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From Collaboration to Coordination - Building the OBIS Network For Latin America and the Caribbean

Comprising six of the world’s megadiverse countries, the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region bears an enormous weight regarding biodiversity data. To develop the region’s already promising contribution potential, several Spanish-speaking OBIS Nodes have teamed up to create the OBIS Network for Latin America and the Caribbean, a premiere in the OBIS Community. The idea behind the initiative is to create an operational and mobilizable regional alliance to increase collaboration between OBIS LAC Nodes, mutualize resources and skills, enhance capacity development, and amplify the region’s voice within the OBIS Community. We spoke with the people powering the initiative to learn more about its purpose, priorities and objectives.

Initially, collaboration between OBIS Nodes in the LAC region was driven by a shared language and common regional challenges. The first interactions began almost organically, with exchanges focused on finding solutions to immediate issues. One or several Nodes facing a hurdle would connect to a Node with the solution, with roles shifting based on areas of expertise and available skills. “We realized quickly that we were all struggling with similar challenges, such as insufficient resources, unequal access to knowledge on standards and data management, language and technology barriers, and the limited integration of local knowledge,” recalls Ana Carolina Peralta, the OBIS Caribbean Node Manager. These preliminary hands-on knowledge exchanges focused on translating part of the OBIS Manual into Spanish, co-organizing training events, and creating training content. “This collaboration worked perfectly from the start,” says Ana Carolina Peralta. So perfectly that the early cooperation between OBIS LAC Nodes gradually evolved into intentions to collaborate more closely, ultimately leading to a common proposal, “How can we strengthen, capitalize and share efforts, knowledge and resources among Nodes?”, that was presented and accepted at the 11th OBIS Steering Group Meeting in 2023.

This proposal became a reality at the 3rd International Ocean Data Conference in March 2025, when the OBIS LAC Nodes established the OBIS Network for Latin America and the Caribbean. Ana Carolina Peralta details the missions of the group: “We are aiming to provide better support for regional data providers and end-users; to improve connections between OBIS LAC Nodes and the data providers, to implement training activities, data mobilization workshops, and webinars; to improve inter-Node support; to integrate new data managers at OBIS LAC Nodes; to search funding to support the collection and sharing of high-quality marine biodiversity the LAC region.”

Strategic regional collaboration to increase global contributions

Collaboration is the cornerstone of the OBIS Network for Latin America and the Caribbean. “We created a hub that combines the strengths of each of the OBIS LAC Nodes and relies on teamwork to address open regional issues,” says Braulio Fernandez, ESP OBIS data manager based in Chile. Having a dedicated regional support group to sustain and coordinate the efforts of the OBIS LAC Nodes is crucial for improving the contributions of the region to OBIS. For Marcos Zarate from Argentina, “Making the LAC marine biodiversity data available in OBIS is essential for advancing marine research, informing conservation efforts, and supporting evidence-based policies at both regional and global levels.”
For Martha Vides, Node Manager of OBIS Colombia, the OBIS Network for Latin America and the Caribbean will also bear a more strategic role, “helping support a more nuanced understanding of regional priorities that may differ from those of the global OBIS Community.” She goes on to explain that during her tenure as OBIS Steering Group Co-Chair, she realized how structural and resource-related discrepancies among OBIS Nodes could restrict their participation in the Community and inhibit their potential contributions. “Our group is a way to address and tackle the existing gaps,” she says.

Despite its marine megadiversity, the LAC region remains underrepresented in global biodiversity data platforms such as OBIS, with large areas lacking information. Local biodiversity data contributions remain largely under the region’s potential despite their ability to create an impact far beyond regional borders. “Biodiversity data from the Central and South Pacific Ocean is essential to improve conservation action at all levels and contribute to a better understanding of the global Ocean,” reminds Braulio Fernandez. Marcos Zarate believes that increased marine data contributions from Latin America and the Caribbean will fill critical geographic and taxonomic gaps and bring new insights that will improve global models, conservation strategies, and policy decisions. For Martha Vides, increased contributions from the LAC region will contribute to reducing biorisks, improve coastal communities’ livelihood locally and globally, and help identify groups of organisms with bioremediation and bioprospecting potential, among numerous additional benefits.

Scalable solutions to common challenges

To address information gaps, the OBIS LAC Nodes adopted a hands-on approach. “We set up a specific working group to determine the strategies to identify and fill information gaps, taking into account the locally available resources,” explains Ana Carolina Peralta. Beyond collaboration, the group aims to sustain long-term regional capacity development, improve inter-institutional coordination, and facilitate the adoption of Open Science principles to increase data-sharing and contributions.

The uneven development of national data infrastructures remains a critical barrier. “In many cases, institutions lack the technical infrastructure or trained personnel to manage and publish data according to international standards,” says Marcos Zarate. “From Argentina, we see the OBIS Network for Latin America and the Caribbean as a vital platform to collectively tackle long-standing structural issues and support national policies that advance best practices in data management.”

Changes in the organization of the data systems in the LAC region would significantly improve global contributions. Martha Vides emphasizes that rethinking the architecture of national data systems will be essential: “Decentralization and better coordination across institutions are key. Reform won’t be easy, but international frameworks like the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework are slowly catalyzing change and encouraging data-sharing.”

Mobilizing data and promoting Open Science practices

The LAC region features a patchwork of fragmented national marine data landscapes, with numerous and very diverse data actors retaining critical information. Improving data mobilization in the region is essential to enhance global contributions. “High-quality marine data from the LAC region exists,” says Martha Vides. “It is stored in museums, on the shelves of private companies and institutions and the desks of many researchers. We need to unlock this data and publish it into OBIS.” One of the blockers preventing data holders from contributing to large global platforms is the fear of losing ownership of their data. “This can be a sensitive issue for some contributors, such as local and Indigenous communities,” reminds Martha Vides. “Thanks to the evolution of practices, such as the enforcement of data attribution through DOIs, more and more data holders trust global platforms in sharing their datasets. Researchers from the LAC region are now understanding the added value of mobilizing their data to advance global marine science. They also experience directly the benefits of contribution, acknowledgement and visibility, overcoming their initial reticence.”

To sustain this change, capacity development and data-related knowledge transfer are essential. “In many cases, institutions lack the technical infrastructure or trained personnel to manage and publish data according to international standards,” says Marco Zarate. The group’s strategy relies on targeted training sessions and self-paced courses to improve the local data contributors’ understanding of OBIS and the Darwin Core data standard, and larger, quarterly outreach webinars explaining the role of OBIS and promoting the platform as a data repository in the LAC region. “As part of the strategy, we deliver all our content in Spanish to overcome any language barrier,” explains Ana Carolina Peralta.

The LAC region has a massive marine data potential that needs to be unlocked. The collective efforts of the OBIS Network for Latin America and the Caribbean have just started but are progressing fast. “Our collective willpower and our enthusiasm fuel our advances,” explains Marcos Zarate. “We are moving forward with ease, and it is gratifying. You feel the support from your colleagues from other countries, who are pushing the same goals with the same energy.”

Are you interested in the initiative? Get in touch with the OBIS Network for Latin America and the Caribbean: obislac@obis.org