The project "Yangambi, Scientific Pole (YPS) at the service of man and forests", implemented by CIFOR in collaboration with ERAIFT and the University of Ghent, is setting up a database that will facilitate the centralization of all existing data of the Yangambi Biosphere Reserve (RBY) as well as those that will be produced during its implementation. Among other things, it will ensure the storage of the data that will be collected within the framework of this project and will facilitate access and consultation, notably via a web application that we propose to set up and that will be accessible by all stakeholders involved in the YBR. This database will guarantee permanent free access to the data by national and international decision-makers and researchers and will allow a wide dissemination of the data. In collaboration with the RMCA, WWF and INERA, the model of the RBY database access application was presented, discussed and adopted by the Scientific Coordination. The last version was adopted by the member institutions of the Scientific Coordination. The data are being provided and the animation phase has been launched. It is being fed by the ERAIFT team. Its total completion is scheduled for the end of December 2021.

As part of the implementation of a database of works on the Yangambi landscape, the Ecole Régionale Post Universitaire d'Aménagement et de Gestion Intégrés des Forêts et Territoires Tropicaux (ERAIFT) and the Institut National pour l'Etude et la Recherche Agronomique (INERA) have signed a memorandum of understanding in 2019. In accordance with their respective missions, the parties declare their willingness to cooperate in the collection, storage, facilitation of access and consultation of existing data on the Yangambi Biosphere Reserve (RBY) as well as those that will be produced during the implementation of the project "Yangambi, Pôle Scientifique (YPS) au service de l'homme et des forêts" implemented by CIFOR in collaboration with ERAIFT and Ghent University.

Specifically, the parties declare their willingness to cooperate in the analysis and exploration of the different possibilities for the constitution and operationalisation of the database, according to the following characteristics :

• an oriented database, document for the good management of any type of data (any format) and documents ;
• security and access to data ensured by encryption and electronic signature of digital certificates ;
• the application has an internal search engine that will ensure the indexing of different documents ;
• the possibility of facilitating the consultation of "PDF" type report documents via a module that the application will have ;
• the basic engine of the application, e.g. a user interface for data access (REST-compatible API to anticipate various exchanges with other possible applications);
• automatic synchronisation with a backup server ensuring high data availability ;
• the possibility to visualise spatial data in a geographical interface ;
• the integration of an alert module to allow a user to monitor a possible theme in the case of an addition, modification or deletion of a document ;
• an integrated statistics module for statistics on data (most consulted, downloaded or searched, etc.) ;
• the part visible by a user (frontend) giving a modern and dynamic graphic atmosphere for a professional web application ;
• the possibility of making the application compatible with computer screens, tablets and smartphones.