The Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) has been a WDS Member since September 2016. GBIF is an international network and data infrastructure funded by the world’s governments and aimed at providing anyone, anywhere, open access to data about all types of life on Earth. Their Mission is to mobilize the data, skills, and technologies needed to make comprehensive biodiversity information freely available for science and decisions addressing biodiversity loss and sustainable development.GBIF maintains one of the most comprehensive global networks of intergovernmental and non-governmental partners in biodiversity informatics through its Secretariat in Copenhagen. The network draws these diverse data sources together through the use of data standards, including Darwin Core, which forms the basis for the bulk of GBIF.org’s index of hundreds of millions of species occurrence records. Read more about their strategic plan developed by the GBIF governing board here.