National Biodiversity Authority launches campus conservation initiative in Chennai

The Nature on Campus team of the Nature Conservation Foundation (NCF) and the National Biodiversity Authority, Government of India, have launched a year-long nationwide initiative called the Campus Biodiversity Register (CBS). The project invites colleges and universities in Chennai, including IIT Madras in Guindy and Madras Christian College in Tambaram, to discover and document the biodiversity on their campuses.

The initiative aims to engage students and faculty in building a lasting record of local flora, fauna, and insects to aid conservation and sustain endangered species. Participating institutions in Chennai, such as Women’s Christian College in Nungambakkam and Stella Maris College in Gopalapuram, are expected to utilize their expansive green spaces to contribute to the registry.

Participants will document campus biodiversity using three citizen science platforms: iNaturalist, eBird, and SeasonWatch. By entering their observations, students and faculty will gain hands-on experience observing, identifying, and documenting species while contributing valuable data to a global database. This aligns with the goals of the Convention on Biological Diversity and complements the efforts of the People’s Biodiversity Register.

Several local institutions already have a history of such documentation. Women's Christian College, Stella Maris College, and Madras Christian College have previously documented their flora, avifauna, and fauna, and have published books on their findings, some of which include detailed records of local insects. Additionally, students and teachers at Azim Premji University in Bengaluru recently produced a Campus Biodiversity Register for 2024-25.

The project is open to all academic institutions, including those with standalone buildings, as biodiversity can often be found in unexpected places. There is no fee to participate in the initiative. Registrations for the project are currently open and will remain available until November 2026.