Dear members of the BID community,

I am Jean Cossi GANGLO from Benin (West Africa). I am Professor of forestry (silviculture, forest dynamics and management) at the University of Abomey-Calavi in Benin. I joined GBIF as GBIF Benin node manager in 2009. Since then I put in place my team and defined consensual objectives we have to achieve:

1) Publish biodiversity data on GBIF and GBIF Benin sites to increase knowledge on biodiversity of the country

2) Build sound capacities in data mobilization and data uses

3) Use data in order to derive research products to raise awareness of decision and policy makers mainly in demonstrating the value chain: Data→ Knowledge→ Applications to contribute to solve priority problems of biodiversity conservation and sustainable uses of the country

4) Contribute to overcome the great challenges of lack of well capacitated staff in biodiversity informatics in Benin and in Africa and insufficient data about Africa.

With regards to those objectives and our efforts in achieving them, GBIF Benin is actually leading two BID projects:

The first one is at national level. It is titled “Capacity building and biodiversity data mobilization to address health and food security priorities in Benin (West Africa)”. Through this project, we will mobilize data on renowned medicinal plants to heal malaria as well as on agroforestry species. We will use the data to achieve their distribution maps and find out the impact of climate change on them so as to contribute to their conservation and sustainable uses. Communications will be derived from our results to inform decisions on the targeted species.

The second project is at regional level and concerns 8 countries (Guinea, Senegal, Côte-d’Ivoire, Niger, Mali, Madagascar, DRC, and Benin). It is titled “Capacity building and biodiversity data mobilization for conservation, sustainable use, and decision making in Africa and Madagascar”. Through this project, we will mobilize data on threatened plant species as well as on invasive alien species. We will use the data to achieve their distribution maps and find out the threats to species and how to contribute to their conservation. As for invasive alien species, the project intends to contribute to their monitoring and eradication. Communications and outreach will also be derived from our results to inform decisions on those species.

I can share my expertise with you in putting in place efficient GBIF node, successful data mobilization and also data uses.

My best regards to all of you,