Pre-conference on “Linking Geodata with Biodiversity Information in the Himalayas”

Date : 15-16 November, 2008
Venue : ICIMOD, Kathmandu, Nepal
Organiser : GMBA and ICIMOD

Background

Inventory and assessment of biodiversity are essential for management strategies and conservation interventions as well as for developing and testing scientific hypotheses. There is an increasing need for availability and accessibility of quality information on ecosystem dynamics both at species and ecosystem levels for informed decision-making.

The Global Mountain Biodiversity Assessment of DIVERSITAS in cooperation with the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) is promoting biodiversity databases worldwide. The Global Mountain Biodiversity Assessment (GMBA) is a cross-cutting research network of DIVERSITAS, the international programe of biodiversity science. GMBA’s main project 2008-2010 is to establish geo-referenced species databases as a tool for the assessment of mountain biodiversity, addressing a strong need for collaboration in communication, data collecting standardisation and data interpretation with respect to the data on biodiversity, climate and physiography that is being collected. (GMBA Research Agenda Körner et al. 2007 MRD).

The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) provides a central link to all Himalayan countries as a regional knowledge, learning and enabling centre to address the twin problems of ecosystem degradation and poverty. It is working for a better understanding of climate change induced challenges to the conservation of biological resources and improving livelihoods of mountain communities. Together with national partners in the region, ICIMOD is focusing on developing databases on mountain biodiversity. ICIMOD through Mountain Environment and Natural Resources Information System (MENRIS) programme is promoting the use of modern geo-information tools and methods for natural resources and biodiversity assessment and monitoring. The “Mountain Geo-Portal” serves as a virtual platform for online sharing of geo-referenced data and information on the Himalayas and “Nepal Biodiversity Portal” for sharing biodiversity information resources on Nepal.

Objectives

The aim of the workshop is to show the benefits of geo-referenced biodiversity data, for integrated analysis and spatial visualization of biodiversity information in relation to climate, landuse, physiography and other important parameters. The workshop also brings together national partners from the HKH region and explores the possibilities of hosting a regional platform for mountain biodiversity information for the Hindu Kush-Himalayas.

The workshop will deliberate on the available tools to facilitate the exchange of biodiversity and geoinformation worldwide e.g. GBIF, WMO/GTS and WorldClim. The workshop will also introduce ICIMOD’s initiatives on geo-information applications for biodiversity database development and sharing. The ultimate aim would be to provide easy and open access to biodiversity information of the Himalayas via GBIF/GMBA Mountain Biodiversity Portal and the Mountain Geo-Portal of ICIMOD and develop a framework and partnership for standardized biodiversity databases, their dissemination through standard metadata system to the wider Regional and Global Change Research community.

Contributors

• Eva Spehn, GMBA Office
• Christian Körner, GMBA Office
• Falk Hüttmann, GMBA database advisor
• Bernhard Dickore
• Basanta Shrestha, Division Head, MENRIS, ICIMOD
• Birendra Bajracharya, GIS Specialist, ICIMOD
• Eklabya Sharma, Programme Manager ECES, ICIMOD
• Nakul Chettri, ECES, Biodiversity Specialist, ICIMOD