For the implementation of Biodiversity Rules & Regulations 2023 of the Biodiversity Act of Bhutan 2022, executive orders in both Dzongkha and English is being issued after it has been endorsed and adopted by the Competent National Authority (CNA) on 13th February 2023. The Biodiversity Rules & Regulations 2023 will come into force from 16th February 2023 and it shall supersede all the executive orders and circulars which are inconsistent with the Act and the Rules and Regulations.
The National Biodiversity Centre in collaboration with the Ugyen Wangchuck Institute of Forestry Research and Training (UWICER) and the Honorary Consul of the Netherlands to Bhutan organized an event on “Invertebrates Conservation Advocacy and the Launch of the Moths of Bhutan book” on 17th February in Thimphu.
The Moths of Bhutan book is the result of the international cooperation under the purview of post-project of the National Invertebrates Project funded by the Bhutan Trust Fund for Environmental Conservation (BTFEC) since 2014. The project was coordinated by National Biodiversity Centre in collaboration with the Naturalis Biodiversity Centre in the Netherlands, College of Natural Resources, UWICER under the Department of Forests and Park Services, and the National Plant Protection Centre. The Moths of Bhutan book is the most comprehensive book on moths published till date and it consists of more than 1,900 species of moths found in Bhutan. The book is a part of systematic study to document the moth diversity in the country and it establishes a national baseline and sheds light on the diversity of moths. Book includes a checklist of all moths and will be valuable to field personnel working in the field of biodiversity as well as general public who are interested in this field of study. The specimens of moths are deposited at the National Invertebrates Repository at the NBC and the UWICER. The book was launched by Dasho Paljor J. Dorji (Benji) and Kees Klein along with the senior officials from the conservation sector in Thimphu.
Along with the book launched, a series of seminars were conducted to advocate on the invertebrates conservation and to update on the invertebrates inventory program in the country. Presentations on moths inventory, citizen-science initiatives, birds and invertebrates, bees and wasps, and dragonflies and damselflies were conducted. Around 35 officials attended the event.
The formal handing taking over of the plant drying and processing house between the management of the National Biodiversity Centre (NBC) and M/s Star Builders was executed on 16 February 2023. The construction was awarded to M/s Star Builders vide contract order No. NBC/Adrn/07/2023/918 dated 9th November 2023 after fulfilling the requirements of tender bidding documents.
The handing and taking over of the work was done in the presence of the contractor and the site engineer after accepting the work completion report by the NBC management. The single-storied house occupies an area of 117m2 (13mx9m). The basement of the building consists of six rooms, which will be used for receiving and chopping of the plant samples as well as for the processing and storing of the raw materials before the analysis. The first floor, which consists of a single hall will be used for shade drying of the samples.
The structure which incurred a sum of Nu. 3.8M was supported by Chanel Parfums Beaute, France. It will serve as an important addition to the centre’s facilities as it has an important processing function along the value chain of plants such as Chirata identified for the Access and Benefit Sharing Program.
