Virtual Herbarium of Flora and Fungi: how to guarantee its sustainability

This viewpoint highlights the importance of, and the support required for the Brazilian National Institute of Science and Technology - Virtual Herbarium of Flora and Fungi (INCT-HVFF). It started in 2009 with 25 Brazilian herbaria and three from abroad. Now, it is a network of 170 Brazilian herbaria and 27 from other countries. The INCT-HVFF makes data and images of algae, fungi, and plants from these herbaria freely and openly available through the online repository speciesLink, as well as through GBIF and SiBBr. The speciesLink is a platform developed and maintained by CRIA (Reference Center for Environmental Information), a Civil Society Organization of Public Interest that provides tools for searching and analyzing biodiversity data and makes information about Brazil’s biodiversity accessible to all interested. The focus of the INCT-HVFF, as well as of CRIA, is to provide biodiversity data, contributing directly to the conservation and sustainable use of Brazil's biological resources. Today, the INCT-HVFF shares more than 13.9 million records of algae, fungi, and plants from Brazil and neighboring countries. Adequate funding is essential to ensure that this network continues to be an important source of data, information, and knowledge, offering many benefits to its users.