 |
The National Biodiversity Data Bank (NBDB)
 |
|
The National Biodiversity Data Bank was established in 1990 at MUIENR as a result of the growing need for a central repository for Biodiversity information in Uganda. It has undergone a series of developments since its establishment, that has seen it grow from a simple repository, to a national resource for biodiversity information, which has already contributed to conservation-related decision-making processes in Uganda.
The NBDB's Mission Statement:
To inventory and monitor the national biological resources and provide biodiversity information to conservationists, government agencies, land managers and others interested in the conservation and sustainable utilisation of these resourcesPrior to the establishment of the NBDB there was no central facility in the country for storing and analysing data on Uganda's biodiversity. Work began humbly in 1991, using standard 'paper and file' methods, but two years later, the amount of data gathered was such that electronic data management was required.
Thus, in 1993, an electronic database application was established by Dr. Jake Reynolds, by then an independent consultant, who later came to work with The World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC), and came to establish a close link between WCMC and MUIENR in the field of biodiversity information. The application came to be known as the Biodiversity Data Bank (BDB). The application provided immediate impetus for the computerisation of key data, including lists of extant species in selected taxonomic groups (species names had previously been standardised in co-operation with MUIENR's partners across East Africa). Computerisation of tens of thousands of species distribution records - previously stored on paper sheets - soon followed, leading to the production of the NBDB's first output: a provisional national checklist of birds. Maps of Uganda's protected areas were computerised, together with further spatial data sets of administrative boundaries, human population, key climatic variables, vegetation, rivers, altitude and human infrastructure (roads, railways and towns etc.).
During the first quarter of 1994, the BDB application was upgraded from DOS to the Windows operating system which provided integration with further analytical tools and the ability to exchange data between database and mapping applications. A simple desktop mapping package was used to prepare simple maps of species' distributions, and to filter database records according to geographic criteria. The improved BDB application is now used for entry, checking, storage, retrieval, analysis and presentation of much of Uganda's biodiversity data held at MUIENR.
Futher information can be obtained from:
|
The Director MUIENR, P. O. Box 7298, Kampala, Uganda.
Tel: +256-41-530 135
|
The Manager NBDB, P. O. Box 7298, Kampala, Uganda.
Tel: +256-41-530 660
|
Read more about the NBDB |
©Herbert Tushabe
Makerere University Institute of Environment and Natural Resources,
P. O. Box 7298, Kampala. UGANDA.
htushabe@hotmail.com