Welcome to the Atlas of the Biodiversity of Bhutan
Fig: The Palearctic region consisting of conifer forests and alpine meadows.
Bhutan is a small land locked country situated in the eastern Himalaya with an area of 38,394 sq. km. Bhutan falls under two major biogeographic realms and they are the Indo-Malayan region which consists of the lowland rainforests of South and Southeast Asia and the Palearctic region which consists of conifer forests and alpine meadows of northern Asia and Europe.
Forests cover most of the country’s land, making up 72 percent of the total country’s land. A wide range of forest ecosystems and vegetation zones are seen in the country. This can be attributed to the great altitudinal range which leads to the variation in climatic conditions. The altitude of the places in Bhutan ranges from 150m to above 7000m above the sea level. The great variation in climatic conditions from place to place and the rich intact natural forest in the country have given birth to a great biological diversity.
There have been very little information regarding the biodiversity of Bhutan and besides the Bhutan Biodiversity Portal, no good online reference for any taxonomic group is present online. Therefore, the main objective of this website is to develop various webapps and mobile apps to maintain the data and information on the rich biodiversity of Bhutan. The website also aims to provide up-to-date information on the statistics of various well-studied groups of taxa such as birds, butterflies and flowering plants. The website is also aimed to provide a reliable reference for learners, scientists, researchers and for those who are genuinely interested in the biodiversity of Bhutan.
This website incorporates species data for the various groups of biodiversity of Bhutan. The website also provides a comprehensive biodiversity statistics of Bhutan through various web and mobile apps.
Our Apps
This is the first ever attempt to showcase the Bhutanese Birds in the android mobile platform. Some of the Birds found in Bhutan is shown in this application, which anyone interested in Birds and use it with ease. With such applications, I hope that more of our people will take interest in the birds of the country and thus help in the conservation and protection of our Birds and the environment as a whole.
Bhutan eBirds
The Plants of Bhutan Online is an online resource to document the diverse flora and aims to become an online reference to the various diverse plants found in Bhutan. The Website is a part of the websites developed as a part of the Bhutan Biodiversity Atlas educational initiative to document the biodiversity of Bhutan.
Plants of Bhutan Online - Under Development
An educational initiative to create an online reference site for the flowers of the beautiful Phobjikha Valley in Wangdue Phodrang District. Phobjikha valley is one of the popular destination for domestic as well as foreign tourists in Bhutan. It is also one of the RAMSAR sites in Bhutan. The valley is known for its scenic beauty in Bhutan and is often referred to as the Switzerland of Bhutan.
Flowers of the Phobjikha Valley
"Every Bhutanese is a trustee of the Kingdom’s natural resources and environment for the benefit of the present and future generations and it is the fundamental duty of every citizen to contribute to the protection of the natural environment, conservation of the rich biodiversity of Bhutan and prevention of all forms of ecological degradation including noise, visual and physical pollution through the adoption and support of environmental practices and policies. "
-- Article 5:1, The Constitution of the Kingdom of Bhutan
© 2024 Bhutan Biodiversity Atlas
Copyright
All Rights Reserved. Bhutan Biodiversity Atlas holds copyright for all the materials and data available on this website and all other Web Applications and Mobile Apps developed and maintained by the Bhutan Biodiversity Atlas except for the images contributed by various photographers. Respective photographer hold copyright for images, as cited in the image caption.