Bhutan, champion of the environment
IT’S A rare phenomenon for a country to prefer building forests, rather than cities.
However, Bhutan subscribes to such a outlook. Here, forests and green pastures are expanding across the country to the detriment of real estate companies, which are unable to find people to buy or rent houses. In a sense, Bhutanese value forests over modern cities.
The country’s constitution prescribes that at least 60 percent of the country must be covered by forests at all times. The latest reports state that Bhutan currently has 72 percent forest coverage. If we go by government records, for the last 20 years, forest cover has continued to remain at or above 70 percent. Does this mean a complete absence of residential and commercial development?
Not really.
Major cities like Thimphu, Phuentsholing, Gelephu have seen substantial changes during this period. New facilities have been built, more buildings have been constructed and green grounds have turned into concrete jungles. Many new cities across the country have also been planned and developed.
Despite these changes, Bhutan continues to keep 70 percent of its land covered by forest. The success behind this story is partly linked to mass eviction in 1990 and rapid rural-urban migration.
In 1990, when some 100,000 people were evicted from the country, almost six districts in southern belt were turned into jungle. A decade later, when the country faced acute shortages in food production, some of these jungles were converted into farming lands, and again and, northerners were resettled.
Internal migration is the other player. The country is developing pocket cities in and around the district headquarters and concentrating most services there. People from far flung villages, who cannot access these services, prefer to migrate to sub-urban or urban areas. More specifically, Generation Y has made cities their home.
Thus, in a sense, environmental conservation in Bhutan is more coincidental than planned.
Yet, we cannot ignore the modest efforts made by the National Environment Commission, the Ugyen Wangchuk Institute for Conservation and Environment, the Royal Society for Protection of Nature, the Bhutan Trust Fund, the World Wildlife Fund and many more in the field. These organisational efforts, combined with community forests groups in remote villages, keep the country green and serene.
This is not an easy feat, considering Bhutan’s geographical position. China, to its north, is the largest producer of carbon dioxide in the world. India is not far below on the list of the globe’s biggest polluters. According to the UN-EDGAR report, China produced 9.7 million kilo tones of carbon dioxide in 2011 and India produced 2 million kilo tones, compared to 471 kilo tones by Bhutan.
Bhutan plays in between these two polluters to shine as an example for environmental protection and the conservation of nature.
Alike India and China, Bhutan has seen an increasing number of vehicles on its road and forests are being cleared for construction of large hydro power plants. While many countries, including China and India, have made written commitments to the protection of the environment, Bhutan has put such into practice.
Until last month, Bhutan banned vehicles on Tuesdays in major cities. That has now been changed to the last Sunday of every month, after repeated complaints by local businesses. Ministers, government and private sector employees walk on foot to their offices. The king rides a push bike to promote environment-friendly practices. In smaller steps, Bhutan is making every possible effort to reduce its CO2 emissions and to ensure the protection of its natural environment.
Just as Bhutan applies these simple solutions, world leaders calculate the financial investment needed in order to “protect” the environment. According to recent Doha Climate Change conference resolutions, the world needs $2 trillion to move towards a green economy. As always, this round of commitments will likely to be deferred again in order to protect prevailing economic interests.
China and India, on two sides of Bhutan, continue to invest heavily in industrial production without thoroughly considering the potential impact on the environment. Bhutan has lost its opportunity to expand its modern industries and enhance economic status. However, Bhutan is happy to lose that in favour of a green country.
Carbon trading
The outcome from the Doha conference on climate change is not favourable for a country like Bhutan. Rich nations and big polluters, as comprehensively discussed and agreed in several conferences in the past, have never compensated the countries who have made modest efforts to bring down CO2 emissions. Has preventing human-caused climate change become an agenda for only poor and small nations?
It looks so.
Amidst debate on carbon training, work is underway in Bhutan to have mechanism in place that would help measure the financial value of carbon stored in its forests.
Having a value placed on the carbon stored in forests under the UN-Reducing Emission from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+) would mean financial incentives for countries like Bhutan, which protects and conserves their forests from deforestation and degradation.
Bhutanese leaders have time and again claimed monetary compensation for thier success. However, Bhutan’s claims have only been rewarded in the form of verbal appreciation and a single award.
According to the United Nations Environment Programme, Bhutan’s effort in preserving its natural environment continues to set a great example for rest of the world. The UN notes that the carbon neutrality policy adopted by Bhutan is an example every government should follow.
Prayer flags
As we appreciate the Bhutanese road map to environmental protection, we must stop to acknowledge that Bhutan’s forests aren’t growing without challenges.
Bhutan’s verdant forest is under tremendous pressure from the soaring demand for Buddhist prayer flags, which dot the country’s hills and valleys, the illegal extraction of timber and the need in various villages for firewood.
Between June 2007 to 2008, Bhutan felled 60,178 trees, or about 165 trees every day, to meet the demand for Buddhist prayer flags. This excludes the 550 trees felled daily for other uses such as for timber and firewood.
For most Bhutanese, mani or Guru prayer flags, dedicated to a deceased, are an indispensable part of after-death rituals. The ideal number is 108, but some believe that more flags bring more merit. To add to the pressure, freshly cut trees are always preferred. “If you reuse an old flag pole, you aren’t putting effort, which means the merit earned is compromised,” media report quotes Buddhist monk Gyem Tshering as saying. “Ideally, you should hoist 108 flags, but if you can afford more, it’ll help the dead find the ‘white path’.”
Alternatives like using bamboo and steel posts have been encouraged, although many are not keen on these substitutes. Regardless, the natural resources development corporation has started a bamboo plantation to supplement the demand.
Bamboo grows to full height and girth in a single growing season (3-4 months) unlike trees, which take years to even reach the size of a flag post..
Despite challenges and weak global framework on environmental protection, Bhutan concentrates within its borders to ensure its mission is accomplished. It is in the best interests of Bhutan to ignore its claim for incentives on carbon trading and to concentrate on lessening its CO2 emissions.
Published in Our World Today