Dr Linton Arneaud from The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, is part of a regional team awarded €30,000 by the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) to strengthen biodiversity data management and mobilisation across the Caribbean through the project, Strengthening the Capacity of The University of the West Indies in Biodiversity Data Management and Mobilisation (BID-LAC2025-INS-295).

Bringing together researchers from the Mona, St. Augustine, and Cave Hill campuses, the initiative will digitise important biodiversity collections and make species data openly accessible through GBIF, enhancing its use by researchers, educators, conservation practitioners, and policymakers worldwide. For Barbados, the project will improve access to critical biodiversity information needed to support research, conservation planning, environmental management, and the protection of the island’s forests, gullies, wetlands, coastal habitats, and other ecosystems, while demonstrating the value of regional collaboration in advancing biodiversity science and conservation across the Caribbean.