4 September 2025

Online Webinar on Biodiversity Data Mobilisation and Publishing – GBIF

Organised by Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), Eastern Himalaya, in collaboration with GBIF Asia and ICIMOD

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About the workshop

The online webinar on “Biodiversity Data Mobilisation and Publishing – GBIF” was organised by ATREE (Eastern Himalaya) in collaboration with GBIF Asia on 4 September 2025. The session aimed to address the growing need for accessible, standardised biodiversity data to support conservation planning, policy formulation, and research. Biodiversity-rich regions like India and Nepal often face challenges with data sharing due to fragmentation and interoperability issues. GBIF provides a global platform and tools, such as the Integrated Publishing Toolkit (IPT) and the Darwin Core standards, to overcome these barriers. The workshop introduced these resources and encouraged participants to contribute to global biodiversity datasets.

Key Highlights

  • 434 registrants, 247 attendees, and 129 unique viewers from India, Nepal, the USA, Denmark, Bhutan, Kenya, and other countries.
  • Topics covered: GBIF infrastructure, data standards (Darwin Core), IPT workflows, and benefits of open biodiversity data.
  • Participants included researchers, data curators, students, and policymakers, with many staying for the full duration.
  • Guidance on publishing datasets using IPT and accessing GBIF resources.

Challenges and Opportunities

Challenges:

  • Limited technical capacity in smaller institutions.
  • Fragmented datasets and lack of metadata standards.
  • Connectivity issues in remote biodiversity hotspots.

Opportunities:

  • GBIF’s open infrastructure offers global visibility for local datasets.
  • IPT simplifies publishing and reduces technical barriers.
  • Collaboration among regional nodes (e.g., HKHBIF) can accelerate data mobilisation.
  • Increased interest from policymakers and researchers creates momentum for scaling efforts.

Action Points

  • Promote Data Standards: Encourage institutions to adopt Darwin Core for interoperability and quality assurance.
  • Capacity Building: Organise follow-up training sessions on IPT installation and dataset publishing workflows.
  • Regional Collaboration: Strengthen partnerships among biodiversity-rich countries to mobilise underrepresented data.
  • Citizen Science Engagement: Develop outreach programs to involve citizen scientists in data collection and sharing.
  • Monitoring and Reporting: Establish mechanisms for tracking contributions from South Asia to GBIF.

Conclusion

The webinar successfully raised awareness about the importance of biodiversity data mobilisation and the role of GBIF in enabling global data sharing. Participants gained practical insights into data standards and publishing workflows, reinforcing the need for collaborative efforts to fill data gaps in biodiversity-rich regions. Moving forward, sustained capacity building, regional partnerships, and active engagement of citizen scientists will be critical to achieving comprehensive biodiversity data coverage.

Expert Panel:

  • Speakers included Dr. Nakul Chettri (ATREE), Mrs. Lily Shrestha (GBIF Asia), Dr. Sailendra Dewan (ATREE), Dr. Vijay Barve (GBIF Asia), Dr. Joe Miller (GBIF Secretariat), and Mr. Ramesh Kathariya (HKHBIF/ICIMOD).

Contacts

Sailendra Dewan, Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), The Himalaya Initiative, India

Lily Shrestha, Asia Regional Support Team, GBIF

Ramesh Kathariya, ICIMOD

Bandana Shakya, ICIMOD