On March 26, 2026, a scientific-practical seminar "Collection Funds of the NBS and Their Integration into the Global GBIF System" was held in a mixed format at the National Botanical Garden named after M.M. Gryshko of the NAS of Ukraine. This event became an important platform for discussing strategic directions for the development of the institution's collection funds, their digitization, and inclusion in international information systems. Scientists from various scientific departments of the Garden working with collections of living plants, herbarium and seed funds, as well as representatives of other Ukrainian scientific and educational centers – natural history museums, dendroparks, higher education institutions, etc. – joined the gathering.
At the opening of the event, the director of the National Botanical Garden named after M.M. Gryshko of the NAS of Ukraine, corresponding member of the NAS of Ukraine Natalia Zaimenko, and the seminar coordinator, deputy director for scientific work of the Garden, corresponding member of the NAS of Ukraine Jamal Rakhmetov, spoke. They emphasized the importance of the work carried out by the scientific team of this institution on digitizing information about the collection funds of the National Botanical Garden named after M.M. Gryshko of the NAS of Ukraine and the prospects for presenting data about the collections on relevant international information platforms.
The focus was on the issues of integrating the Garden's botanical collections into the global GBIF system (Global Biodiversity Information Facility) – an international platform of open biodiversity data. It is worth noting that Ukraine officially joined the GBIF network as an Associate Participant in October 2025 after the signing of a memorandum by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine. The national GBIF node is coordinated with the participation of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. Ukrainian scientific institutions, museums, and herbaria publish information about their collections in the global database. "Ukrainian scientists continue to actively open their biodiversity data to the whole world even during the full-scale war. Now that Ukraine has officially joined the GBIF network, these efforts have become part of a global system that strengthens both national capabilities and the accessibility of global nature data," emphasized the manager of the national GBIF node in Norway, regional representative of the GBIF node in Europe and Central Asia, Dag Endresen.
Corresponding member of the NAS of Ukraine Jamal Rakhmetov, senior researcher of the cultural flora department of the National Botanical Garden named after M.M. Gryshko of the NAS of Ukraine, Candidate of Biological Sciences Andriy Mosyakin, and the institution's postgraduate student Sarkhan Osmanov shared the results of important work carried out to register the Garden in the global GBIF system and presented the publication of information about certain collection funds of the institution. The scientific reports emphasized the prospects for the development of scientific-practical work aimed at further implementing approaches to include data about the collection funds of all departments of the National Botanical Garden named after M.M. Gryshko of the NAS of Ukraine into the global scientific space. This will significantly increase the visibility of the results of work on the conservation and enrichment of biodiversity in the institution at the international level.
In March 2025, the GBIF Secretariat, in response to an official request from the National Botanical Garden named after M.M. Gryshko of the NAS of Ukraine, made a positive decision to register the institution and grant it authorization and the status of a data publisher. Last year, the necessary information about the pilot botanical collections of the Kyiv academic botanical garden was also prepared and published in the global GBIF network.
Special attention at the scientific seminar was given to the preparation of the Catalog of Plant Collection Funds of the National Botanical Garden named after M.M. Gryshko of the NAS of Ukraine, which is to become a key tool for systematizing, accounting, and presenting the scientific collections of this institution. Corresponding member of the NAS of Ukraine Jamal Rakhmetov presented a report on this, outlining the current state of the catalog preparation and the next steps toward its completion.
An important element of the development of collections is their inventory and updating, which ensure the reliability and completeness of information about botanical specimens. The deputy director for scientific work of the National Botanical Garden named after M.M. Gryshko of the NAS of Ukraine, Candidate of Biological Sciences Mykola Haponenko, spoke about the state of this work and practical aspects of its implementation.
During the seminar, it was emphasized that the integration of collection funds into global databases is not only a demand of the times but also a necessary condition for the development of modern science. This opens new opportunities for international cooperation and participation in global research projects and increases the efficiency of using scientific resources.
With this event, the National Botanical Garden named after M.M. Gryshko of the NAS of Ukraine confirmed its readiness for active participation in the formation of an open scientific space and integration into the global system of biodiversity data exchange.
According to information from the National Botanical Garden named after M.M. Gryshko of the NAS of Ukraine
