The 2013 annual report of the Portuguese Node of GBIF is available here (in portuguese).
Portugal joined GBIF in 2001, but only in 2013 it was possible to setup the Portuguese Node. This first year of work served to its implementation in four main pillars - infrastructure, data mobilization, training, cooperation. The actions developed at the national level in 2013 included:
GBIF is consulting their data providers community about the proposed changes about the registration procedures changes to a new provider before the first publication of data sets through GBIF.
Some of the proposed changes are:
GBIF is consulting its community of providers and users about a new approach of licensing biodiversity data published through GBIF .
This consultation aims to boost the GBIF mission of promoting free and open access to biodiversity data, with the lowest possible use restrictions. The identification of the license for which data are published should be therefore based on clear rules, created in agreement with the community about issues such as the allocation and citation of data, as well respecting the providers decision on the commercial use.
The Portuguese GBIF Node (www.gbif.pt) is committed to promoting the use of biodiversity information available through the GBIF data portal (www.gbif.org) to ensure that the best and most complete existing information can be used for scientific research, in natural resource management, decision support and environmental impact assessment, among others.
The Portuguese Node of GBIF hosted between the 28 and 30 of April at the Instituto de Investigação Científica Tropical (IICT), Lisbon, the second meeting of the GBIF mentoring project France-Portugal-Spain. The meeting aimed at exchanging experiences and expertise among the different nodes.
Com a nova versão do portal do GBIF os registos de ocorrência apresentam agora informações mais ricas e detalhadas. Os utilizadores do portal podem agora aceder a muitos mais campos de informação nas páginas detalhadas de cada registo de ocorrência. Isto foi possível graças às novas tecnologias recentemente adotadas pelo GBIF, permitindo o uso de vários servidores.
The new GBits number (No. 39, March 2014), which is published every two months, is available, aiming to promote the activities of GBIF. In this edition, highlights the new features introduced in GBIF Portal, the first data paper from Portugal and the datasets publications by several institutions like the GBIF Benin, Czech Republic, Netherlands and others. This edition is also referred to the European project OpenUP! that became available more than 1.6 million data objects of natural history in Europeana based on BioCASE and GBIF tools.
GBIF has opened the call for applications to the Ebbe Nielsen Prize 2014 awarded by the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) to an researcher or small research group that has distinguished itself in new applications in the fields of Biosystematics and Biodiversity Informatics. The prize to be awarded in the amount of 30,000€ and was established by the GBIF Governing Board in memory of Ebbe Schmidt Nielsen, who excelled in leadership and innovation in the fields of Biosystematics and Biodiversity Informatics.
GBIF has opened the call for nominations for the Young Researchers Awards 2014 that will highlight innovative research work developed by students in master or doctoral programs, in the field of Biodiversity Informatics. The prize will value the use of primary data published through GBIF. Two prizes will be awarded, one for master's students and one for PhD students in the amount of 4,000€ each. Applications will be received by the Portuguese Node of GBIF for selection of candidates, to be proposed to the GBIF Governing Board.
