The Central African Biodiversity Information Network (CABIN) A Contribution to the Sub-Saharan African Biodiversity Information Network (SABIN)

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The Central African Biodiversity Information
Network (CABIN)A Contribution to the Sub-Saharan
African Biodiversity Information Network (SABIN)

• Patricia Mergen, Charles Kahindo, Michel
  Louette, Franck Theeten, Bart Meganck
• Royal Museum for Central Africa, Leuvensesteenweg
  13, 3080 Tervuren, Belgium
• Université de Kisangani, Centre Universitaire
  extension Bukavu, DR Congo

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Royal Museum for Central Africa Tervuren, Belgium
Multidisciplinary Institution dedicated to
Sub-Saharan Africa
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Cooperation and Development, Biodiversity
Information and Education
The RMCA promotes interdisciplinary knowledge
about African societies and their natural
environments and make a substantial contribution
to sustainable development in Africa by
- providing training sessions and study visits
for African scientists (ABIC / Fishbase / Wood
biology / Geodata Management / Studying Colonial
History during the Post-Colonial Era)- promoting
knowledge of Africa among the Belgian
public- providing access to digital information
sources- cooperating with African institutes and
museums- ... http//www.africamuseum.be/research
/cooperation
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Afrotropical Zoology Department
The Zoological Collections hold specimens from
nearly 125,000 species 7-8 million invertebrates
of 117,000 species and 1.5 million vertebrates of
6,115 species and hold the holotype material for
26,615 insect, 543 fishes, 240 birds, 104
reptiles, 81 amphibians and 36 mammals. Including
paratypes the collections hold a total of nearly
250,000 types. RMCA has nearly half of the 3,000
type specimens in the world for African
freshwater fishes
Michel LOUETTE, Marc DE MEYER, Rudy JOCQUE
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Geology and Mineralogy Department
The mineral collection consists of 10,255
ordinary minerals (in 988 species), 1,077
radioactive minerals and 170 asbestos samples
(accessible under European safety regulations).
There are 20,000 well-documented (micro)fossils
including both fauna and flora species of
Phanerozoic deposits of the Central African
region. African map library (historical maps,
satellite images, aerial photographs Several
geology/zoology joint projects (MIDAS,
Info-Source for Africa, GNOSIS, ESA projects, )
FP7 Georesources for Africa, links to TDWG and
OGC
Jean LAVREAU, Max FERNANDEZ, DELVAUX DE FENFFE
Damien
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Example showing butterfly sampling points and
available geological maps
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Example showing satellite images, aerial
photographs, meteorological stations and birds
sampling points
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Forestry and Agronomy unit

• Impact of land use, conservation, erosion due to
  agriculture, forestry and mining activities,
  economical botany, human and veterinary medicinal
  plants
• Xylological collections The RMCA keeps one of
  the largest collections of wood samples in the
  world (57000 samples from nearly 13,000 different
  species, from 3,009 genera and 265 families).
  Focuses are on the commercial timbers and the
  family of Meliaceae. Herbarium specimens and
  living plants hosted at the National Botanical
  Garden of Belgium
• First Belgian Data served to GBIF

Hans Beeckman
Library
The RMCA maintains an extensive library on
African biodiversity, including the top
scientific journals, but also a unique collection
of rare, old colonial publications. Scientific
staff master ten languages consequently, the
library and reprint documentation is unusually
multilingual.
Ethnography, History (including prehistory and
contemporary history), traditional music,
museology (Joint exhibitions with Africa),
cooperation and development, administration ?
Involve local scientists and public
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PROVIDING ACCESS TO ALBERTINE RIFT BIODIVERSITY
DATA
Erik Verheyen, Jos Snoeks, Ugo DallAlsta,
Piet Stoffelen Patricia Mergen Royal
Belgian Institute for Natural Sciences, Brussels,
Belgium Royal Museum for Central Africa,
Tervuren, Belgium National Botanic Garden,
Meise, Belgium Belgian Biodiversity Platform IT
Services (BeBIF), Brussels, Belgium
ENBI/SP2000 Stockholm 2005
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INCLUDED GROUPS
Cichlid fishes from lakes Tanganyika Kivu
Butterflies from DR Congo, Rwanda, Burundi,
Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda
Birds from DR Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda,
Kenya, Tanzania the Albertine Rift
Coffee plants from DR Congo (Albert Park),
Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda
Kenya
DR Congo
Tanzania
http//projects.bebif.be/enbi/
ENBI/SP2000 Stockholm 2005
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RMCA and SYNTHESYS NETWORK ACTIVITY D, EDIT WP 5.4
Providing itinerary related datasets and tools
(for integration, visualization and quality
check)
Danny Meirte, Bart Meganck, Franck Theeten,
Patricia Mergen
http//synthesys.africamuseum.be/
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http//193.190.223.48/biocase/pywrapper.cgi?dsaRM
CA_Amphibians
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Examples of RMCA activities in EDIT
WP5.1 Assessment of the IT infrastructure WP5.4
Task leader of Geospatial components WP7 ATBI
in Tanzania Eastern Arc WP8 Assessment of
training resources for Taxonomists
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Many projects A lot of information and data Many
collaborations with African partners Many
collaborations with partners working on Africa
outside of Africa Expertise in taxonomy,
biodiversity, trainings and Information standards
SABIN Sub-Saharan African Biodiversity
Information Network
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PLAN

• Assessment of IT resources and Biodiversity
  Information resources in African institutions
• Analysis of priority needs and selection of
  Biodiversity Information resources to meet GBIF
  and TDWG standards
• Setting up of a thematic Central African portal
  advertising specifically the information already
  available through the GBIF network and other
  networks
• African Partners trained on how to access and to
  use Biodiversity Information Data presented to
  GBIF

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PLAN (cont)

• Enhance African Partners IT infrastructure to
  enable them to present data to GBIF
• Together with RMCA ICT unit provide more African
  biodiversity information to GBIF, mirroring
  activities and implementation of a high level IT
  infrastructure (for example Geospatial Data
  Infrastructure)
• Train African partners to GBIF and TDWG
  Biodiversity data standards and sharing tools
• - Initiate pilot joint research activities
  between developed countries institutions and
  African partner institutions by making usage of
  primary Biodiversity Information available
  through the GBIF network, for example in the
  field of predictive distribution modeling, gap
  analysis, conservation, decision making.

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Framework agreement the Royal Museum for Central
Africa (RMCA) and the Belgian Directorate-General
for Development Cooperation (DGDC), June 1998
Framework 2008-2012 Info-Sources for Africa
CENTRAL AFRICAN BIODIVERSITY INFORMATION NETWORK
(CABIN) Full title The Central African
Biodiversity Information Network (CABIN), a
Contribution to Sub-Saharan African Biodiversity
Information Network (SABIN) Activity
category  south activity Activity type
provide access to information sources and systems
to African countries / partner institutions /
researchers Duration  5 years Promoter RMCA
Patricia Mergen Budget asked 432 000 Euro
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Additional funding sources and collaborations to
have CABIN grow to SABIN

• JRS Biodiversity Foundation (pre-proposal stage
  accepted, full proposal submitted)
• GBIF calls
• Presented at CETAF, TDWGJoint proposals with
  institutions interested
• Foundations, EU grants, (North-North,
  North-south, South-South)
• API (African Plant Initiative)

A few numbers

• Botanical Garden at the University of Kisangani
  (Forest Plan Species 400 species in 1986 gt 330 in
  1996 gt 296 in 1999 gt 258 in 2004)
• the collection in Yangambi contains 160,756
  specimens representing 6,909 species and 661
  families and several hundreds of types

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Thank you for your Attention !