Regional Biodiversity Information Systems

The Inter-American Biodiversity Information Network (IABIN) is an initiative of the Summit of the Americas process to provide greater and more useful access to biodiversity information throughout the hemisphere. The establishment of IABIN was called for in Article 31 of the Action Plan arising from the Summit of the Americas on Sustainable Development, held in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, in December, 1996. IABIN's primary objective is to promote the collection, access to, and exchange of technical, scientific, and supporting information on biodiversity in the Americas. Through IABIN, governmental, non-governmental, academic and private sector entities are working together, in their respective geographic areas, to develop the programs, select the standards and tools, and build the infrastructure necessary to exchange information at regional and subregional levels. http://www.nbii.gov/iabin/index.html

North American Biodiversity Information Network (NABIN) - NABIN assists institutions and agencies that collect, manage or use biodiversity data to collaborate in providing more effective information access throughout North America. The project will also link the North American Biodiversity Information Network (NABIN) with other national and international initiatives, such as the Canadian Biodiversity Information Network (CBIN), the US National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII), the Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad (Conabio), the Inter-American Biodiversity Information Network (IABIN) and the Convention on Biological Diversity Clearinghouse Mechanism (CHM), in the creation of a North American and worldwide biodiversity information network that is publicly accessible and free.

The World Biodiversity Information Network (REMIB) is a computerized biological information system (i.e., it includes databases of curatorial, taxonomic, ecological, cartographic, bibliographic, ethnobiological and use type, and catalogues of natural resources and other topics) based on a decentralized inter-institutional academic organization formed by research centers and universities, both public and private, that possess both scientific biological collections and information banks.

NGOs with Global or Regional Databases:  Conservation International, The Nature Conservancy, SIMEBIO (Central America), World Wildlife Fund, World Resources Institute, Smithsonian, Red Latinoamericana de Botanica (Brazil).

NGOs with National Databases: INBIO (based on capturing, processing, generating, packaging and disseminating information about Costa Rican biodiversity).