Category: Biodiversity News

A team from the National Biodiversity Centre (NBC), Ministry of Agriculture and Forests and the Naturalis Biodiversity Center in the Netherlands has discovered two species of aquatic snails, which are new to science. The new snails are named as Erhaia benjii and Tricula tashiae. Now, Bhutan has five species of snails from the genus Erhaia, and two species from the genus Tricula. The journal article is published in the journal Basteria, 2023 describing the new species.

Erhaia benjii is named in honor of Dasho Paljor J. Dorji (popularly known as Dasho Benji) for his eternal contribution to the environmental and biodiversity conservation in the country. He is a pioneer environmentalist and conservationist in Bhutan.

Tricula tashiae is named in honor of Dr. Tashi Yangzome Dorji, former Program Director of the National Biodiversity Centre and current Director of Department of Livestock, for her support in spearheading the National Invertebrates Inventory project in Bhutan and her role in enhancing biodiversity conservation and sustainable utilization in the country.

Both the species Erhaia benjii and Tricula tashiae were collected in a temperate forest from damp mud along two tiny streams, 15 meters apart. The tiny spring freshwater is of pH ca. 6.5. The specimens were collected by Choki Gyeltshen of the National Biodiversity Centre and his friend Phuntsho Namgyel in May 2022. The temperate forests consist of blue pine, few oak species, rhododendron species, poplar and some bamboo species.

The specimens including the holotypes are deposited at the National Invertebrates Repository under NBC. The species were determined using morphological and DNA analysis.

Link to the article: https://biodiversity.bt/document/show/715842

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.