TERMS OF REFERENCE
INFORMATION EXCHANGE: TECHNICAL ISSUES
BACKGROUND
In December 1996, leaders of the governments of the Americas met at the Santa Cruz (Bolivia) Summit on Sustainable Development. Government leaders recognized the importance of reliable and accurate information on biodiversity in decision-making and the need for cooperation among the countries of the Western Hemisphere to link information sources together. Summit leaders agreed to:
Seek to establish an Inter-American Biodiversity Information Network, primarily through the Internet, that will promote compatible means of collection, communication and exchange of information relevant to decision-making and education on biodiversity conservation, and that builds upon such initiatives such as the Clearing-House Mechanism provided for in the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, the Man and the Biosphere Network (MABNet), and the Biodiversity Conservation Information System (BCIS), an initiative of nine IUCN programs and partners.
The above declaration, Initiative 31, prompted a series of informal meetings among interested
parties, which were followed by two OAS-supported Experts' Meetings regarding the
establishment of the Inter-American Biodiversity Information Network (IABIN). At the last
Experts' Meeting (January 1998), the United States Geological Survey, Biological Resource
Division (USGS/BRD) announced the availability of funds from an inter-agency agreement with
the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). These funds are designed to help
support planning of the IABIN concept by addressing key issues deemed important and of mutual
interests to planning experts. By focusing on such issues, IABIN will advance from the concept
phase to start-up operations.
PROBLEM STATEMENT
IABIN experts believe that a systematic approach to discovering information sources and facilitating exchange is fundamental to establishing an Inter-American information network on biodiversity topics. Within a number of countries, efforts have already resulted in the establishment of national information networks; various sub-regional network efforts are also proceeding, for example in Central America. In the Andean nations, a network is focusing on exchanging social and economic data. Extending national and sub-regional biodiversity efforts into a hemisphere-wide information network is a next step and reflects the approach -- build on existing efforts -- directed in Initiative 31 of the Santa Cruz summit action plan.
Setting up an information network involves a wide range of challenges involving information technology, informatics, and information infrastructure. At the international level, an information network takes additional complexities: distances, telephone connections, connectivity, among many others. Even in an ideal technical configuration, information challenges include issues such as how information is stored, discovered, filtered, and exchanged.
Many organizations in the Americas have already confronted some of the technical and information challenges specific to their own sites, and the IABIN network development efforts shall build on these lessons learned. This Terms of Reference shall factor these experiences into this study; however, this study shall also address new technical and informational challenges from an Inter-American network perspective.
In order to identify specific technical issues which will most likely be encountered in the
establishment of IABIN, the goals and objectives of this Terms of Reference should be addressed
by working closely with those involved in the IABIN Pilot Projects on Invasive Species,
Migratory Birds and the Hanta Virus, described in separate TORs. Developing proposals for
these pilot projects, the goals of those separate TORs, will require identifying specific technical
challenges and information form and format issues in order to be able to propose how
information resources will be identified, accessed and delivered to end users. Therefore,
examining the issues outlined in this Technical Issues TOR within the context of the pilot
projects will leverage the work done for both. It will ensure that the pilot projects benefit from
the expert analysis occurring within this Technical Issues TOR, and that this Technical Issues
TOR addresses a limited set of real problems (those surrounding the pilot projects) as opposed to
an unlimited set of potential problems.
GOAL
IABIN Experts plan to meet in Brazil in December, 1998, to launch IABIN. The goal of this
Terms of Reference shall be to inform the IABIN planners concerning specific technical issues
which will be encountered in the establishment of a hemisphere-wide network and enable them
to understand and work toward resolution of these issues.
OBJECTIVE
In response to this TOR, technical issues affecting the start-up and operation of the IABIN
network will be identified and analyzed, and recommendations for addressing the issues and/or
for working toward the resolution of problems identified will be suggested. Existing sites and/or
networks that may become part of the IABIN network will be examined and discussed.
Specifically, this study will address the infrastructure (hardware, software, telecommunications)
and content (metadata, vocabulary, record structure, exchange format, quality) standards,
protocols and practices -- or lack of them -- used by the resources most likely to be
incorporated into the IABIN pilot projects and therefore most likely to be representative of the
resources which IABIN will comprise.
WORKPLAN
1. Review existing information networks that may offer insights into the technical and information content challenges facing IABIN. Consult with IABIN experts concerning their experiences and suggestions on technical and information content issues to be examined.
2. Determine and examine the technical and information content issues which will need to be addressed in order to implement the IABIN pilot projects as envisioned. These issues should be addressed in collaboration with those addressing the legal and institutional issues and the pilot project proposals (see separate TORs) to ensure a consistent perspective across the studies being prepared for the Brazil meeting. These issues shall include but not be limited to:
Technical issues
a. Telecommunications infrastructure as it pertains to the possible location(s) of a national or international IABIN web server(s) and the costs to access information at that location(s).
b. Internet access and connectivity to/from a resource of interest.
c. National and international standards selected for use and degree of compliance with those standards.
d. Protocols to access databases.
e. Existing international information transfer formats (e.g., ITF-Botanical Gardens; SINGER-CGIAR, NABIN, G-7 working group, etc.).
f. Web site configurations and characteristics.
g. Browser configuration(s) required to access web pages.
h. Mark-up languages used (html, xml, sgml, etc.).
i. LISTSERVs, e-mail and message-posting standards in use.
j. Search engines.
k. Feasibility of mirror sites.
l. Issues relating to sub-regional network.
m. Security of web sites, encryption issues, password administration, etc.
n. Other technical issues identified.
Information content issues:
o. Issues of content in multiple languages (Spanish, French, English, Portuguese) across IABIN.
p. Availability of metadata describing information resources.
q. Content and record structure of metadata.
r. Form and format of database(s) of interest.
s. Accessibility of information resources through standard search protocols (such as Z39.50).
t. Extent of implementation of standard vocabularies (i.e., thesauri) for certain data fields within and across databases (e.g., species names and taxa).
u. Existence, form and format of inventories of information resources.
v. Quantity of useful information not yet in digital form; approaches to addressing the digitizing of this information.
w. Other information content issues identified.
3. Prepare a report of the findings of this study. Include in the report a discussion of the
problems or issues, a suggested approach concerning further work to address or resolve
the issues, and/or a recommendation on what action(s) could be taken to further IABIN
development in light of these issues, specifically those which will be encountered with
the IABIN pilot projects as proposed. Prepare a presentation for the Brazil meeting
discussing the study findings.
DELIVERABLES AND TIMETABLE
All deliverables shall consist of four (4) paper copies, accompanied by a WP6.0 or 7.0 file of the deliverable on 3.5" floppy diskette. Schedule for deliverables follows:
|
DELIVERABLES |
ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE (Weeks after Award) |
| Prepare draft report of issues identified from literature review, consultations with IABIN experts, and consideration of information resources to be included in the IABIN pilot project proposal; circulate draft report to IABIN experts and USGS/BRD specialists | 9 |
| Receive comments on draft report | 11 |
| Participate in IABIN pilot project proposal workshop | 12 |
| Prepare and submit final report, with specific recommendations concerning pilot project technical issues | 14 |
| Distribute final report via Internet and in hard copy as directed | 15 |
| Upon approval of final report, prepare presentation for Brazil meeting | 16 |