November 17-18, 2022: The two-day Training Workshop on “Biodiversity, Biopiracy and its relevance in Tourism” was successfully completed to the stakeholders that are relevant to tourism and biodiversity at the Jigme Namgyel College of Engineering, Dewathang, Samdrupjongkhar. Twenty two participants representing the Royal Bhutan Police (Samdrupjongkhar, Chazam-Trashigang, Samdrupcholing, Samrang, Jomotshangkha, and Nganglam), Department of revenue and customs (Samdrupcholing , Nganglam and Jomotshangkha), Department of Immigration (Samdrupcholing , Nganglam and Jomotshangkha), Department of Forest and Park Services (Samdrupjongkhar Forest Division and Jomotshangkha wildlife Sanctuary), Jigme Namgyel Collage of Engineering (JNEC), Bhutan Agriculture and Food Regulation Authority (Samdrupjongkhar and Nganglam) and Department of Tourism Regional Office Samdrupjongkhar took part in the training workshop.
The training workshop was conducted to enhance understanding and awareness on the importance of biodiversity conservation in Bhutan, issues of biopiracy and the policy and legal framework related to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in the country. In addition to the above, the workshop also aims to garner support from the relevant stakeholders for biodiversity conservation, and mitigation of biopiracy and misappropriation in the country. During the workshop, participants were familiarized on the dynamics of biodiversity, importance of biodiversity, status of Bhutan’s biodiversity, issues of misappropriation and biopiracy, Convention on Biological Diversity, Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of wild Fauna and Flora, Nagoya Protocol, policy and legal framework on Access and Benefit Sharing, Plant taxonomy, Invasive and Alien species, citizen-based biodiversity information platforms, and the role of citizens in documentation and curation of biodiversity. Further, participants were given hands-on training on BioBlitz, Bhutan Biodiversity Portal usage and herbarium techniques. The participants were taken for a field visit to learn about the agrobiodiversity conservation and community seed bank program of the Samdrupjongkhar initiatives and the Model Biogas Plant at JNEC. The program ended with a recorded presentation on Bhutan Believe and Brand Bhutan by the Director General, Depart of Tourism and the award of certificates to the participants.
This training is organized by the National Biodiversity Centre through the support of the Ecotourism Project “Mainstreaming Biodiversity Conservation into the Tourism Sector in the Bhutan” funded by GEF-UNDP Bhutan through the Department of Tourism, Royal Government of Bhutan. In the following weeks, similar workshops will be conducted in Gelephu, Phuntsholing and Paro.
