Organisation’s vision:

The vision of the Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (MBON) is a community of practice that strengthens understanding of marine biodiversity and coordinates monitoring of associated changes over time through scientific observations, thereby facilitating ecosystem conservation, sustainability, and good management practices.

Organisation’s mission:

The Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (MBON) is a community of practice that links existing national and international research and monitoring efforts. It provides the marine biodiversity component of GEO (through GEO BON and GEO Blue Planet). MBON will work with the international community to promote the operational collection of biodiversity observations, encourages field sampling programmes to ensure that biodiversity observations are complemented with physical and biogeochemical observations of the ocean and vice-versa.

As a community of practice and collaboration, groups can engage in relatively informal or formal agreements. MBON is a “coalition of the willing” who agree to share knowledge and know-how to evaluate changes of biodiversity in the ocean, including data, products, protocols and methods, data systems and software.

MBON members include government agencies, academic institutions, researchers, research and non-governmental organizations, and commercial organisations.

Organisation’s objectives (if different from the Mission):

Keywords

• Marine Ecosystems
• Marine Research
• capacity development
• ocean biodiversity
• valuation and use of resources

Activities

• Data management, interoperability, sharing, access, open data policies
• Defining strategies/road maps/priorities for Earth (ocean) observing/science
• Science coordination