SCIENCE BFSP CoS | WP6 | M6.2 A FAIRness evaluation of representative entries in ENA, BioSample, and DiSSCo

Biodiversity data are important for understanding and conserving the natural world, yet they are often fragmented, heterogeneous, and difficult to reuse. The FAIR principles provide a framework for improving the management and sharing of biodiversity data. However, generic FAIR assessment tools may not capture the specific needs and practices of the biodiversity community. To address this gap, the BioDiv-FAIR-Checker (BioDiv-FC) project aims to enhance the FAIRness assessment of biodiversity data by developing biodiversity-aware profiles and machine-actionable recommendations. In this report, we present the results of a preliminary FAIR assessment of biodiversity data resources using the FAIR-Checker tool. We evaluated a sample of biodiversity data resources from various communities and research infrastructures, including ERGA, BOLD, LifeWatch ERIC, eLTER, and DiSSCo. The global FAIR scores obtained  ranged from 16.7% to 45.8%, with most resources suffering from the lack of machine-readable metadata, which is essential for their FAIRness. This highlights the need for better metadata management and the sharing of best practices in the context of biodiversity data, as proposed by the BioDiv-FC project.