U.S. HOSTS FIRST IABIN COUNCIL MEETING

The U.S. Geological Survey hosted the first official meeting of the Council of the Inter-American Biodiversity Information Network (IABIN), in Miami, FL, on Dec 13-14, 1999.  The IABIN Council, which for this meeting included the official Focal Point from each participating country, adopted rules of procedure for IABIN, officially establishing a governance structure for the network.  The current Council agreed to extend Council membership in the near future to selected regional biodiversity initiatives, international organizations, and non-governmental organizations in the biodiversity information community.  A process for this Council expansion is being developed.

The IABIN Council elected Gladys Cotter, United States, as Council Chair and Elaine Fisher, Jamaica, as Vice-Chair.  The Council appointed an Executive Committee to coordinate activities between meetings.  For 2000, the Executive Committee includes IABIN Focal Points from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Guatemala and Mexico; a representative from the non-/inter-governmental organizations and initiatives (Marcos Silva, of the North American Biodiversity Information Network, is that representative for the next year); and a representative from the Organization of American States (OAS).  The Council Chair and Vice-Chair are also members of the Executive Committee.

Two Working Groups were established to address the network activities planned for the coming year.  One will address developing technical projects, establishing cooperative linkages with other regional and global initiatives, and evaluating software tools for possible network-wide use.  The other Working Group will address a financial sustainability strategy for IABIN as a whole and will help prepare funding proposals.

OAS Committee Endorses IABIN

Another major milestone was achieved in October with the endorsement of IABIN by the Inter-American Committee on Sustainable Development (CIDS) of the OAS.  CIDS passed a resolution which recognized the importance of IABIN.  The resolution called for IABIN to develop a long-term program reflecting the priorities of participants and focusing on technological tools needed for information exchange.  It also requested that the OAS Unit for Sustainable Development and Environment enhance fund-raising efforts to support IABIN.  The request for fund-raising support is particularly pertinent because the proposal to OAS for FY 2000 support for IABIN, submitted by Brazil on behalf of IABIN, was not selected for funding.

IABIN is an international initiative to promote greater coordination among Western Hemisphere countries in the collection, sharing, and use of biodiversity information.  Information on IABIN can be found at www.iabin.org (international site) and at www.iabin-us.org (U.S. site).

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