The Pacific Biodiversity Information Forum is a young organization with an ambitious goal. It hopes to develop a complete, scientifically sound, and electronically accessible biological knowledge base on the countries in and around the Pacific Ocean, and to make this knowledge widely available for decision-making. The effort is still in its early stages, but the site already includes an extensive bibliography of flora and fauna in Polynesia, Melanesia, and Micronesia; basic information on the ecology of all Pacific Rim countries; access to two public mailing lists for persons interested in the topic; and an extensive collection of images.

Mount Ikurang North Rarotonga. Photo: A.K. Kepler

The Pacific Forum’s major partners include the Pacific Science Association, the 87-year-old research organization based in Honolulu.  Other partners are the Global Biodiversity Information Facility and the Global Taxonomy Initiative, which coordinate similar efforts for other bioregions. They plan for the day when all the plants and animals in the whole wide world will be linked and searchable online.