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COORDINATING COMMITTEE | contacts
Chair Prof José Clavijo, Venezuela;
Dr Monica Moraes, Bolivia; Dr
Gloria Galeano c/o
Dr Gonzalo Andrade, Colombia.
Status After the formulation workshop
in October 2002, ANDINONET was formally established in 2004 with the endorsements by Venezuela,
Bolivia, and Colombia. In 2005 followed the formal endorsement by
Peru.
Member countries 4: Bolivia, Colombia, Peru and Venezuela;
endorsement pending
1: Ecuador.
Context The Andean region has abundant
natural resources and a wealth of biodiversity. All ANDINONET
member countries are within the top 11 rated mega-diverse countries.
As expressed in the Regional Biodiversity Strategy, the countries of
the Andean Community are increasingly concerned about loss of
biodiversity and degradation of natural resources. Thus capacities
for assessment, study and systematic observation and evaluation of
biodiversity need to be reinforced at both national and subregional
levels. The establishment of a national and subregional network
supported by international cooperation is an effective means to
assisting with the in situ protection of the ecosystems and
the ex situ conservation of biological and genetic resources.
Goals and Priorities
- Build taxonomic capacity by facilitating
access to funding, by providing taxonomic training for academics
and parataxonomists, and by increasing taxonomic infrastructure
(facilities, libraries, equipment).
- Enhance scientific collaboration and
networking and facilitate the exchange of specimens and
information.
- Consolidate the taxonomic information in
museums and reference.
- Promote the use of information management
and electronic data bases.
- Advocate taxonomy and integrate taxonomy with other sectors and networks for sustainable development.
Current activities
- LOOP development: improve communication
infrastructure and reporting structures, facilitate the
collaboration with other relevant initiatives and ensure access to
databases and major published reference works.
- Develop local human resources for
taxonomy.
- Maintain and strengthen reference
collections.
- Develop and use appropriate technologies
and tools, including digital and molecular approaches (DNA
barcoding).
- Increase awareness, commitment and use of national and sub regional taxonomy services, advocate taxonomy at the policy level and ensure the sustainability of the LOOP.
Recent achievements
- Since November 2007, ANDINONET is a
formal associate member of GBIF, committing to make biodiversity
data freely available.
- The regional coordinating insitute of
ANDINONET (MIZA) was invited to participate at the III Red CYTED
Conservación e Informatizacion de Colecciones Biológicas en
Iberoamérica, Santo Domingo de Heredia, Costa Rica, in November,
2007.
- Three member institutions of ANDINONET
are participants of "The Tropical Andean Butterfly Diversity
Project", an international collaboration among scientists,
institutions and organizations.
- MIZA became part of a binational research
project between Venezuela and Colombia and funded by FONTANEGRO on
the biological control of a butterfly pest species.
- In November 2007, ANDINONET supported the workshop on Neotropical Epiphytic Microlichenes in La Paz, Bolivia.
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