mendeley academic archiving platform.
The review is divided into sections for key subject areas covered by GBIF-assisted research. They include invasive alien species, impacts of climate change, species conservation and protected areas, agriculture and human health.
Among the summary highlights listed in the Annual Report are:
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An increase of nearly 20 per cent in data published through GBIF from institutions around the world, reaching 382 million species occurrence records by December;
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Over half a million visitors to the GBIF global data portal, with over 22,000 recorded data downloads;
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The decision of Brazil to join GBIF as a national Participant;
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The demonstration of an early version of a toolkit to help countries and organizations start up a website on biodiversity.
In a foreword to the Annual Report, the Chair of the GBIF Governing Board Joanne Daly and Executive Secretary Donald Hobern write: "GBIF has continued to increase its relevance as a significant resource for biodiversity research and for supporting the needs of decision-makers.
"GBIF has evolved from a pioneering phase in which our global community explored and defined the processes and models for making biodiversity data available.
"Our wide-ranging network of Participants is now delivering an effective and highly-functional global infrastructure that is ready to scale up as volumes of available data increase."
Printed copies of the Annual Report and Science Review are available on request from the GBIF Secretariat.
For more information, contact Tim Hirsch.