A seminar on the “national biodiversity conservation and sustainable program with special focus on access and benefit sharing” was held for the students of B.Sc. Environmental Science, Royal Thimphu College at the National Biodiversity Centre (NBC), Serbithang on 8th September, 2016.
The key areas covered in the seminar were:
- Biodiversity conservation and sustainable programs in the country;
- National and international conventions, treaties and legal framework on Biodiversity; and
- Access and Benefit Sharing regime adopted in the country.
The seminar is a part of the education and awareness series initiated by the National Biodiversity Centre to create awareness amongst academic institutions on the national as well as international development in the field of conservation and sustainable utilization of biodiversity with special focus on Access and Benefit Sharing mechanism. It is hoped that the insights that students will gain from such seminar will hone their interest and enthusiasm in the field of biodiversity conservation. A total of 40 students along with 2 lecturers attended a day-long seminar. The seminar was supported through the project “Nagoya Protocol Implementation Fund” implemented by the National Biodiversity Centre in collaboration with UNDP Bhutan.
27 Final year Diploma Agriculture students from College of Natural Resources, Lobesa paid a visit to National Biodiversity Centre (NBC) on 3rd May, 2016. The main purpose of the visit was to familiarize themselves with the ongoing conservation activities of the Centre.
The key objective of the seminar was to create awareness on traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources focusing on its documentation, protection and preservation, ownership and prevention of misappropriation.