The African Zoology Department from the Royal Museum for Central Africa (RMCA) has a unique taxonomic collection of African fauna, curating more than 10 million biological specimens with for instance 150.000 birds, 200.000 amphibians, 40.000 reptiles, 90.000 mammals, 950.000 fishes, 6 million insects and 1 million other invertebrates. It is one of the most important zoological collections from central Africa in the world. The collections originate for more than 80% from Congo, Rwanda and Burundi.

These collections contain an enormous wealth of biodiversity information. They also have a historical component making it possible to study the changes in biodiversity.

In order to facilitate access to these collections, the African Zoology Department created the African Biodiversity Information Centre (ABIC), an initiative launched after the signature of the Convention on Biological Diversity by Belgium (1992).

The main objectives of this initiative are :

• Promote, organise and disseminate the information on African biodiversity
• Facilitate access to biodiversity data banks
• Disseminate information on the collections through internet and allow the entry of new data and on-line consultation by use of an interface
• Help African countries in the inventory and sustainable management of their biodiversity, in particular by sponsoring study visits of African scientists.

Each year ABIC scholarships are granted for study visits at the RMCA.
For more information : International cooperation -  ABIC study visits 2011