Projects proposed but not funded at the 1999 Technical Conference for implementation of IABIN:

A Directory of Biological Collections of the Americas

With the recent awareness of the importance of biodiversity, biological collections are being recognized as an important source of information for conservation and natural resource planning. Important initiatives are underway to incorporate descriptions (metadata) of collection specimens into electronic networks. Considering the importance of biological collections, description of the collections themselves would be an important resource for gaining access to biodiversity information. Currently, each individual country or research effort must independently assess available collections. This project would demonstrate the tremendous economy of scale provided by the IABIN network in making this needed resource available to the countries and institutions of the Americas.

Funds are requested for development of an on-line database system for biological collections in the Americas. The project will focus on collections of taxonomic groups relevant to IABIN pilot projects. It will include:

1. Consultations with IABIN pilot project leaders and work-groups.
2. Identification of collection descriptions useful to investigators.
3. Development of an on-line database for collections.