This workshop was organized as part of the BIFA5_008 project Enriching the Bhutan Biodiversity Portal through digitization and mobilization of specimen collections and was arranged for the students in the Panbang region, most of which were from the Sherubtse College.
The aim of the workshop was to create awareness of the Bhutan Biodiversity Portal, which is an open source platform based on citizen science participation and interactions with taxonomic experts and which aims to document Bhutan’s rich biodiversity, which still remains largely undocumented. The data in the portal are open access and are accessible to everyone.
The background on the portal and brief details on the portal functions were presented along with a brief presentation on the biodiversity statistics of Bhutan. Uses of the portal were demonstrated and it was encouraged to contribute towards documenting biodiversity.
More than 100 students and 20 officials from colleges in Panbang region participated in the workshop. Additional students were interested to participate in the workshop, but the hall could accommodate only around 100 participants.