News

12th Session of the OBIS steering group, 25-29 March 2024

Report

Executive Summary

The 12th session of the IODE Steering Group for OBIS was held on 25-29 March 2024 in South Korea, hosted by the National Marine Biodiversity Institute of Korea and supported by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, and was attended by 23 participants representing 16 OBIS nodes and the secretariat.

During this session, the SG-OBIS agreed on a new priority strategy and management structure to align with the new Rules of Procedure for IODE Programme Components, Programme Activities, or Projects. Accordingly, OBIS has decided to concentrate on two thematic areas: A) Data Mobilization and B) Data Application, and OBIS will establish a data coordination group and a product coordination group to address these priorities, respectively. For data application (Area B), OBIS is developing a data products portal comprising an online virtual laboratory and a products catalogue. Additionally, a nodes coordination group will be formed to facilitate discussion among OBIS nodes about ongoing activities, priorities, and challenges. The three Coordination groups will be formed and Chairs appointed during the intersessional period. The OBIS Nodes have been given a broader mandate than previously, going beyond data publication to include a mentoring role for data custodians in their respective regions and domains. With OBIS node endorsement and support, data custodians will be able to publish biodiversity data directly to OBIS and GBIF, though potentially will need ongoing support to adhere to marine-specific data requirements. An OBIS All Hands meeting will be convened on a biennial basis to bring together the broad OBIS Community of Practice. The new coordination and community engagement activities will be supported through the employment of a part-time OBIS staff member (consultant), made possible by the increased regular programme funding from UNESCO. The SG-OBIS has also prepared a communication plan and allocated a budget for the development and dissemination of branding materials. In addition, to align with the new IOC Data Policy and Terms of Use, the SG-OBIS revised and adopted new guidelines for data sharing and use in OBIS.

The two global biodiversity data networks, OBIS and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), have had an ongoing cooperation agreement since 2014. However, to achieve tangible progress, OBIS and GBIF have now endorsed a joint Marine Strategy and Action Plan with clear targets to be achieved by 2030. OBIS SG endorsement was reached at this meeting.

For the 2024-2025 biennium, the UNESCO-IOC regular programme budget for OBIS has been increased to US$200,000 and an additional US$2 million in project funding (for 5 Horizon Europe projects and 2 FUST projects) has been secured. This has enabled the Secretariat to hire 6 new staff (3 project positions and 3 consultants) including 2 eDNA experts, a modeller, a stakeholder engagement officer, a training officer and a data manager. In addition to the Programme Manager, UNESCO has also created a second fixed-term regular programme position and the recruitment process for the OBIS Technical and Scientific Coordinator has just started.