Pacific biodiversity information forum: general biodiversity bibliography for Polynesia, Micronesia, and Melanesia

The need for a Pacific Biodiversity Information Forum to provide a venue and support for biodiversity information needs in the Pacific Basin was established during the GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility) meeting on Maui in May of 2002. Interested parties met again during the October 2003 GBIF meeting in Tsukuba, Japan and reaffirmed the need and began to draw up a governing structure for PBIF and identify specific biodiversity needs in the Pacific Basin that can be addressed through projects. The leadership and other interested parties met again at the April 2004 GBIF meeting in Oaxaca, Mexico to begin defining the organization. The interim organizing committee met again in October of 2005 in Wellington, New Zealand to define projects, responsibilities, timelines and deliverables.