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Biodiversity Information Systems Prasanna J. Kolte Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment, Bangalore E-Forests Information Systems for Decision making in Forestry 11 th May 2013

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Karnataka Biodiversity Atlas

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Initiated and funded by Karnataka Biodiversity Board Created by Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment, Bangalore In Collaboration with School of Ecology and Conservation, UAS, GKVK, Bangalore and Strand Life Sciences, Bangalore School of Ecology and Conservation

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Objectives To develop a comprehensive geo-environmental database from existing information related to biodiversity distribution and conservation in Karnataka To design, develop and implement a dynamic Biodiversity Atlas based on WebGIS and associated technologies To strengthen the ongoing national level efforts to build biodiversity information infrastructure

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The Proposal To map prioritized information - Priority themes and species Species distribution Data quality to reflect distribution at Karnataka level through to taluk level

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Application structure DatabaseWeb Application Storage of spatial data Species checklists Map descriptions Query Visualisation Administratio n Module Admi n Data updates

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Technological Structure

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Thematic Structure Seven themes + PBRs and Species Checklists Thirty sub-themes Administrativ e Forest Revenue Infrastructure Other Physic al Habita t Speci es Bioresource s Conservatio n Socio- cultural Climate Land Water Landscape Zones Ecosystem Services Habitat Change LULC Mammals Plants Amphibians Reptiles Birds Arthropods Molluscs Fungi Microbes Fishes Animals Plants Fungi Other Administration Conservation Action Conservation Challenges Prioritised Areas Historical Culture Demography

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Content Biodiversity data such as species occurrence, distribution, conservation, etc. Associated environmental variables such as topography, temperature, rainfall, etc. Text descriptions and photos

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Striking Features g2c model Government to Citizen Developed using open source technologies Open for public access User friendly interface to access biodiversity data Data ownership with the respective data provider Suitable for various user group researchers to government personnel to citizens in general Suitable for various uses citizen conservation action, official decision making, conservation planning and research

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Content Status (contd) Data under preparation Species including Marine Microbes 100 + 20+ Environmental and Administrative Physical Habitat Administrativ e Conservation Expected Data 10+++ Species Mammals Butterflies Amphibian s Environmental and Administrative Hobli/village boundaries Soil Geology Geomorpholog y 600 + 100 + Data processed and curated till date Environmental and Administrative Physical Habitat Administrativ e Conservation Species including Bioresources

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Constraints in Data Collection Slow response from data providers including government departments Most data in hard copy format needs greater amount of time for digital conversion

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Future Work Application Development Query and retrieval modules Kannada Module Administrative module Data PBR species data processing Addressing major data gaps Layer Descriptions in English and Kannada

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Acknoweldgements KBB: Sri. R. K. Singh, IFS Sri. H. S. Devaraj Sri. Prajapathi, IFS (Retd.) Sri. K. S. Sugara, IFS Advisors: Dr. K. N. Ganeshaiah Dr. R. Prabhakar Dr. Gladwin Joseph Major Data Providers Karnataka Forest Department FRLHT, Bangalore IIRS, Dehradun Birdlife International IUCN School of Ecology and Conservation, UAS, GKVK, Bangalore India Biodiversity Portal, Bangalore Bombay Natural History Society, Bombay Sahaja Samruddha, Bangalore Vanastree, Sirsi ATREE, Bangalore