Inclusive Knowledge
OBIS values and integrates all knowledge systems, from advanced genomics to Indigenous and local ecological knowledge. By actively supporting data mobilisation in underserved regions and building local capacity for biodiversity data management, OBIS works to ensure that the global marine biodiversity record is as complete, equitable, and representative as possible.
Supports: KMGBF Target 21, IPBES, BBNJ capacity-building provisions
Mapping knowledge gaps in marine diversity reveals a latitudinal gradient of data deficiency — a study using OBIS to identify where biodiversity knowledge is most lacking.
Building local capacity to mobilise underrepresented biodiversity data in Latin America and the Caribbean
Implemented
OBIS has delivered targeted capacity-building programmes across Latin America and the Caribbean, training researchers, data managers, and institutions in Darwin Core standards, data quality control, and OBIS publishing workflows. These efforts have substantially increased the volume and diversity of data contributed by historically under-represented regions to the global biodiversity record.
Region: Latin America and the Caribbean
Challenge/issue: Biodiversity data from the Global South is disproportionately absent from global datasets — not because the biodiversity is absent, but because local institutions lack the technical capacity and infrastructure to mobilise it.
Impact: Substantially increased data contributions from historically under-represented countries, improving the geographic completeness of the global marine biodiversity record.
OBIS inputs: OBIS publishing workflows, Darwin Core training resources, regional node support
Crediting indigenous and local ecological knowledge within the global biodiversity record
Ongoing
OBIS has developed approaches for documenting and crediting Indigenous and local ecological knowledge within dataset metadata, recognising community observations as a legitimate and valuable component of marine biodiversity data and ensuring that traditional knowledge holders receive appropriate attribution.
Region: Global, with priority in Pacific Island States, Arctic communities, and coastal indigenous territories
Challenge/issue: Indigenous and local ecological knowledge holds centuries of marine biodiversity observation that remains outside the formal scientific record, both because of technical barriers and lack of appropriate attribution frameworks.
Impact: A more equitable and complete biodiversity record that recognises the contributions of knowledge holders and integrates diverse observation traditions into global data infrastructure.
OBIS inputs: OBIS metadata standards, dataset attribution frameworks, community-contributed occurrence records
Accommodating diverse observation types within standardised biodiversity data infrastructure
Ongoing
OBIS metadata standards have been extended to accommodate complex, heterogeneous data assets — including images, acoustic records, genetic sequences, and linked environmental data — enabling richer, more contextually grounded biodiversity records that reflect the full diversity of modern observation approaches.
Region: Global
Challenge/issue: Marine biodiversity data increasingly comes in forms — images, eDNA sequences, acoustic signals — that do not fit neatly into traditional occurrence record formats, creating barriers to integration and interoperability.
Impact: A more inclusive and flexible OBIS infrastructure capable of ingesting and linking diverse data types, increasing the richness and completeness of the global biodiversity record.
OBIS inputs: Darwin Core extensions, OBIS metadata standards, linked data frameworks
Mobilising biodiversity data from under-represented ocean regions in Africa
Potential use case
Expanding OBIS capacity-building activities across the African continent represents a major opportunity to mobilise vast untapped biodiversity data from one of the world's most under-represented ocean regions, strengthening both the global database and local scientific capacity to monitor and manage marine resources.
Region: Sub-Saharan Africa, Indian Ocean coast, West African seas
Challenge/issue: African marine ecosystems are among the most data-poor in the global biodiversity record, limiting their representation in international assessments and their inclusion in conservation planning.
Impact: Substantially richer marine biodiversity coverage for African waters, supporting both the global record and local capacity to manage marine resources sustainably.
OBIS inputs: OBIS publishing infrastructure, capacity-building programmes, regional node development
