Abstract:

The integration of Taiwan’s biodiversity databases started in 2001, the same year that both the Digital Archives Program (later renamed Taiwan e-Learning and Digital Archives Program; TELDAP) and Biodiversity Action Plan were launched and Taiwan joined the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) as an Associate Participant. In 2002, Academia Sinica began the creation of the “Catalog of Life in Taiwan” database (TaiBNET). Taiwan’s node of GBIF, TaiBIF, established in 2004, integrates Taiwan’s biodiversity data and shares it with the global community. Both TaiBNET and TaiBIF have broken through the barrier of Intellectual Property Rights and can collect and integrate data accumulated by TELDAP’s various sub-projects. However, raw data, especially those on ecological distribution, generated by different agencies or non-TELDAP projects are still dispersed due to parochialism. A cross-agency committee was thus established in Academia Sinica in 2008 to formulate policies on data collection and integration, as well as mechanisms to increase public availability of data. Any commissioned project will hereafter include these policy requirements in the contract. The results of TaiBIF’s efforts over the past six years, though not perfect, can provide some information and insights for others to reference or replicate.

Key words: biodiversity informatics, GBIF, TaiBNET, TaiBIF, database