Paris, 1 July 2008: The Census of Marine Life (CoML) is a 10-year scientific initiative to
assess and explain the diversity, distribution, and abundance of life
in the oceans. The Census will deliver its final report in October
2010. With the foreseen termination of the CoML in 2010, it is important, for
the benefit of the international community, to give continuity to some
of its core projects, such as OBIS and OTN. The IOC Executive
Secretary, at the first
meeting of the OBIS Governing Board (Rome,
28–29 April 2008), offered to provide an institutional framework for
the continuation of OBIS. The OBIS Governing
Board welcomed the offer, but recommended that this partnership should
be further elaborated and a business model be presented to the IOC
Assembly for consideration at its 25th Session, in 2009.
The Executive Council recognized the importance and
value of CoML, the particular value of the OBIS component as a global
repository for marine biological data, and the potential of a second
phase of OBIS to expand data in this vital repository and to improve
the interface for global access and exchange of marine biological data.
The Executive Council considered OBIS a highly attractive future component or partner of IODE, and
welcomed
the wish of the OBIS Governing Board to investigate different scenarios
for a close affiliation between IOC and OBIS, or the adoption of OBIS
by the IOC.
It requested the Executive Secretary and
the IOC Data and Information Management Advisory Group to work together
with the OBIS Secretariat to develop a document for submission to the
25th Session of the IOC Assembly in 2009.
The Executive Council considered
that the document should describe possible scenarios for collaboration
between IOC and OBIS, concentrating on the possibility of the creation
of an IOC-OBIS Programme and an IOC–OBIS Programme Office. It should,
for different scenarios, investigate consequences for both IOC and
OBIS, and should contain estimates of budgetary implications, and
involve consultations, as appropriate, with potential donors and/or
host organizations.
Read full story and statement by OBIS Governing board here
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Created on: Thursday, 03 July 2008 17:03
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Last Updated on: Monday, 01 July 2013 12:20
