Background

Sharing Forest Information Globally

The Global Forest Information Service (GFIS) provides the framework to share forest-related data and information through a single gateway. It promotes the dissemination and sharing of forest and tree-related information and knowledge among the global forestry community by developing common information exchange standards, building capacity and enhancing partnerships among forestry information providers and users.

About GFIS

GFIS is a collaborative initiative that allows sharing of forest-related information through a single gateway. The information resources accessible through GFIS are freely available, and provide direct access to the original information. GFIS offers information exchange and dissemination tools for partners to share their information resources easily through the gateway. GFIS is an open system to which information providers, using agreed information exchange standards, may contribute content. GFIS defines elements that are intended to assist contributors in increasing access to their materials.

Currently, GFIS supports the following types of information: News, Events, Recent, publications, Library and document collections, Datasets and Databases and Job vacancies (see Guidelines). GFIS provides a powerful search tool and browsing capability for latest news, events, publications and job opportunities.

GFIS as a Partnership

GFIS is built as a global partnership, across sectors and institutions, and aims to maximize the value of all forest information resources and providers worldwide. Through a bottom-up approach, partners determine the volume, coverage and type of information they would like to share through GFIS. Partnership arrangements will assist in identifying key information resources and in using common formats, means and methods by which the information is made available to GFIS. The underlying assumption behind the development of GFIS is that its partners share a common need for information sharing that can be addressed most effectively through collaboration. Towards this end, GFIS seeks to develop a system of partnership with a variety of organizations and levels of participation that form the GFIS community.

GFIS Initiative and Partners

GFIS is an initiative of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF, http://www.fao.org/forestry/site/cpf/en/) - an interagency partnership of 14 major forest-related international organizations, institutions and convention secretariats. In the global policy context, the vision and mission of GFIS are consistent with the resolutions of the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) and the priorities of the CPF. The UNFF6 resolution explicitly mentions the support by the UNFF process for the continuation and development of GFIS as a means to promote the exchange of forest management-related experiences and good practices.

GFIS is led by IUFRO, the International Union of Forest Research Organizations; together with FAO, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; CIFOR, the Center for International Forestry Research, the UNFF Secretariat, and USGS/BIO, the Biological Informatics Office of the United States Geological Survey.

What GFIS Offers

Common standards for sharing forest-related information resources
A system of web-based tools for information exchange and dissemination
Participation in GFIS of both information providers and users through appropriate capacity building measures
Networking and partnership for sharing forest-related information

Benefits for GFIS Information Providers

Better visibility and recognition of information products
Higher number of potential users of information
Participation in organizing information will also help to improve internal information management and build related capacity
Closer cooperation and networking with other information providers and partners around the world

Benefits for users

Easier and more efficient access to world-wide forest information
Improved networking among forestry professionals

History

In 1998, the International Consultation on Research and Information Systems in Forestry (ICRIS) held in Gmunden, Austria, recommended that the Intergovernmental Forum on Forests (IFF) should "endorse and promote the development of a Global Forest Information Service to enhance access to all forest-related information, ensuring that it is accessible to all stakeholders including policy-makers, forest managers, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), community groups and the public at large". As a consequence, the Intergovernmental Forum on Forests (IFF) called for promoting the provision and efficient sharing of existing information and the strengthening of networks, and specifically "requested ITFF member organizations to work with IUFRO in exploring possibilities for a global forest information service". The ITFF was a precursor to the current CPF arrangement.

In implementing the request of IFF, IUFRO initiated various activities to establish a Global Forest Information Service - GFIS. These included the establishment of a GFIS Task Force, the development of a GFIS information server, the development of a web-interface as well as the implementation of the "GFIS Africa" project to strengthen institutional capacities in developing countries. In order to develop the GFIS prototype significant investments were made by IUFRO and IUFRO members. Substantial in-kind contributions have been made since 1998 by key partners, including CIFOR, FAO, EFI, Metla, CABI, Oxford University, the USDA Forest Service, NBII, the Canadian Forest Service and WCMC.

The first version of GFIS was presented at the IUFRO European Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, in August 2002. The GFIS prototype was also successfully demonstrated at the XII World Forestry Congress in Quebec, Canada, in September 2003. It included contributions from about 60 forestry institutions from all regions of the world.

In May 2004, the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF) agreed that the Global Forest Information Service (GFIS) should become a joint CPF initiative. In response to the request of the CPF, IUFRO, in close collaboration with FAO and CIFOR, prepared a concept paper for the further development of GFIS as a joint CPF initiative. Based on this concept paper the initiative was approved at the 13th Meeting of the CPF on 6th September 2004 in New York.

Today GFIS is an initiative of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF), an innovative interagency partnership of 14 major forest-related international organizations, institutions and convention secretariats. The objectives of CPF are to support the work of the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) and its member countries and to enhance cooperation and coordination on forest issues for the promotion of sustainable management of all types of forests. GFIS, like other CPF initiatives, builds on contributions from CPF members under the overall guidance of CPF.

GFIS, as a CPF initiative is led by the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO), together with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) and the UNFF Secretariat. The National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) also actively contributes to the initiative.

The new GFIS search service was launched at www.gfis.net at the XXII IUFRO World Congress in Brisbane, Australia, 8 - 13 August 2005. The GFIS gateway catalogued key information resources, such as news, events, publications and job vacancies supplied by information providers.

The upgraded version of the GFIS gateway was opened at the beginning of the year 2007. An improved search tool and windows to the freshest news, events, publications and job opportunities gives more visibility to GFIS information providers. The technical development and maintenance of the current GFIS gateway is being carried out by Finnish Forest Research Institute (Metla).

Sponsors 2008-2009