About the Portal

The HKH Conservation Portal has been developed to serve as a regional repository of biodiversity and conservation-based information, especially from the seven transboundary conservation landscapes in the Hindu Kush-Himalayan region as identified by ICIMOD.

The database includes biodiversity information; some selected socioeconomic features that are essential to understand the relationship between people, and their culture and use of biodiversity; and information on biodiversity management, such as conservation issues, threats, and management measures. The portal provides access to information to facilitate landscape level conservation planning. It is a platform where information for landscape level conservation can be collected, collated, and shared under the common license of open data sharing and exchange.

As a regional repository, it invites participation from all the regional member countries to update and refine the content, either by validating the existing information or by adding new data, information, and knowledge.

Current features in the portal are:

• Conservation initiatives in the HKH - provides an overview of the biodiversity significance of the region, the conservation challenges, and background information about landscape level conservation initiatives in the region.
• Protected areas in the HKH – provides a list of IUCN designated protected areas, including size, coverage, and establishment and management effectiveness.
• Conservation landscapes- gives detailed information on the seven transboundary landscapes. Currently, information has been uploaded about the Kangchenjunga Landscape.
• Search Species – allows search of species recorded within the protected areas, currently only available for protected areas in the Kangchenjunga Landscape.
• Contribute to the portal – provides the user with a mechanism for contributing to the portal. Additional, missing, or updated information on protected areas, corridors, landscapes, or species can be submitted using the form provided. An authentic bibliographic citation for the information should be included.
• Bibliography - provides bibliographic details for books and others sources from which the data and information in the portal is derived.
• Feedback Form - allows users to share their comments and make suggestions for the improvement of the portal .

We gratefully acknowledge the John D. and Catherine MacArthur Foundation for financial support to the Kanchenjunga Landscape Conservation Initiative and development of this portal. We would also like to thank ICIMOD’s partners in Bhutan, India, and Nepal who supported the implementation of the Kangchenjunga Initiative and helped gather data and information on various landscape elements.

Portal production team (ICIMOD):
Nakul Chettri, Bandana Shakya, Birendra Bajracharya, Bikash Dongol, Sudip Pradhan, Ranju Acharya, Rabindra Man Joshi, Deependra Tandukar, Eklabya Sharma, Beatrice Murray; Susan Sellars