Armenian National Agrarian University (ANAU) in cooperation with the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) organization, has been granted by the Capacity Enhancement Support Programme to implement project titled: “Mentoring GBIF Armenia – GBIF France”.
The project is implemented by the “Agrobiotechnology” scientific center branch of ANAU and is leaded by the GBIF national node manager and vice-head of Division for Scientific Coordination Armine Abrahamyan.
Armenia is a globally significant center of origin of biodiversity (agrobiodiversity) and has been integrated into GBIF in 2020 with the framework of successful collaboration ANAU, Environmental Ministry of RA and GBIF.
In Armenia most scientific communities do not share global scale biodiversity information through the GBIF network due to a variety of factors, including lack of information of relevant collections, lack of knowledge on data digitization tools and skills, the absence of digital data, specialists, the barrier of language etc.
The project aim is to mobilize groups of institutions/scientists coming in Armenia and working in diverse disciplines in biodiversity or with different types of data, in order to strengthen data holders good understanding of digitization practices, data cleaning stakes, methods and tools, GBIF standards and tools for data and metadata publishing. GBIF (geographic information, taxonomic coverage, metadata, fitness for use, etc.) and how the GBIF portal can be best used for data discovery.
More generally, authorities, agencies, academic institutions and private companies dealing with biodiversity need to be sufficiently acquainted with GBIF and with how they can both contribute to and make use of GBIF.
The project main objectives are (1) designing and inventing website, web content and strengthen networking, (2) enhancing capacity of GBIF Armenia staff and national stakeholders. International and local trainings, publication of handbooks and e-learning modules will be conducted in the framework of the project to increase knowledge and skills on biodiversity data digitization tools and management.
The opening symposium of the program will take place on December 16, 2021, at 14:00 in the AgriTech Incubator classroom, 1st Building, ANAU.
