Consortium of European Taxonomic Facilities

The Consortium of European Taxonomic Facilities (CETAF) is a taxonomic research network formed by scientific institutions in Europe. It was formed in December 1996[1] by ten of the largest European natural history museums and botanical gardens to be a voice for taxonomy and systematic biology in Europe, to promote scientific research and access to European natural history collections, and to exploit European funding opportunities. Since then, CETAF has served as a meeting point for major European natural history museums and botanical gardens, and has initiated and played an important role in a number of projects (see Initiatives and related projects section below).

Currently, CETAF has 37 members, which constitute a total of 63 institutions spanning 22 European countries (see Members section below). One of these members, the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, also hosts CETAF's General Secretariat.[1]

Together, CETAF institutions hold a large fraction (c. 500 million objects) of the world’s most important natural history collections, and the scientific staff have unique expertise in taxonomy and systematics. Biodiversity loss, global warming and other environmental issues need natural history collections and related expertise as sources of knowledge and for reference. The increasing political and public awareness of environmental questions and their importance for society provide both challenges and opportunities for taxonomic facilities.

CETAF strives to represent the interests of its member institutions, to enhance the visibility of its members, and to be a powerful voice for natural history collections and collections-based research in Europe.

General Meetings

General Meetings with representatives of each member institution are held twice a year. The meetings are hosted by any of the member institutions and held at any of the European natural history museums or botanic gardens. Current business between the General Meetings are run by the Chair and the Steering Committee, assisted by the Secretariat.

A number of CETAF members, or national consortia in which CETAF members play leading roles, have since 1998 received support through the European Commission's Framework Programmes to enhance transnational access to their collections, equipment and expertise.

CETAF initiatives

  • SYNTHESYS (Synthesis of Systematic Resources) – A CETAF Integrated Infrastructure Initiative in EU FPVI and FPVII
  • European Distributed Institute of Taxonomy (EDIT) – A CETAF network of Excellence in Taxonomy for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, EU FPVI, which started 1 March 2006. The project ended in 2011.[2]
  • European Journal of Taxonomy (EJT) – A peer-reviewed international journal in descriptive taxonomy, covering the eukaryotic world. (ISSN 2118-9773)
  • Distributed European School of Taxonomy (DEST) – Established by EDIT

Members

The following is a list of members, the nations in which these members are situated, and associated institutions:[5]

Country Member(s) Institution(s)
 Austria Biology Centre of Upper Austria State Museums Same as member
Natural History Museum, Vienna Same as member
 Belgium Meise Botanic Garden Same as member
Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences Same as member
Royal Museum for Central Africa Same as member
 Bulgaria Bulgarian Consortium Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research
National Museum of Natural History
 Czech Republic Czech Consortium Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague
Institute of Botany, The Czech Academy of Sciences
National Museum, PragueNatural History Museum
 Denmark Natural History Museum of Denmark Same as member
 Estonia Estonian Consortium: Estonian Academy of Sciences Estonian Museum of Natural History
Estonian University of Life Sciences
Tallinn University of Technology
University of Tartu Natural History Museum and Botanical Garden
 Finland Finnish Museum of Natural History Same as member
 France National Museum of Natural History Same as member
 Germany Bavarian Natural History Collections Same as member
Natural History Museum, Berlin Same as member
Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin Same as member
Senckenberg Naturmuseum Frankfurt Same as member
Stuttgart State Museum of Natural History Same as member
Zoological Research Museum Alexander Koenig Same as member
NORe e. V. Association of German Natural History Museums in the North Sea and Baltic Sea Region CeNaK - Centre of Natural History - University of Hamburg
German Oceanographic Museum Stralsund (NORe. page)
Müritzeum (NORe. page)
Museum of Nature and Environment, Lübeck (NORe. page)
Natural History Museum, Bielefeld (NORe. page)
State Natural History Museum, Braunschweig (NORe. page)
State Museum of Nature and Men Oldenburg (NORe. page
Übersee-Museum of Bremen (NORe. page)
Zoological Collection of the University of Rostock (NORe. page)
Zoological Institute and Museum Greifswald (NORe. page)
Zoological Museum of Kiel University (NORe. page)
 Greece Natural History Museum of Crete Same as member
 Hungary Hungarian Natural History Museum Same as member
 Israel The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, National Natural History Collections Same as member
The Steinhardt Museum of Natural History, Israel National Center for Biodiversity Studies Same as member
 Italy Italian Consortium Natural History Museum of Genova
Natural History Museum, University of Florence
 Luxembourg National Museum of Natural History, Luxembourg Same as member
 Netherlands Naturalis Biodiversity Center Same as member
 Norway Natural History Museum, University of Oslo Same as member
 Poland Museum and Institute of Zoology, Polish Academy of Sciences Same as member
 Slovakia Slovak Consortium: Slovak National Taxonomic Facility (NaTAF) Comenius University, Faculty of Natural SciencesBotany
Comenius University, Faculty of Natural Sciences – Zoology
Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in KošiceFaculty of Science
Slovak Academy of SciencesInstitute of Botany
Slovak Academy of Sciences – Institute of Zoology
Slovak National Museum – Museum of National History
 Spain Spanish Consortium CSIC. National Museum of Natural Sciences
CSIC. Royal Botanic Garden of Madrid
 Sweden Swedish Museum of Natural History Same as member
Gothenburg Consortium Department of Biology and Environmental Sciences, Gothenburg University
Gothenburg Botanical Garden
Gothenburg Natural History Museum
  Switzerland Natural History Museum of Bern Same as member
Geneva Consortium Conservatory and Botanical Garden of the City of Geneva
Natural History Museum of Geneva
 United Kingdom London Natural History Museum Same as member
National Museums Scotland Same as member
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh Same as member
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Same as member

References

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