National Biodiversity Centre

Category: Biodiversity News

  • Biodiversity Rules and Regulation 2023 sensitization workshop in Paro

    Biodiversity Rules and Regulation 2023 sensitization workshop in Paro

    27th – 28th April 2023, Currently Ongoing:

    The sensitization workshop on Biodiversity Rules and Regulations 2023 of the Biodiversity Act of Bhutan 2022 is being carried in Paro for relevant stakeholders for the enforcement agencies and Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) Checkpost.

    The sensitization workshop is held jointly by the National Biodiversity Centre (NBC) and the Legal Division of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MoAL) to the enforcement agencies mainly to explain roles and responsibilities in terms of implementation of the Act and its Rules and Regulations. The Act designated the Royal Bhutan Police (RBP), the Department of Forest and Park Services (DoFPS), the Bhutan Food and Drug Regulatory Authority (BFDA) and the National Biodiversity Centre as the enforcement agencies. Further, the Department of Media, Creative Industry & Intellectual Property and the Department of Revenue and Customs along with the enforcement agencies are identified as an ABS checkpoint to help the enforcement agencies in the implementation of the Act and its Rules and Regulations.

    Along with the Act, the participants were sensitized on the different mechanisms of conservation and utilization of biological resources under Access and Benefit Sharing Regime and explained the tools for plant variety protection and farmer’s rights under the Sui Generis system. The participants were also explained conservation of sustainable use of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture through different approaches like evolutionary plant breeding approaches.

    The sensitization workshop is attended by the representatives from Department of Forests and Park Services, Bhutan Food and Drug Authority, Department of Revenue Customs, Department of Immigration, Bhutan Post and Druk Air.

    The Biodiversity Act of Bhutan 2022 was adopted by the 7th Session of the 3rd Parliament of Bhutan and subsequently received Royal Assent on 15th July 2022 and as mandated by the Act, the Competent National Authority approved the Rules and Regulations in 13th February, 2023 and subsequently the the rules and regulation came into force from 16th February, 2023.

    Similar sensitization will be conducted at Phuntsholing, Samtse, Nganglam, Gelephu, Samdrupjongkhar in the coming days for the enforcement officers and ABS checkpoints.

    The workshop is financially supported by the Evolutionary Plant Breeding Project funded by the International Fund for Agriculture and Development (IFAD) through Bioversity International which is implemented by the National Biodiversity Centre.

  • Two new species of orchids  described from Bhutan

    Two new species of orchids  described from Bhutan

    Bulbophyllum gurungianum P.Gyeltshen, K.Rabgay & Kumar, sp. nov.
    Bulbophyllum punakhaense P.Gyeltshen, K.Rabgay & Kumar, sp.nov.

    Two new species of Bulbophyllum orchids have been discovered by a team of researchers from the College of Natural Resources, National Biodiversity Centre (NBC), Department of Forest and Park Services, and Department of Plant and Soil Science in the United States. Bulbophyllum gurungianum and Bulbophyllum punakhaense are the names of the two new orchid species. Currently, Bhutan is home to 65 species of Bulbophyllum orchids. The journal article is published in the journal Lankesteriana in 2023, describing the new species.


    Bulbophyllum gurungianum is named in honor of Professor Dhan Bdr. Gurung, College of Natural Resources, Lobesa, Punakha Dzongkhag who first discovered the orchid in 2006 and for his immense contribution to the orchid taxonomy in Bhutan. Bulbophyllum punakhaense is named after Punakha Dzongkhag where it was first spotted and collected the specimen.


    Bulbophyllum gurungianum and Bulbophyllum punakhaense are both epiphytic plants that grow on tree trunks and branches in broadleaf forests. The latter species is found between elevations of 2000 and 2700 m, while the former is found between elevations of 1400-2000 m. The specimens were collected by Phub Gyeltshen, a student of forest science at the College of Natural Resources, and Kinley Rabgay, a forest ranger with the Wangdue Forest Division in Punakha Dzongkhag in October 2022. The specimens including the holotypes are deposited at the National Herbarium THIM.

  • Sensitization workshop on the Biodiversity Rules and Regulations 2023

    Sensitization workshop on the Biodiversity Rules and Regulations 2023

    21st April 2023: The first-ever sensitization workshop on Biodiversity Rules and Regulations 2023 of the Biodiversity Act of Bhutan 2022 was held in Thimphu for relevant stakeholders with a special focus on the roles and responsibilities of enforcement agencies and Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) Checkpoints. The sensitization workshop is held jointly by the National Biodiversity Centre (NBC) and the Legal Division of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MoAL) to the enforcement agencies and ABS checkpoints mainly to explain roles and responsibilities in terms of implementation of the Act and its Rules and Regulations. The Biodiversity Act of Bhutan and its Rules and Regulations designated the Royal Bhutan Police (RBP), the Department of Forest and Park Services (DoFPS), the Bhutan Food and Drug Regulatory Authority (BFDA) and the National Biodiversity Centre as the enforcement agencies. Further, the Department of Media, Creative Industry & Intellectual Property and the Department of Revenue and Customs along with the enforcement agencies are identified as a ABS checkpoint to help the enforcement agencies in the implementation of the Act and its Rules and Regulations.

    The sensitization workshop was attended by the representatives from Department of Forests and Park Services (DoFPS), Bhutan Food and Drug Authority (BFDA), Department of Revenue Customs, Department of Immigration, the Department of Media, Creative and Industry and Intellectual Property and Bhutan Airlines.

    The Biodiversity Act of Bhutan 2022 was adopted by the 7th Session of the 3rd Parliament of Bhutan and subsequently received Royal Assent on 15th July 2022 and as mandated by the Act, the Competent National Authority approved the Rules and Regulations in 13th February, 2023 and subsequently the Rules and Regulations came into force from 16th February, 2023.

    Similar workshops will be conducted in Paro, Phuntsholing, Samtse, Nganglam,Gelephu, Samdrupjongkhar and Paro in the coming days for the enforcement officers and ABS checkpoints.

    The workshop is financially supported by the Evolutionary Plant Breeding Project funded by the International Fund for Agriculture and Development (IFAD) through Bioversity International which is implemented by the National Biodiversity Centre.

  • Pre-meeting on NBSAP Early Action Support project & the seventh National Report to UN-CBD

    Pre-meeting on NBSAP Early Action Support project & the seventh National Report to UN-CBD

    Participants to the NBSAP and 7th National Report pre-meeting. Right to left: Dhendup Tshering (MoF), Jambay Dorji (BFDA), Tshering Pem (NBC Secretariat), Karma C. Nyedrup (NFP to CBD, DoECC), Dr. Karma Dema Dorji (Program Director, NBC), Rinzin Wangmo (Finance, UNDP ) , Choki Gyeltshen (NBC Secretariat), Mani P. Nirola (NFP to Nagoya Protocol, NBC), Lhendup Tharchen (Project Focal, UNDP).

    In line with the Conference of Parties (CoP15) of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, a pre-meeting was conducted from 7th-8th April 2023 at Metta Resort in Paro. The meeting aimed to initiate the formation of National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plan (NBSAP) Technical Working Group (TWG), its Terms of Reference (ToR), work plan of the GBF Early Action Support (EAS) project, the seventh National Report to the UN Convention on Biodiversity Diversity (CBD), and the project budget plan.

    The meeting was attended the National Focal Point (NFP) to CBD from the Department of Environment and Climate Change (DoECC), MoENR; NFP to Nagoya Protocol from NBC; NFP to Cartagena Protocol from the Bhutan Food and Drug Authority (BFDA), MoH; representative from the Department of Macro-Fiscal & Development Finance, MoF; NBSAP Secretariat from NBC; and representatives from the UNDP Bhutan Country Office. The meeting was organized by the National Biodiversity Centre (NBC), MoAL, with financial and technical support from the UNDP Country Office.