Objectives of the Collections in the PPBio network

PPBio is based in Brazil where it is a program of national scope. The program started primarily in the Amazon and the semi-arid north-east, with a commitment that it will eventually be implemented in all regions and biomes of Brazil. In the case of Biological Collections component, the following objectives have been proposed:

• Identify and assess scientific, educational and reference collections in the Central and Regional centers;

 

• Create means to institute national level policy for biological collections management, while at the same time promoting the maintenance, expansion and integration of these collections;

 

• Establish an advisory group composed of experts from different taxonomic groups and representing various regions of the country, to present guidelines for a policy for biological collections;

 

• Identify reference collections that are representative of the Brazilian biomes;

 

• Encourage the maintenance and expansion of these collections, as well as, when necessary, improve their infrastructure;

 

• Promote the generation and dissemination of knowledge related to collections,

 

• Investing in training human resources in the areas of curation, biological systematics and bio-informatics, and support the training of specialists in the management of biological collections;

 

• Foster the integration of collections of Brazilian biodiversity, present in both in-country and international institutions;

 

• Encourage the computerized digitization of specimens in biological collections (ex situ collections), and facilitate access to such collections via automation and access to dedicated databases;

 

• Ensure that biological specimens and all data associated with them that are collected under the auspices of PPBio-component inventories, are made available to the scientific community. To do this by incorporating them into collections, and fostering the growth of taxonomic, biogeographical and ecological information in the recepient collections.

 

To meet this demand for information more efficiently, PPBio – via its Biological Collections component - aims to strengthen regional biological collections, and provide better organization and dissemination of information on the composition and importance of Amazonian biodiversity, as well as facilitating the advancement of studies of the biota of the region with improved access to existing data, and by improving the planning and prioritization of inventories and biodiversity research lines.