Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines | 20 July 2026 — Q-quatics welcomed Dr. Joe Miller, Director of the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) Secretariat, to its office in Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines, to discuss opportunities for strengthening institutional collaboration in biodiversity informatics, data sharing, and data management, an important step toward advancing reliable biodiversity data for science and conservation.
Joining Dr. Miller were Mr. Christian Elloran, Director for Biodiversity Informatics and Geospatial Analysis at the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB), together with ACB colleagues Roesyvette Hernandez and Patricia Rafols. Representing Q-quatics were Josephine Barile, IT Group Theme Lead; Rodolfo Reyes, Senior Research Associate; and Kathleen Reyes, AquaMaps Theme Lead.
The meeting brought together organizations that play complementary roles in advancing global biodiversity information. GBIF is one of the world’s leading platforms for open access biodiversity and species occurrence data, while Q-quatics develops and maintains globally recognized aquatic species information systems, including FishBase, SeaLifeBase, and AquaMaps, that are freely accessible to researchers, educators, policymakers, and the public. These trusted platforms and resources underpin scientific research, conservation planning, and evidence-based environmental decision-making.
The visit reflects Q-quatics’ continued engagement with leading international biodiversity organizations and highlights its role as a trusted partner in advancing global biodiversity informatics.
During the visit, participants explored opportunities to strengthen collaboration on improving the quality, accessibility, and usefulness of biodiversity information. Discussions focused on areas of shared interest, including biodiversity data quality, data mobilization, global species trait information, visualization tools, and future joint funding proposals.
The group also exchanged ideas on emerging approaches for identifying potentially questionable biodiversity records, improving data access and sharing, mobilizing Philippine and other biodiversity datasets held through FishBase, and publishing structured sampling-event datasets through GBIF. Additional discussions covered biodiversity data standards, global species trait repositories, and visualization platforms that can help make biodiversity information more accessible and useful to researchers and practitioners.
This exchange reinforced the shared commitment of GBIF and Q-quatics to improving how biodiversity information is managed, shared, and used. By strengthening collaboration between organizations with complementary expertise, the visit opened new opportunities to enhance biodiversity data quality and accessibility while supporting future scientific research and conservation initiatives.
As biodiversity challenges continue to evolve, international collaboration remains essential to ensure that biodiversity data are accurate, accessible, and fit for purpose. For Q-quatics, the visit marks another step in strengthening international partnerships that advance the biodiversity information needed for better-informed conservation decisions worldwide.
