Posted on behalf of Linda Nordling

A one-stop-shop for accessing large collections of African biodiversity and human health data will go live next year, an international scientific data conference in South Africa heard this week.

A prototype of the World Data Centre for Biodiversity and Human Health in Africa was showcased at the CODATA 2010 conference that took place on 24-27 October in the Cape Town winelands.

The centre will be the first of 50-odd World Data Centres to be located in Africa — a sign that the continent is striving to escape its data-poor past. Most such centres are based in the US, Europe and the Far East, some dating back 50 years (see World Data Center System).

The new web-based platform will allow users to download data sets and create maps layering different types of data. The portal can help identify gaps in data, and aid researchers to find historical data to use as a baseline in studies. By combining search results and climate change projection maps, for example, users can find suitable study areas where climate change is likely to be more severe, and where historical data is also available.

It will draw on existing African data sets and also link to Africa-specific data held in institutions on other continents, thereby ‘repatriating’ biodiversity and health data that could inform research and policy-making in Africa.

The centre will be a “work in progress” even when it goes live next year, its architects say. A lot of work remains to consolidate the data and to make sure it is user-friendly, for example. The centre will also apply for certification to become a member of the global World Data System, now under construction.

Funding for the centre is being provided by South Africa’s Department of Science and Technology and its future host, the National Research Foundation, in collaboration with the International Council of Science (ICSU), which sponsors CODATA, and the United States Geological Survey.