Overview

HKHBIF goal

Publication of biodiversity data from the Hindu Kush Himalayan region to enhance its use and application for effective biodiversity conservation and management.

Theme

Ecosystem services

Relevant resources

About GBIF Search GBIF HKHBIF at GBIF Find hosted resources in HKHBIF

Bandana Shakya

Node Manager | HKHBIF

About

Scope of HKHBIF

The Hindu Kush Himalayan Biodiversity Information Facility (HKHBIF) is dedicated to the collection, publication, and dissemination of biodiversity data from the Hindu Kush Himalayan region.

ICIMOD is an associate member of the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), and HKHBIF is the GBIF-mediated publishing platform that is hosted by ICIMOD. It is a regional node of GBIF that caters to ICIMOD’s eight regional member countries – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan. The aim is to sensitize biodiversity data holders on the importance of biodiversity data publishing globally, build a network of data holders and publishers from the region, and motivate them to contribute to building biodiversity data for the HKH.

HKHBIF strategies

Increase awareness of the importance of biodiversity information in the HKH region.
Communicate the importance of global publishing of biodiversity data and information to the public and decision makers.
Strengthen the HKHBIF organizational presence and its network of data holders and publishers from the HKH.
Seek out partnerships with other Asian regional nodes
Highlight biodiversity information from the HKH member countries.

Opportunities | Deadline for proposals: 9 Feb 2021

Call for proposals

GBIF invites the submission of concept notes for projects that enhance knowledge of Asian biodiversity through access to data from biological collections and monitoring programmes in the region.

The call is issued under the sixth phase of the Biodiversity Information Fund for Asia (BIFA) programme, funded by the Ministry of the Environment, Government of Japan. It aims to address key challenges and priorities identified in connection with the mobilization and use of biodiversity data in the region. The total funding assigned to this call is approximately €220,000. Applicants may request a maximum of €20,000 for projects implemented over a maximum period of 18 months.

HKHBIF timeline journey

2009: Participated as an observer at the GBIF

2012: Installation of Integrated Publishing Toolkit (IPT) and became an associate participant

2013-2017: Capacity strengthening of data holders; promotion of HKHBIF across the region; compilation of datasets from different landscape initiatives of ICIMOD

2018: Publication of biodiversity data from ICIMOD’s Regional Programme on Transboundary Landscapes; embedding within ICIMOD RDS

September 2018: GBIF Asia Regional Nodes Meeting organized in Kathmandu

2019: Reactivated HKHBIF (reregistration with GBIF); migration of 14 checklist datasets from earlier HKHBIF IPT; publication of datasets by other data holders and publishers; publication support to 2019 Biodiversity Information Fund for Asia (BIFA) grantee

July 2019: Sameer Bajracharya receives a data mobilization badge

August 2019: KATH publishes Endemic Flora of Nepal

August 2019: KATH publishes Alien flora of Nepal

March 2020: GBIF announces BIFA grantee for 2020

March 2020: Checklist dataset of ANCA published

July 2020: GBIF organized Asia pacific virtual meet on 17 July 2020

July 2020: GBIF organized Asian Node virtual summit on 20 July 2020

July-August 2020: GBIF organized Data mobilization workshop for BIFA

Be a publisher!

Let your data be known globally! Let your data find wider research use!

Call to action

Publish with HKHBIF

Step 1: Download appropriate excel template (checklist, occurrence, sampling data) from GBIF

Step 2: Fill in data and metadata sheet as suggested

Step 3: Send the completed excel sheet to HKHBIF@icimod.org for validation and publishing

Step 4: Once published a link with citation and DOI will be sent to the data publisher

Darwin Core is a standard maintained by the Darwin Core maintenance group. It includes a glossary of terms (in other contexts these might be called properties, elements, fields, columns, attributes, or concepts) intended to facilitate the sharing of information about biological diversity by providing identifiers, labels, and definitions. Darwin Core is primarily based on taxa, their occurrence in nature as documented by observations, specimens, samples, and related information.
Darwin core quick reference guide: https://dwc.tdwg.org/terms/

GBIF’s Integrated Publishing Toolkit: Read more

Featured

Meet the data contributors

National Herbarium and Plant Laboratories (KATH), Nepal

National Herbarium and Plant Laboratories (KATH), Nepal

A team from National Herbrium and Plant Laboratories (KATH) and the Department of Plant Resources, MoFE, Government of Nepal, published an occurrence dataset of Alien Flora of Nepal and Endemic Flora of Nepal based on the herbarium specimens that have been deposited at the National Herbarium and Plant Laboratories (KATH) of the Department of Plant Resources, Ministry of Forests and Environment, Kathmandu, Nepal. The digitization and publication process of this database was supported by Biodiversity Information Fund for Asia (BIFA; project no. BIFA3_025) programme of Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) funded by Ministry of Environment, Government of Japan.

Bishnu Shrestha (Nepal) info@dnpwc.gov.np

Bishnu Shrestha

Bishnu Shrestha works with the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC). He has published a checklist of the flora (angiosperms, gymnosperms, pteridophytes) and fauna (birds and insects) of Api Nampa Conservation Area. A total of 940 species are listed (https://www.gbif.org/dataset/565158dd-9feb-40a8-bb50-4830be6bbc5d#description).

Bharat Babu Shrestha (Nepal)

Dr. Bharat Babu Shrestha is an Associate Professor at the Ecology and Resource Management Unit of the Central Department of Botany in Tribhuvan University. He published an occurrence dataset of alien and endemic plant species of Nepal. The database contains occurrence records of 119 alien species included in 1753 herbarium specimens (https://www.gbif.org/dataset/8af571a4-135f-4ca0-acd8-16983cf6ee77) and 13 endemic species included in 30 herbarium specimens (https://www.gbif.org/dataset/de7fe7a1-1ceb-4302-adb6-f7b64686a86f) that have been deposited at the Tribhuvan University Central Herbarium (TUCH) of the Central Department of Botany, Tribhuvan University, Nepal.

Photo slider

Biodiversity of the HKH region

Red Panda – Cherub of mountain forest, Nepal. Photo credit: Sonam Tashi Lama

Fire-tailed sunbird (Aethopyga ignicauda). Photo credit: Karen Conniff.

Laccaria amethystina. Photo credit: Shiva Devkota

An important wintering habitat for the black-necked crane (Grus nigricollis). Photo: Alex Treadway/ICIMOD.

Sapria himalayana rare root parasite. Photo credit: Aparajitta Dutta

Species of the month: Jan 2021

Phallus indusiatus

Phallus indusiatus is commonly known as the stinkhorn fungus or veiled lady mushroom. In Nepal, it is popularly known as “Jaali Chyaau” (जाली च्याउ; Jaali refers to a net). This picture is taken in the Manaslu Conservation Area, Chekampar, in Gorkha District of Nepal at an altitude of 3025 masl. The mushroom looks very attractive with its whitish veil technically called indusium. Although elegant in its appearance, the mushroom has a very unpleasant odour. Both the odour and physical appearance relate to its advancement for spore dispersal over other mushroom species. Instead of only depending on wind for spore dispersal, stinkhorns – as their name suggests – produce a stinky, brown, spore-filled mucous called gleba. This attracts insects, and when they come to feed on the gleba, the spores get attached to them and are carried far and wide. The species is known for its medicinal and aphrodisiac properties, and is among a highly sought after edible mushrooms especially in China and Europe.