Bouchout Declaration Introduction to the Bouchout Declaration for Open Biodiversity Knowledge Management. The declaration has been initiated by the Pro-iBiosphere consortium and the official launch will be on June 12, 2014 at the Bouchout castle at the Plantentuin Meise, Meise, Belgium. This presentation has been given at the Swiss "Konservatorentagung 2014, Frauenfeld", May 23.2014

1. for Open Biodiversity Knowledge Management
Donat Agosti
Plazi
Supported by the European Commission through its FP7 research funding programme
Bouchout Declaration

2. Coordination and Policy Development in Preparation for a European Open
Biodiversity Knowledge Management System
Donat Agosti
Plazi
Supported by the European Commission through its FP7 research funding programme
(pro-)iBiosphere

3. Hardisty, Nature 502, 171 (2013)
BUT: predictive ecology has substantial data needs
Harfoot, BIH2013, Rome, 2013
The big question
What is the future of the biological world?
Imagine if we could:
…Predict community level dynamics of ecosystems at
scales from local to global, based on the ecology and
biology of all individual organisms

4. Decentralized biodiversity infrastructure
Plants
3,400 Herbaria worldwide
10,000 Associate curators and specialists
350,000,000 specimens in collections
180,000,000 specimens digitized
2,000,000,000 specimens including animals
Source: gbif.org; http://sciweb.nybg.org/science2/IndexHerbariorum.asp

5. One collection’s view of the world
Nationaal Herbarium Nederland collection on GBIF
Source: http://www.gbif.org/dataset/7b33b040-f762-11e1-a439-00145eb45e9a

6. 200,000,000+ printed pages
1,900,000 species described
20,000,000+ species treatments
17,000 new species per year
Biodiversity libraries
BUT: The data are hidden
Incomplete digitization
Publications are not semantically
enhanced
Collections are incomplete
Data is not linked
Most data are not open

7. Names as information tags in life sciences
Names
Characteristics
Publications
GenesCollections
Specimens
Distribution

8. iBiosphere
Biodiversity Knowledge Management System

9. Create digital objects
+ Identifiers and resolvers
+ Open Access
+ Legislation
+ Adequate infrastructure
+ Sustainable and permanent infrastructure
+ Reliable services for partners in research projects and society
Seamless Global Virtual Research Knowledge Management System
(European Open Biodiversity Knowledge Management System)
Biodiversity Knowledge Management System

10. Bouchout Declaration
Bouchout Declaration

11. Bouchout Declaration
Support reliable and permanent open access to digital
biodiversity records
Create identifiers and link biodiversity literature, collections,
digital objects, genes, etc.
Ensure global interoperability and sharing of biodiversity data,
information and knowledge
Ongoing dialogue to refine the concept and implementation
As signatories, we encourage an overarching approach to Open Biodiversity
Knowledge Management which is based on the following fundamental
principles:
http://plazi.org/?q=bouchout

12. Status
Institutional: 20; Individual: 7
Large Natural History Institutions (e.g BGBM, Naturalis, MfN,
INBio,)
Scientific Networks (e.g. IUBS, Vertnet, CRIA, TaiBIF,
Canadensys)
Scientists
Global
Initial Signatories (May 23)

13. Impact
June 12, Bouchout Castle, Plantentuin Meise, Meise, Belgium
Official Launch

14. Sign now!
When do you sign?
bouchout@plazi.org