community Norway GBIF
A view of the Vesterålen archipelago, Norway. Photo: Pascal Debrunner / Unsplash
With over 100,000 kilometres of coastline and large parts of its national economy depending on the sea, Norway has historical, cultural and financial connections to the ocean. Ocean biodiversity monitoring is crucial for Norway to maintain the abundance and stability of its marine resources. In December 2024, Norway joined OBIS. We discussed the move with Andreas Altenburger, Associate Professor at the UiT the Arctic University of Norway; Dag Endressen, GBIF Node Manager, University of Oslo; Katrine Kongshavn, Head Engineer, University of Bergen; and Vanessa Pitusi, Zoological Collection Manager at the Arctic University Museum of Norway, to learn more about the changes, benefits and impact brought by OBIS on the Norwegian marine biodiversity monitoring landscape.
From fragmentation to integration
Norway has a long history of marine data collection through national initiatives, albeit with limited national coordination. Historically, the collection of marine biodiversity data was fragmented through different national agencies and institutions. Each party collected the variables they needed the most. “Data providers would traditionally use their own solutions to share their datasets, fragmenting the landscape and making it hard for an external user to map, look for and find the available data,” Katrine Kongshavn points out. Despite the quality of the data collected, the lack of oversight often led to overlaps, incompatibility, and the creation of silos. “Joining OBIS allows us to implement a harmonized marine biodiversity data workflow nationwide, making the collected data visible and findable,” adds Dag Endresen.
The journey toward establishing OBIS Norway emerged from two parallel movements. At an international level, “the partnership between GBIF and OBIS sparked the interest of several marine-oriented GBIF Nodes to strengthen ties with OBIS,” explains Dag Endresen. “This concerted global movement acted as a catalyst, encouraging Norway to join and contribute more effectively to data-driven global marine biodiversity observation efforts.” Simultaneously, there was a push from the Norwegian scientific community to join OBIS. “At publishing workshops for GBIF, researchers often asked about OBIS,” says Andreas Altenburger. “This bottom-up approach from the community echoed the top-down momentum from the institutions. On both sides, there was a clear wish to connect Norway to OBIS.”
Alignment with Norway’s national strategic priorities
Norway has long committed to oceanic research, reflecting the country’s economic and ecological focus. Ocean-based industries represent approximately 30% of all value creation in the private sector, with the ocean economy accounting for 22% of the country’s total GDP in 2019. By 2050, Norway’s ocean income could reach levels 40% higher than in 2010, according to former Norwegian Director for UN policy Hans Jacob Frydenlund. “The fisheries sector is huge in Norway,” explains Andreas Altenburger. “For us, the state of marine biodiversity isn’t just an academic concern. It impacts livelihoods and employment. Monitoring marine biodiversity is fundamental to support decisions for sustainable resource management. That’s inherently part of our national priorities. A large swath of our economy, and some of its future, depends on it.”
After Norway joined OBIS, national users will be able to access all the marine biodiversity data the country produces through a single point. All data is standardized, harmonized, and interoperable. This guarantees that no dataset is left behind, allowing for a more holistic approach to marine biodiversity monitoring. Through OBIS, Norway will improve taxonomic backbone alignment and cross-disciplinary research support. “We are already working with Norwegian institutions to set up consistent identifiers for datasets to improve the integration of multi-sourced data,” adds Dag Endresen. “We are off to a good start!”
Global contributions and national benefits
The comprehensive integration of Norway’s national marine biodiversity data into OBIS strengthens the country’s capacity to fulfil its obligations under the Convention on Biological Diversity’s Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. “The national data integrated into OBIS supports the marine part of Norway’s national inventories,” explains Dag Endresen. “This creates a positive dynamic for national data providers and contributors whose crucial role gets acknowledged, opening new opportunities for them, in terms of visibility, recognition and, ultimately, funding.”
Beyond funding, Norwegian researchers are also motivated by the possibility of contributing to a global biodiversity monitoring initiative. Because of the historically fragmented original national landscape, managed by different government ministries, institutional boundaries often hindered data sharing in Norway. But for Andreas Altenburger, this is changing. “There’s a cultural shift underway to break down traditional silos in Norway, driven by the next generation of scientists,” he explains. “At a recent marine researchers’ network meeting, several PhD students approached me, asking how to publish their data through OBIS and GBIF. They see these global initiatives as a way to make their work more impactful, visible, and globally accessible.” For Andreas Altenburger, this urge to share their data reflects the younger scientists’ openness to collaboration with a community beyond national borders. And their eagerness to participate and contribute to solving larger, pressing biodiversity issues beyond their immediate projects.
Towards a FAIR future
The combination of coordination and harmonization needs at a national level, political and institutional alignment, and the eagerness of the Norwegian young generation of researchers to participate in global biodiversity initiatives create a solid base for the successful implementation of the OBIS Norway node. “In five years, sharing through OBIS Norway will be a second nature”, predicts Andreas Altenburger. “Every PhD student and researcher in Norway will publish their data to OBIS and GBIF. Marine management authorities will routinely use this data in decision-making, with a seamless flow of information.”
The benefits of Norway joining OBIS might extend beyond dataflows. The move could strengthen international collaboration, especially in addressing biodiversity-specific issues, such as the declining European taxonomic expertise. “Biodiversity research, especially basic taxonomy, struggles to secure funding from the Norwegian Research Council,” Andreas Altenburger noted. “There’s a strong focus on applied sciences, while foundational biodiversity research often falls through the cracks.” Without relevant taxonomic expertise, biodiversity monitoring might see an increase in knowledge gaps. 34 species new to science were discovered in Norwegian marine waters since 2000, according ot the data available in OBIS. For Vanessa Pitusi, this remain an open challenge: “If we don’t have the taxonomic expertise, who will be able to describe these new species?” Katrine Kongshavn also expressed her concerns about the shrinking number of trained, active taxonomists, yet bringing a hint of hope: “Without proper training, we risk losing critical knowledge about marine biodiversity. I wish we could amplify the need for action on this topic through the OBIS community and help connect researchers across borders.” Harnessing the powers of the community is one of many ways OBIS can bring meaningful change.
