Building a biodiversity information system for the state of Assam – Assam Biodiversity Portal

Despite Northeast India Initiative being a refuge for a large number of rare species that are now under serious threat and a hotspot for biological diversity and endemism, the region is poorly represented on the India Biodiversity Portal (IBP). To try and overcome this situation, Northeast India Biodiversity Portal (NEIBP) conducted a meeting and workshop at the North Eastern Hill University in Shillong in September 2015. Participants, who included students, academics, researchers, nature enthusiasts and other stakeholders from across the Northeast, expressed an interest in holding similar workshops in their respective areas so that more data can be collected and aggregated. To this end, ATREE conducted NEIBP workshops across 12 areas in the Northeast to popularise the portal and supplement the data available on IBP from the region. Attended by over 350 individuals, each workshop was conducted with assistance and on-ground support from local partner organisations and individuals. To encourage citizen involvement in ecosystem and biodiversity conservation, ATREE partially supported the Northeast Butterfly Meet in Ziro, Arunachal Pradesh, for amateur butterfly enthusiasts, conducted workshops for nature guides in Manas National Park and Buxa Tiger Reserve, canopy and ground bioblitz for tea garden rangers and school students in Makaibari Tea Estate, and training for grassroots organisations.