GLOBAL FOREST INFORMATION SERVICE. Identifying the Need Earth Summit 1992 (United Nations Conference on Environment and Development), Rio Agenda 21,

GLOBAL FOREST INFORMATION SERVICE

Identifying the Need

Earth Summit 1992 (United Nations Conference on Environment and Development), Rio

Agenda 21, Chapter 40: Existing national and international

mechanisms of information processing and exchange, and of related technical assistance, should be strengthened to ensure effective and equitable availability of information generated at the local, provincial, national and international levels

Finding a Forum

The Intergovernmental Forum on Forests urged international organizations, donor countries and financial institutions to enhance access to forest-related information and

...to work with IUFRO in exploring possibilities for a

global forest information service.

Why IUFRO?

Independent Research-oriented World-wide membership Long involvement with information

issues

Planning a Solution

World Forestry Congress 1997 Rovaniemi 1998 ICRIS 1998

International Consultation on Research and Information Systems in Forestry

IUFRO Task Force 1999 Six meetings to date

The Harry Potter Phenomenon Get people

talking Get them

wanting more Sell on content Repackage for

specific audiences

Translate widely

Seeking

Examples

Send for Harry…

Challenge the nightmare

Power of the individual

With a little help from our friends

Separate good and bad

Get info from library

and the Forest and the Forest

of Informationof Information

Core Group

20 institutions Working as volunteers Wide-ranging skills Growing appreciation of library &

information world methodologies – cataloguing and classification

What is GFIS?

A network of forest-related databases Spatial Statistical Bibliographic

A network of people Producers Users Intermediaries

What kind of information?

Quality information Not censorship, but the means to

decide Accessible by anyone anywhere Web-based but with support for

non-electronic sources and users Cross-searchable metadata (Cross-)searching within databases

GFIS – the theory

GFIS – the reality

Two tin cans and a piece of string Needs someone to talk and

someone to listen And vice versa

Building GFIS

IUFRO Secretariat Vienna FAO Rome GFIS-Africa

EU funding 5 nodes

Prospects for Latin America, SE Asia, Europe

Timescale

Proof of Concept IUFRO Congress 2000 (Malaysia)

Working Prototype World Forestry Congress 2002 (Quebec)

Production service IUFRO Congress 2005 (Brisbane)

Related activities

Thesauri FAO, CABI, IUFRO

Subject gateways: BIOME, NovaGate, AgNIC, Agrigate

Virtual Library METLA

Digitisation of non-electronic sources Oxford Digital Library

What next?

6th Meeting of GFIS Task Force Portland, Oregon, 12-16 August

2001

Activities 2001-2

1 Sept 2001: GFIS Special Programme Paid full-time co-ordinator

New GFIS Projects

GFIS-Africa

Mobilizing scientific information on forests to promote their sustainable management in ACP countries

Establishment of 5 GFIS nodes in Western Africa (Ghana and Senegal), Eastern Africa (Kenya), Southern Africa (Zimbabwe) and Gabon.

GFIS-Latin America

A proposal to the World Bank Information for Development Program

Enhancing access to scientific information to promote sustainable forestry in Latin America within the framework of GFIS

27 November 2000

GFIS-North America

US Adaptive Management Area Information Portal

Information gateway for forest research sites in US Pacific Northwest

GFIS-Europe

EFIS: European Forest Information System

EC-JRC funding c. €250000 Jan 2001-Mar 2002 EFI, GMD, Tharandt, WCMC

Activities for 2001-2

Data Provision: encourage providers to register

‘Housekeeping’ by IUFRO Secretariat

Technical development proposal from consultant group by end of year

Activities for 2001-2

Business Plan to IUFRO Management Committee Autumn 2001

GFIS Charter and Strategic Plan developed by Spring 2002

Activities for 2001-2

Support for joint forestry thesaurus project

Task Force to be extended to Corresponding Members

GLOBAL FOREST INFORMATION SERVICE