Submission terms

Version of 15 November 2026.

These terms apply when you submit data to the African DSI DataBank as a contributor, whether to the Continental Hub directly or to a node that accepts contributors. They add to the Terms of Use.

What you confirm with each submission

You have the right to submit the data, and naming you as its steward is accurate.
The data were collected and are shared in line with the access-and-benefit-sharing obligations that apply to them, including permits and prior informed consent where needed, and you give their country of origin where asked.
The data aren't subject to any restriction that prohibits sharing them (CBD Decision 16/2, annex, paragraph 10(e)).
The data hold nothing human-derived: any human reads or other human data have been removed.
Your description of the data is correct to the best of your knowledge.

What the DataBank does

The Continental Admin reviews each submission before it is published, and may decline it with a reason.
At a node, that node's operators approve you as a contributor, and your records reach the Hub with the node's usual sync. The Continental Admin doesn't review them.
A published record gets a DataBank accession (AFDSI-…) and shows you, by name and ORCID iD, as its steward.
You decide who may access it and each access request. The DataBank doesn't loosen your choice. It may hide a record, with a reason given to you, if there is a legal or ethics problem with it.
A node's operators can retract a record you submitted there for a legal or ethics problem, but they can't change who may access it.
You name a backup steward, who takes over if your account closes; if neither of you has an active account, the Continental Admin looks after the record.
The DataBank sends a record to an international archive only with your consent for that record, adding the archive's accession to it. A record held at a node goes on only if you consent and that node allows it.

Moving a record

You can move a record you steward to the Hub (the Continental Admin reviews the move) or to another node where you are an approved contributor. It keeps its accession and citations. Where it was keeps only a notice saying where it went.

Withdrawing

You can retract a record you steward at any time. It stays as a notice in its place, and its files are no longer served. Copies others already downloaded under the terms you set aren't recalled.

Questions: contact us.

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What you confirm with each submission

You have the right to submit the data, and naming you as its steward is accurate.

The data were collected and are shared in line with the access-and-benefit-sharing obligations that apply to them, including permits and prior informed consent where needed, and you give their country of origin where asked.

The data aren't subject to any restriction that prohibits sharing them (CBD Decision 16/2, annex, paragraph 10(e)).

The data hold nothing human-derived: any human reads or other human data have been removed.

Your description of the data is correct to the best of your knowledge.

What the DataBank does

The Continental Admin reviews each submission before it is published, and may decline it with a reason.

At a node, that node's operators approve you as a contributor, and your records reach the Hub with the node's usual sync. The Continental Admin doesn't review them.

A published record gets a DataBank accession (AFDSI-…) and shows you, by name and ORCID iD, as its steward.

You decide who may access it and each access request. The DataBank doesn't loosen your choice. It may hide a record, with a reason given to you, if there is a legal or ethics problem with it.

A node's operators can retract a record you submitted there for a legal or ethics problem, but they can't change who may access it.

You name a backup steward, who takes over if your account closes; if neither of you has an active account, the Continental Admin looks after the record.

The DataBank sends a record to an international archive only with your consent for that record, adding the archive's accession to it. A record held at a node goes on only if you consent and that node allows it.