Background
The Inter-American Biodiversity Information Network (IABIN) is an initiative of the Summit of the Americas on Sustainable Development, approved by the Presidents of the Americas in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, in December 1996. Decisions concerning biodiversity management and the sustainable development of the Americas must be based on good information and a sound understanding of the lessons learned from others' experiences. In today's world, biodiversity challenges can have international health and security implications. Within 24 hours, species can be transported anywhere in the world, either accidentally or intentionally. Actions in one country can have impacts throughout the region. Therefore, international cooperation in the management and exchange of biodiversity information is critical.
Nearly every country in the hemisphere is engaged in an effort to inventory biodiversity and create a biodiversity information clearing-house at the national level. IABIN is a critical forum to ensure that these national efforts develop in a complementary way and build on common tools and systems. By promoting the exchange of data, tools and experiences among nations, IABIN provides a venue for the assessment of regional and global environmental trends.
IABIN is envisioned as an Internet-based mechanism that will support this exchange of information and lessons learned among organizations and agencies concerned with biodiversity and its conservation, and through this exchange, support sound decision-making for sustainable development. IABIN will be a decentralized network of information resources; directories and tools to identify, locate and use those information resources; communications mechanisms to allow the exchange and transfer of data and information; and people C the experts who are most closely involved with biodiversity in the countries of the Americas. Participation in IABIN is voluntary, although all organizations C government, non-governmental, academic, and commercial C are encouraged to participate. The potential users of IABIN include all sectors of government and civil society: policy makers, land managers, planners, researchers, educators, private individuals and school children.
IABIN resources will remain the property of, and in the custodianship of, the providers of the resources; the network, however, will allow others throughout IABIN to access those resources. Each government or institution is responsible for the development and maintenance of its own resources; IABIN, as a network, will promote the use of compatible formats, centralized (virtually or physically) directories, and common tools such as biodiversity thesauri, taxonomic authorities, metadata creation software, and identification, retrieval and analysis software. Although compliance with standards or implementation of tools will be entirely voluntary, it is envisioned that the benefits arising from a network of compatible resources and tools will provide a strong incentive for adoption of IABIN "best practices" at national and local levels.
The work envisioned by these Terms of Reference is intended to provide assistance
to the Government of Brazil for the launching of IABIN. It will also promote
IABIN as a federation of organizations. These projects are critical for successful
implementation of IABIN and its initial management as a distributed network.
The work proposed builds on the consensus vision of the IABIN experts, findings
of studies on information exchange issues, preliminary discussions of a governance
model for the network, and the mid-term work plan for IABIN implementation.
Contract Components and Products
1. Support for Travel Expenses for the Technical Meeting for the Establishment of IABIN
Recognizing the need for biodiversity information in the decision-making process, government leaders of the Americas have asked for establishment of an Inter-American Biodiversity Information Network as part of the Plan of Action on Sustainable Development drafted at the 1996 Summit of the Americas. In response to this mandate, technical experts and interested parties conducted a series of consultations and informal meetings to provide guidance on the implementation of the network. These consultations will lead to the formal launching of IABIN at the Technical Meeting for the Establishment of IABIN to be held in Brasilia, Brazil April 15-18, 1999. This represents an important step in the implementation of IABIN, as it will provide a framework for establishment of the network and set the stage for practical collaboration among countries, governments and organizations interested in biodiversity information.
The Government of Brazil is sponsoring the Technical Meeting and providing
financial support for basic meeting expenses and for travel of official national
IABIN Focal Points to attend. However, additional resources beyond those available
from the hosts are required to ensure that Latin American technical experts
in addition to the IABIN Focal Points can attend and participate in the deliberations.
The Consultant will provide travel support for attendance of experts other than
official national focal points for IABIN. The funds should be used to cover
both travel and accomodation expenses. The Consultant should be responsible
for all travel arrangements made for participants and receipts should be provided
to correspond to all expenses paid for. The choice of which participants to
bring in to the Meeting should be done in consultation with the Host organization
and with key IABIN focal points. A preference should be made for participants
with key technical expertise to offer to the meeting and who would otherwise
be unable to travel, for participants from IABIN member countries other than
Canada and the United States. All air travel should be in Economy Class.
2. Translation and distribution of working documents for the meeting.
3. IABIN Technical Working Group Support
The success of any initiative involving several parties is dependent upon coordination and follow-up on agreed actions. Ensuring continued activity and convening periodic reviews on progress could mean the difference between success and failure. The Technical Meeting for the Establishment of IABIN is scheduled for April 1999. At that meeting, working groups will be established to address such issues as standards for the network, legal and institutional barriers to information exchange, development of IABIN organizational processes and procedures, pilot projects, etc. Coordination of working group efforts and follow-on activities is required to ensure the continuing progress of IABIN until a longer-term governance structure is implemented.
The consultant will support a progress review working session on IABIN capitalizing on the pilot project efforts and deliberations initiated at the January 1998 IABIN Experts meeting (convened by the Organization of American States) and continued through subsequent communications, including the official launch meeting to be hosted by Brazil.
Specific activities to be provided by the Consultant at the progress review meeting will include:
(1) Convene a progress review meeting convened during the second half of 1999
in Central or South America.
(2) Support for travel expenses of members of the various working groups participating
at the meeting.
(3) Interpreter services and translations into Spanish, Portuguese and English
of the meeting outputs.
(4) Preparation of an IABIN progress report.
4. Biodiversity Information Systems Exhibition
Learning and understanding of information occur faster through experience. To develop IABIN we need to have a clear understanding of the functional requirements for the network and the available biodiversity information tools, systems and processes that might meet those requirements. An exhibit on state-of-the-art information technologies and applications to biodiversity information would provide a hands-on experience to potential users. This experience would increase awareness about tools available for training and capacity building throughout the region. It would also promote discussions on the adoption of standardized tools under IABIN.
The consultant will design, construct, and present a technology exhibit at the Technical Meeting for the Establishment of IABIN to be hosted by Brazil in 1999. Components of such an exhibit will include:
(1) Identification of available biodiversity-related information technologies
and applications.
(2) Development of a matrix showing the network functions required and the benchmark
systems that perform those functions.
(3) Demonstration booths on technical tools.
Note: there will be insufficient time to completely develop this exhibit in
time for the Brazil meeting in April so the Consultant should anticipate completing
work on the exhibit afterwards, for use at other fora. The final exhibit must
be ready no later than October 15, 1999.
5. Development of an International IABIN Web Site and Directory
At present, the U.S. is hosting a web site where relevant information concerning IABIN is posted. Brazil has established a web site for information concerning the Technical Meeting for the Establishment of IABIN. However, neither of these sites has been resourced sufficiently to present a comprehensive IABIN gateway to available biodiversity information resources on the Internet. To support the development of IABIN, it is critical that an International IABIN web site be developed. This site should not be associated with any particular country within the network and should have an .int or .org domain name. This would underscore IABIN as a regional multi-country effort. At the least, the IABIN site should include information on IABIN development and project throughout the region and a directory of key contacts - people and institutions - in government, academia and non-governmental organizations throughout the Americas. Information on areas of interest and expertise of contacts could assist in the identification of potential IABIN collaborators.
The Consultant should establish a web site for IABIN and develop a directory of key contacts that will be accessible through the site. Specific activities will include:
(1) Establishment of an international IABIN web site.
(2) Development of a directory of key contacts.
(3) Identification and creation of links to web-accessible biodiversity information
resources and tools pertinent to IABIN.
(4) Identification and creation of links to and from other global, regional
and subregional networks (e.g., Clearing-House Mechanism, MABNet, BCIS, etc.).
(5) Translation of web-based documentation pertinent to IABIN into English,
Spanish, Portuguese and French.
A web site providing at least a basic home for the IABIN should be functional
by the time of the Launch in April. A web site meeting fully the above criteria
should be available and "on-line" by October 15, at the latest. The Consultant
is expected to undertake the necessary negotiations to find a server, hopefully
to serve the site for free. The consultant should also obtain a suitable domain
name for the site.
Duration of the Contract
The contract should start 22 March 1999 and should end 15 November 1999.
Supervision of the Contract
The Consultant should report directly to Mr. Douglas J. Graham of the World Bank. His contact information is Tel. 202-676-9373; Fax 202-522-0262; email dgraham@worldbank.org.
Mr. Graham in turn will liase with key IABIN focal points and with IABIN's
emerging governance structure.
Other Considerations
The funds to support this contract are provided by the Government of the Netherlands and are administered by the World Bank. In conference material, and on the Conference web site, the contribution of the World Bank and the Government of the Netherlands should be acknowledged along with other supporters of IABIN.