International standards

Governments and funders that host or support DSI databases are asked to make sure those databases follow the Convention on Biological Diversity's Decision 16/2. Researchers and funders also look for the FAIR, CARE and TRUST principles. This page says how the African DSI DataBank meets each, with a link to where it happens.

CBD Decision 16/2, annex, paragraph 10

Paragraph 10 lists what databases that make DSI publicly available should do.

(a) Tell users about the multilateral benefit-sharing mechanism

Every data page carries a notice linking to Benefit-sharing from DSI, and every file served carries the same link. Each record shows its benefit-sharing route (national framework or the multilateral mechanism).

(b) Tell submitters that national and international access and benefit-sharing obligations apply

The submission terms and every upload form, at the Hub and at each node, say so, and a submitter confirms it with each submission.

(c) Ask for the country of origin, where known, and associated metadata

Every upload form asks for the country of origin; records keep it and pass it on. Traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources is not recorded by the DataBank.

(d) Follow open-access data governance, taking FAIR, CARE and TRUST into account

See below.

(e) Ask submitters to state that the data aren't subject to restrictions that prohibit sharing

Each node's upload forms ask for this statement, and the Hub's submission terms include it.

The DataBank records what submitters state. Compliance with access and benefit-sharing law is checked by the services the DataBank connects to, never decided by the DataBank itself.

FAIR: findable, accessible, interoperable, reusable

• Findable: every record has a lasting identifier (AFDSI-…) and a citation page; record, species and catalogue pages carry machine-readable descriptions for search engines and dataset indexes.
• Accessible: a documented public API over HTTPS; public records download freely, others through a recorded access request.
• Interoperable: a DCAT catalogue and a Darwin Core Archive (see the API guide); standard taxonomic names; standard sequence formats.
• Reusable: each record states its licence (CC0, CC BY or restricted), where it came from and how to cite it (Terms of use & citation policy).

CARE: collective benefit, authority to control, responsibility, ethics

• Authority to control: data stay with the African institutions that hold them. A node decides who may access its records, and the Continental Hub cannot override a node's sharing choice (Governance).
• Collective benefit: every record has a benefit-sharing route, and a public record held outside its country of origin follows that country's choice (Benefit-sharing).
• Responsibility and ethics: researchers who submit are named stewards who decide access to their records; records can be retracted by their origin; no human data are accepted.

TRUST: transparency, responsibility, user focus, sustainability, technology

• Transparency: what is live and what is not yet is stated on About; who contributes is public on Participation.
• Responsibility: governance, terms and the security policy are public (Governance, Security).
• User focus: Getting started, FAQ, training materials and a contact form for every question.
• Sustainability: the African BioGenome Project (AfricaBP) runs the DataBank; what is in place for its long-term care, and what isn't yet, is on Preservation & sustainability.
• Technology: checksums on every file, nightly backups, signed node software, and a federated design in which no single server holds everything.