Agrotraining - Proofing GBIF use on agrobiodiversity through needs assessment and training | gbif.pt

Published on September 20, 2016

Highlights
Report publication: Questionnaire on the Needs in the Use of Agrobiodiversity Information
Open call for the training course "Use of Agrobiodiversity information in GBIF and other databases"
Launch of the Questionnaire on the Needs in the Use of Agrobiodiversity Information
Objectives The main goal of the project is to design and develop a training course on the use of agrobiodiversity information that will use GBIF and other relevant data sources. This goal will be reached following a three step process that includes: identify agrobiodiversity stakeholders’ main needs on biodiversity database tools in order to provide guidance in the development of training direct to the agrobiodiversity community, through participatory approaches; to develop a complete package of learning activities and outreach materials, designed to achieve the objectives of the training program, including a general assessment of the currently available tools and functionalities on biodiversity information and biodiversity informatics resources; to organize a regional training workshop, with proof verification of GBIF (and other sources) tools with respect to required formal specifications, in order to evaluate the system global effectiveness and identifying gaps limiting its use, either on types of essential information, or on the accessibility to it (e.g. taxonomic information, vernacular names, socioeconomic, nutritional or medical uses, mechanisms of pollination and seed dispersal, data visualisation, integration of other platforms, and so forth). Project partners Nó Português do GBIF (www.gbif.pt) GBIF Espanha (www.gbif.es) College F3 (Food, Farming and Forestry) (http://www.colegiof3.ulisboa.pt/) Duration July 2016 to June 2017 Funding Programme GBIF CESP 2016 10 000.00 EUR Co-funding 23 500.00 EUR News and Activities List of actions developed during the project. 24-01-2019 Publication of the report of the online survey "Questionnaire on the Needs in the Use of Agrobiodiversity Information" 29-06-2017 Training Course: Use of Agrobiodiversity information in GBIF and other databases 26-04-2017 Open call for the training course "Use of Agrobiodiversity information in GBIF and other databases" 17-04-2017 Launch of the Questionnaire on the Needs in the Use of Agrobiodiversity Information 10-02-2017 Workshop with stakeholders promotes identification of information needs on agrobiodiversity 14-11-2016 Workshop with stakeholders discusses needs on biodiversity information for agrobiodiversity Workshop Valorização da Agrobiodiversidade e a Importância da Informação em Bases de Dados para a Fileira da Vinha 23-09-2016 College F3 members receive training on GBIF 23-09-2016 New GBIF training project won by GBIF Portugal, in partnership with GBIF Spain and College F3, dedicated to agrobiodiversity Presentations Delivering Relevant Data - the case of agrobiodiversity. GBIF GB23 Public Symposium, Brasília, 26 Oct 2016 Summary In this project, we intend to respond effectively to new challenges in food production and security that rely on sustainable exploitation of crop wild relatives, landraces and neglected or underutilized species. Sustainable diets use local biodiversity, including traditional foods of indigenous and local ecosystems with their many sources of nutrient-rich species and varieties as readily-accessible and locally-empowering. Moreover, non-crops wild biodiversity is also of paramount importance to assist food production systems. For instance, in terms of European organic food public policy, one recognizes the urgency of robust information systems, which may rely on diversity patterns of indicator species. Agricultural systems and ecosystem services that farms provide to the surrounding landscape enhance the resilience to pressures and, for that, biodiversity information is essential to assess current status of agrobiodiversity, support the development of tools, such as predictive models, and test scenarios. In order to assess the response of GBIF to the agrobiodiversity community information needs, it is mandatory to cross-check GBIF data types and functionalities, including the existing and needed features on biodiversity information and biodiversity informatics, and, when needed, identifying alternatives, and adapt its tools to new applications. Arguably, one of the most effective means of outreaching the agrobiodiversity community is through training workshops on the use of GBIF tools. The workshops can not only be designed to train researchers in using these underexploited information tools as means to access a diversity of agrobiodiversity data, but also i) to test and demonstrate the strengths and usefulness of the GBIF global and national portals that facilitate the access to information and documentation on biodiversity information in food and farming; and ii) to identify the pitfalls of the current tools and/or of the information (data types, indexed terms) available in the portal. We will use this process of setting up a training workshop to perform a needs assessment exercise that will report the achievements and requirements for maximising the use of agrobiodiversity information for sustainable food production. In order to accomplish these goals, this project gathers three participants: GBIF Portugal, GBIF Spain and College Food, Farming and Forestry (F3) of the University of Lisboa.