Global Biodiversity Information Facility

Description

GBIF, the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, is an international network and data infrastructure for biodiversity information.

It is funded by the world’s governments and aims to give anyone, anywhere, open access to data about all types of life on Earth. Institutions from around the world share their data through GBIF, which makes the records searchable through a single portal. The data cover distribution records for plants, animals, fungi and microbes, plus scientific names.

GBIF mobilises biodiversity data, develops protocols and standards for scientific integrity and interoperability, and builds informatics tools that link diverse data sources. It supports research, policy and decision-making on topics such as climate change, invasive alien species and human health. It also runs hosted portals and capacity-building programmes, including funding for projects in Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean and Asia.

GBIF works in partnership with other international bodies, such as the Catalogue of Life partnership, Biodiversity Information Standards and the Encyclopedia of Life. Its secretariat sits in Copenhagen, Denmark, and it operates through a network of national participant nodes worldwide.