Imagine a world where every plant, animal, and insect are catalogued, and this is accessible to everyone through biodiversity data platforms. How would that affect our understanding of nature? Knowledge, after all, is our greatest weapon in the fight against biodiversity loss.
Over the past few months, as we explored biodiversity data from across the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH), we realised that open access biodiversity data platforms such as the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) and its regional node, the Hindu Kush Himalayan Biodiversity Information Facility (HKHBIF), are much more than repositories of information on fauna, flora, and fungi. They are windows into the stunning diversity of life that allow us to explore the living organisms around us. These tools are open repositories for evidence-based decision-making in conservation actions which can inform and inspire action in ways that can change the world. One example of this is when these data are used as a supplement for IUCN Red List Assessments in preparing range maps, which is one of the criteria for categorising the conservation status of species.
This year, as the world celebrates the International Day for Biological Diversity (IDB) 2025, we want to approach open access biodiversity data platforms from the perspective of their role in achieving our global aspirations for biodiversity, climate, and the Sustainable Development Goals.
Marking the International Day for Biological Biodiversity
Since the UN General Assembly’s proclamation in December 2000, 22nd May has been the day to celebrate the diversity of life on this planet and our collective actions to protect it. The day marks the adoption of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) on 22nd May, 1992. Crucially, beyond a celebration, this day is a call to action - reminding us of what remains to be done.
How do open access biodiversity data platforms align with this year’s IDB theme: “Harmony with Nature and Sustainable Development”? This theme resonates deeply with the goals of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF) and the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These two sets of goals are interconnected; we cannot achieve the SDGs without reversing biodiversity loss. Simultaneously, the way we frame our actions to achieve the SDGs can drive the change towards living in harmony with nature. This vision of interconnectedness reiterates the urgent need for integrated and transformative actions to secure a sustainable, fair, equitable, and resilient future for all, where the goals of the 2030 Agenda and the KMGBF are pursued in tandem.
How can digital platforms like the GBIF and HKHBIF help achieve the KMGBF targets?
Of the 23 action-oriented global targets of the KMGBF, the GBIF and HKHBIF directly align with and contribute to Target 21: Ensure That Knowledge Is Available and Accessible To Guide Biodiversity Action. This target is crucial. It recognises that we need the most reliable data, information, and knowledge in an open and usable format – to support decisions, policies, and awareness, and effective biodiversity governance and inclusive management.
The GBIF is a global network that provides open access biodiversity data from sources as diverse as herbarium and museum collections, camera traps, field observations, monitoring sites and citizen science platforms like eBird and iNaturalist. They use common standards like Darwin Core, which organise millions of species records on its platform, enabling their systematic accreditation and use. The data is shared openly under Creative Commons licenses, allowing researchers, scientists, and others to freely use the data for research and education. As of April 2025, GBIF hosts over 3 billion species occurrence records contributed by over 1,800 institutions globally. This data has been used in academia, policy and decision making, species extinction risk assessments, and habitat suitability mapping by local, national, and large-scale intergovernmental and conventional based bodies like the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES).
HKHBIF, hosted by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), brings a regional lens to this effort. It focuses on collecting, sharing, and spreading biodiversity data from the HKH region, that hosts parts or all of four global biodiversity hotspots. With over 200,000 species records already published through GBIF, HKHBIF is our regional space to mobilise biodiversity data across ICIMOD’s eight Regional Member Countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan. From GBIF records, we found 3,874 species of birds, 1,339 mammals, 837 reptiles, 438 amphibians, 26,351 insects, 41,001 plants, and 14, 286 fungi within the HKH region.
Linking GBIF and HKHBIF data to the SDGs
Biodiversity data does not sit in isolation. It is crucial for achieving the UN SDGs, especially Goal 3 (Good Health and Well-being), 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), Goal 10 (Reduced Inequality), Goal 13 (Climate Action), Goal 14 (Life Below Water), and Goal 15 (Life on Land). A study from the Chinese Academy of Sciences GBIF node shows how biodiversity data supports SDGs, such as Goal 10 in recognising rights, valuing biodiversity and related knowledge, and building an environment for equitable benefit sharing, and Goal 8 by linking biodiversity and sustainable livelihoods as a requirement for decent work and economic growth. Making biodiversity information available in the public domain, such as the publication of pictorial guidebooks on the region’s flora can aid in education and conservation efforts – contributing to Goals 4 and 15, respectively.
The way forward
As we mark the International Day for Biological Diversity for the 25th time, let us recognise that platforms like GBIF and HKHBIF are more than data repositories. They are catalysts driving nature-positive actions to achieve both conservation and sustainable development outcomes. In the HKH, where biodiversity loss continues and remains less accounted for and measured – as highlighted in a Mongabay India commentary that biodiversity data from the region is poorly represented in GBIF and largely published by institutions outside the region — these platforms remind us of the power of collaboration, to bridge data gaps and amplify local voices in the global biodiversity discourse.
ICIMOD recently collaborated with GBIF and other biodiversity-mandated institutions in HKH countries such as the Zoological Survey of India, Forest Action Nepal, National Biodiversity Centre in Bhutan and National Science Library, Chinese Academy of Sciences to enhance the capacity of institutions on biodiversity data mobilisation from the HKH.
Our call to action emphasises greater investment for expanding open-access digital platforms of biodiversity data, strengthening institutional collaborations in building HKH biodiversity data repositories to highlight the status of mountain biodiversity, raising awareness on how such data platforms address the issue of intellectual property rights, and engaging and strengthening the capacity of citizen scientists to use such platforms.
By making biodiversity data openly accessible and easy to use, GBIF and HKHBIF serve as a bridge between the KMGBF and the SDGs. GBIF offers the global infrastructure needed to track KMGBF progress and monitor SDG indicators. HKHBIF contextualises this data for the HKH region, thereby supporting and motivating the HKH countries to translate global biodiversity goals into regional actions for biodiversity conversation and resilience, and in effect, find a space for the mountain voices in global biodiversity fora.
