BioNET-INTERNATIONAL: the Global Network for Taxonomy www.bionet-intl.org : BioNET-INTERNATIONAL: the Global Network for Taxonomy www.bionet-intl.org Dr Nick King (Director)
Dr Richard Smith (Assistant Director)
What is TAXONOMY? : What is TAXONOMY? Taxonomy is the science of discovering, identifying, classifying and naming organisms (species), their life cycles, ecological roles, functions and relationships;
It provides an information system which is the foundation of all biology;
It is the tool with which the immense biodiversity of living organisms may be recorded and understood
No Taxonomy = No Knowledge : No Taxonomy = No Knowledge Biodiversity inventories;
Bio-indicators of change eg. global warming;
Id. and action/control of alien invasives;
Production/improvement of agriculture/ forestry/fisheries, pests/diseases, new varieties;
Quarantine and access to export markets;
Human health disease vectors;
GMO’s and genetic engineering
Larger Grain Borer (LGB) : Larger Grain Borer (LGB) introduced into Tanzania in late 1970’s in “Aid” maize
lack of early recognition allowed the LGB to multiply and spread;
subsequent crop losses due to the LGB US$88 million annually
little ability to track its spread
LGB (cont.) : LGB (cont.) in addition between 1984 and 1992 the average annual cost of control to the Tanzanian Government was more than US$3.0 million per annum
IF the pest had been correctly identified it could have been destroyed or at worst contained and prevented from spreading
Cassava Mealybug (CMB) : Cassava Mealybug (CMB) introduced into DRC in early 1970s through plant material from South America;
spread rapidly across tropical Africa threatening to destroy the primary source of food for more than 200m people;
crop losses estimated up to 84%;
CMB (cont.) : CMB (cont.) a parasitoid was identified, bred and released but had no effect;
further study suggested mis-id;
small wasp (Epidinocarsis lopezi) found to be a parasitoid for the newly identified CMB - now used as an effective control in some 26 African countries;
estimated benefit-cost ratio = 150:1
Eg. of needs: Ethiopia : Eg. of needs: Ethiopia 120 000 insect spp.
8000 fungal spp.
175 bacteria
300 viruses
500 nematode spp
Reduce agric. output by 40%! No capability to analyse related info - distributions, ecological parameters, movements, invasives, aliens, disease vectors, propagation, impacts, uniqueness, relationships, etc In agric alone:
Estimated No. of Species (GBA) : Estimated No. of Species (GBA)
Slide10 : Organism Diversity
Sustainable Development : Sustainable Development Taxonomy is basis for all biology - and thus environmental management/sustainability;
but taxonomy is not an end in itself, just a means to an end;
the associated info is what decisions are based on;
dependent on funding of finite programmes of capacity building
What is BioNET- INTERNATIONAL? : What is BioNET- INTERNATIONAL? a global network for taxonomic capacity building to support sustainable development;
comprised of sub-regional networks of developing country institutions (South-South)
What is BioNET? (cont.) : What is BioNET? (cont.) supported by a consortium of developed country expert institutions (North-South);
facilitated by a Technical Secretariat
Why? : Why? withdrawal of free taxonomic services formerly available to developing countries at the expert centers of the developed world; and
the dramatic increase in the need for taxonomic services, following the 1992 Earth Summit, CBD, etc In response to the global taxonomic crisis occasioned by the coincidental :
What is BioNET-INTERNATIONAL’s Purpose? : What is BioNET-INTERNATIONAL’s Purpose? To create sustainable mechanisms to overcome the ‘taxonomic impediment’ and promote self-reliance in taxonomic capacity in the developing world
How? South-South : How? South-South by means of “Technical Cooperation Networks” of Locally Organised and Operated Partnerships (LOOPs) for South-South cooperation whereby;
existing taxonomic resources in the various sub-regions of the developing world are pooled, shared and optimized
How? North-South : How? North-South Transfer of relevant information, skills, expertise and new technologies;
from the expert centers of the developed world to the relevant institutions in the LOOPs;
via donor-funded programmes for institutional and human capacity building i.e. North-South
Role of LOOPs : Role of LOOPs the LOOPs are designed to be a mechanism to be utilised by all and any programmes focussing on taxonomic capacity building;
Together, such initiatives may be able to build the required capacity to overcome the taxonomic impediment to sustainable development
Conceptual model of the Global Network : Conceptual model of the Global Network
CARINET : CARINET A TCN for Capacity-Building in Taxonomy
in the Caribbean (CARIFORUM) Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Montserrat, St Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Surinam, Trinidad & Tobago and other Windward and Leeward Islands Centred on institutional partnerships for South-South cooperation in 22 countries:
Slide22 : SAFRINET A TCN for Capacity-Building in
Taxonomy in southern Africa (SADC) Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe Centred on institutional partnerships for South-South cooperation in 15 countries:
Slide23 : EAFRINET A TCN for Capacity-Building in
Taxonomy in East Africa Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Zanzibar
(+ Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda) Centred on institutional partnerships for South-South cooperation in 6 countries (+3 more pending):
Slide24 : WAFRINET A TCN for Capacity-Building in
Taxonomy in West Africa Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Chad, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo Centred on institutional partnerships for South-South cooperation in 18 countries:
Slide25 : ASEANET A TCN for Capacity Building in Taxonomy in South East Asia (ASEAN) Brunei-Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam Centred on institutional partnerships for SOUTH-SOUTH cooperation in 10 countries:
Slide26 : PACINET A TCN for Capacity-Building in Taxonomy in
the South Pacific Island States and Territories American Samoa, Australia, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Guam, Hawaii, Kiribati, Marianas Islands, Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Pitcairn Islands, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Wallis and Futuna, Western Samoa Centred on institutional partnerships for South-South cooperation in 25 PICTs:
Slide27 : EuroLOOP A TCN for Developing Country LOOPs (BIOCON) Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, England, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Scotland, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine and Wales A consortium of more than 100 expert institutions in 23 countries:
Slide28 : The Global Network of
BioNET-INTERNATIONAL
LOOP Development : LOOP Development Feasibility study;
LOOP Formulation Workshop; decisions on NECI, NACIs, priorities;
LOOP formulation proposal to Govts (where possible, at regional Govt. forum);
Political endorsement;
Detailed capacity and needs assessment
Mandate for the LOOP Coordinating Committee : Mandate for the LOOP Coordinating Committee to represent, promote and sustain the LOOP;
advise member governments;
specify and review activities of NECI;
ensure effective use of LOOP budget;
draft and submit proposals for donor funding
Mandate for the Network Coordinating Institute (NECI) : Mandate for the Network Coordinating Institute (NECI) executive arm of the LCC;
coordinate the network;
prepare work programmes, budgets and reports for LCC;
ongoing focal link with TecSec;
repository of LOOP information
Mandate for National Coord. Institutes (NACIs) : Mandate for National Coord. Institutes (NACIs) to provide and support a National Coordinator who serves as National Rep. on the LCC;
coordinate National Programmes and implement recommendations of LCC at country level;
link with other NIs, NACIs
Mandate for National Institutions (NIs) : Mandate for National Institutions (NIs) assist the NACI in implementation at national level;
contribute, in kind and funds, to the network;
support and contribute to Working Groups, Task Forces etc.
LOOP/TCN model : LOOP/TCN model
Network Coordinating Institutes (NECIs) : Network Coordinating Institutes (NECIs) central coordination, liaison and support for the regional LOOP;
management and operation of the LOOP information system;
linking with the Technical Secretariat and other NECIs;
hosting and servicing LCC meetings
BioNET Fellowships : BioNET Fellowships For development of key technical personnel of LOOPs:
extended, formal training in prioritised fields at appropriate scientific/ technical institutions in developed countries and / or other sub-regions of the global network
Information & Communication Services : Information & Communication Services Formalise LOOP links;
distribution of reports, newsletters and other material generated within the network, and elsewhere, relevant to LOOP activities;
commissioning of data-bases and directories on expertise, collections and technological and information resources
LOOP Work Programmes : LOOP Work Programmes Information and Communication Services;
Training;
Rehabilitation of collections and establishment of new resources;
Development and application of new technologies
Training : Training Eg.Training of 38 taxonomic technicians in SAFRINET
Production of training manuals : Production of training manuals
Commissioning CD ROM keys : Commissioning CD ROM keys
Fellowships : Fellowships CARINET: 3 fellows offering taxonomic services throughout the Caribbean
Publications : Publications
Outcomes : Outcomes New taxonomic capacity and services at local, national and regional levels;
New foci of taxonomic expertise;
New access to, and new reference collections, records, information;
Self-reliance via local ownership of taxonomic services
Darwin Declaration: the taxonomic impediment : Darwin Declaration: the taxonomic impediment Recognition that nearly every country is deficient in taxonomic capacity
Accepted by parties to the CBD
CBD response: Global Taxonomy Initiative
Global Taxonomy Initiative Programme of Work advocates use of BioNET-INTERNATIONAL subregional networks
Global Taxonomy Initiative : Global Taxonomy Initiative Build the taxonomic capacity required for the effective implementation of the CBD (funding agencies, govts and NGO’s)
GTI Coordination Mechanism - harness synergies and prevent duplication of efforts;
GTI Programme of Work - use of and strengthening existing structures, and maximising use of collaborative networks
Invasive alien species and the need for taxonomic resources : Invasive alien species and the need for taxonomic resources that assist expert and popular identification and monitoring
that allow rapid application of preventative measures and responses to new invasions
that are developed in response to up-to-date data on invasive species, their vectors and management strategies
Alien Invasive Species : Alien Invasive Species 2nd only to habitat loss as cause of species extinctions;
‘disturbance’ increases opportunities for invasion;
‘development’ = ‘disturbance’;
modes of invasion: trade, travel, transport, tourism, all on increase
eg. water hyacinth
Agricultural losses to pests : Agricultural losses to pests
Agrobiodiversity Loss of plant genetic resources : Agrobiodiversity Loss of plant genetic resources
Climate Change and Disease : Climate Change and Disease Will change ranges of disease vectors, impacting humans, livestock, crops, eg. tsetse fly, bilharzia, mosquitoes (malaria and others);
for those dependent on one or two livestock, losses are catastrophic, especially draft animals;
diseases debilitating for humans, reduce capacity/productivity of adults when is sole source of livelihood, children’s physical and cognitive development compromised;
Threatened Species Nos. : Threatened Species Nos. Minimum numbers of KNOWN threatened species >31 000 (1994 data):
5366 animals, 26 106 plants;
18% of mammals, 11% of birds, 8% of plants, 5% of fish;
for vast majority of 1.75m known spp. no assessment made;
and of unknown 10-100 million +?????
Cumulative : Cumulative Not only don’t we know what we have;
we’re losing it far faster than we can discover it AND rates of loss are increasing;
we currently do not have the capacity to discover it AND such capacity is decreasing;
those species we do know are mostly not the ‘drivers’ (pollinators, soil microbes, etc);
we don’t even know how to define these
Partnerships are everything! : Partnerships are everything! the LOOPs are mechanisms to be utilised by all and any programmes of taxonomic capacity building;
locally owned and operated structures for coordinating participation in relevant international initiatives eg. GTI, GBIF, GEF-funded projects…..
prevent duplication and waste of resources
Partnerships : Partnerships ECOPORT - ecology knowledge portal
GISP - taxonomy critical;
International Pollinators Initiative
IUCN
ETI - products, WTD, etc
SAFRINET/SABONET; EAFRINET/BOZONET, NAFRINET/EuroMed+Plantbase, etc
LOOPs - facilitating partnerships : LOOPs - facilitating partnerships
Slide58 : Ist BioNET-INTERNATIONAL Global Workshop (BIGW1) 1995, Cardiff
2nd BioNET-INTERNATIONAL Global Workshop (BIGW2) 1999, Cardiff
3rd BioNET-INTERNATIONAL Global Workshop 8-13 July 2002, Pretoria, South Africa:
“Towards Sustainable Development - Partnerships for building demand-driven taxonomic capacity”
Slide59 : Strategic Approach
Slide60 : Strategic Partnership
To get in touch... : To get in touch...
www.bionet-intl.org
bionet@bionet-intl.org