News

8th session of the OBIS Executive Committee: towards community-driven delivery in the first phase of the OBIS Work Plan 2026–2027

1 September 2026

The 8th session of the OBIS Executive Committee took place online on 15 and 24 June 2026 in two 2-hour sessions, gathering the current and former Co-Chairs of the OBIS Steering Group, the Co-Chairs of three Coordination Groups, with the members of the OBIS Secretariat in attendance. The OBIS Executive Committee meetings are essential to take the pulse of the OBIS infrastructure and Community, and assess the progress of the current work plan. In addition, this very specific Executive Committee meeting also focused on preparing for the 29th IODE Committee meeting on 5-8 October 2026, as well as the upcoming series of IODE Steering Group for OBIS meetings: the pre-SG-OBIS-14 on 16 September and the formal SG-OBIS-14 in Ostend on 11–16 November.

The main takeaways from the 8th session of the OBIS Executive Committee are available below. The full report is accessible here.

A delivery effort powered by the community

Steady progress towards the delivery of the first slice of the 2026-2027 Work Plan
Despite a difficult financial context directly affecting the infrastructure’s operations, the OBIS Community collectively published 32 million new records and 215 datasets between January and June 2026. OBIS data was cited in 97 publications within the same time range. Most of the parts of the OBIS Work Plan carried out by the three Coordination Groups (Outcomes 1-8), with support from the OBIS Secretariat, are well advanced, with the majority of items either completed or close to completion (launch of the OTTER Node-to-Node support programme, new indexing pipeline handling large eDNA datasets, and deployment of the OBIS Products Catalogue, among others). The remaining ongoing items are either scheduled to be completed by SG-OBIS-14 (OBIS Node onboarding roadmap, OBIS Knowledge Base), or will continue as planned in 2027 (implementation of the Darwin Core Data Package model, EOV data monitoring workflow, for example). Finally, the recruitment of a part-time helpdesk support officer, shared with ODIS, will greatly help support the work of the Coordination Group and will contribute to reinforcing the OBIS Secretariat engagement with the OBIS Nodes.

Remarkable achievements through participation in extra-budgetary projects
OBIS, as an infrastructure and a community, contributed to delivering long-lasting impact through 6 projects. In MARCO-BOLO and eDNAqua-Plan, as well as BioEcoOcean, OBIS could strengthen marine biodiversity data flows and standards that include DNA-derived data, as well as develop components linked to integrating GOOS’ Essential Variables. This work enriches observations feeding OBIS, facilitates the integration of emerging data standards such as eDNA, improves the FAIRness and quality of the data published, and reinforces connections with European data providers. On the actionability and uptake side, the involvement of OBIS in the DTOBioFlow project streamlines the data pipeline connection between the infrastructure and the European Digital Twin Ocean (EDITO). The now-completed MPA Europe project allowed for the creation of open-science-compliant, scalable, high-resolution range maps for more than 12,000 European marine species, which include species shift predictions under five IPCC climate scenarios. These maps will enhance OBIS’ capacity to inform countries in reaching their conservation objectives, such as the 30x30 target. Finally, two recent projects, eDNA Expeditions 2026-2028 (funded by Minderoo Foundation, started in January 2026) and MOZAIEK (funded by the Flanders UNESCO Science Trust Fund (FUST), scheduled to start in January 2027), give OBIS the opportunity to lead the deployment of data-based solutions for local contexts, largely involving the OBIS Nodes. eDNA Expeditions will serve as a blueprint for an upcoming global biomolecular marine biodiversity observatory network. At the same time, MOZAIEK is a proof of concept for a tile-based approach to making marine biodiversity data more actionable.

Strategic fronts: OBIS as a leading global biodiversity data infrastructure

OBIS and the BBNJ Agreement
OBIS has received funding support from NORAD, the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation, to make its infrastructure BBNJ-ready for handling digital sequence information.

Increased connections within the IOC ecosystem: collaborations and joint actions with GOOS, ODIS, and within IODE
OBIS is a core programme component of the IODE programme within IOC, part of the six IODE priority areas. Within IODE, OBIS directly contributes to expanding and strengthening the NODC and ADU engagement, and participates in the development of the IOC Data Architecture. OBIS will also reinforce its collaboration with the Ocean Data and Information System (ODIS) through a shared helpdesk officer, by strengthening its role as an ODIS node, and by making its products directly harvestable by ODIS. The GOOS Biodiversity Strategy 2026-2035 and the included GOOS Biodiversity Plan are an opportunity for OBIS and GOOS to better engage their communities in joint efforts supporting common objectives, in particular the operationalization of the Essential Ocean Variables.

Supporting IOC priority areas: increasing the OBIS community in Africa
As part of a coordinated effort across IODE to better support marine data mobilization in Africa, OBIS has co-developed, jointly with the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission Sub-Commission for Africa and the Adjacent Island States (IOCAFRICA) as well as its two African Nodes (AfrOBIS and OBIS Kenya), a four-track framework to increase marine biodiversity data mobilization, publication and engagement in Africa. This framework is currently under consideration to be integrated as a Task Force part of the AFRICA-ODIN (Ocean Data and Information Network for Africa) Working Group.

OBIS developments keep advancing at a steady pace. The governance changes implemented two years ago are bearing fruit, reducing the distance between community members, especially by reinforcing the connections among OBIS Nodes and between OBIS Nodes and the Secretariat. But a lack of funding, such as travel support for members from developing countries to attend key governance moments like the in-person steering group meeting, prevents less resourced Nodes from taking part in strategic decisions and making their voices heard. This critical issue needs to be addressed and solved to ensure that the OBIS Community remains cohesive, engaged, and thriving. ◼️