Celebrating 25 Years of Action for Biodiversity

Bhutan is well known for its rich forests and vegetation, with the entire forest area of the country protected and covering 60 per cent of the land. Bhutan reportedly has 800 to 900 species of butterfly [ ] 63 Sustainable development, biodiversity and national happiness Economic growth continues to remain a major challenge in Bhutan, a country seeking to promote a green and self-reliant economy sustained by an information technology society and guided by the philosophy of Gross National Happiness. Some of the strategies are to harness and add value to natural resources in a sustainable manner and to reduce dependency on fossil fuel especially in the field of transport. Bhutan seeks to ensure that forest resources and biodiversity are managed sustaina- bly and equitably, so as to produce a wide range of social, economic and environmental benefits and services for all citizens while maintaining 60 per cent of the land as forest, contrib- uting to Gross National Happiness. The intention of national policy objectives have a number of impor- tant characteristics, among which are that: at least 60 per cent of forest area is protected across the country; the unique character of Bhutan’s land- scape and the integrity and biological diversity of its associated natural environment should be preserved; a holistic and integrated area-based ap- proach should be adopted to plan for and manage forests to optimize ben- efits to society; priority is to be given to indirect benefits from forests such as a reliable supply of high quality water for domestic use, irrigation and hydro-power, income from carefully targeted ecotourism and environ- mental services; forests are to be used as a platform to contribute towards rural poverty reduction by balancing conservation and development ob- jectives, and focusing on channelling benefits to the poor; forest manage- ment is to be more people-centred and responsive to the expectations of civil society; and organizational roles and institutional mandates should be clarified and operational mechanisms streamlined to ensure effective coor- dination and integration. The Five Year Plan of 2014–2018 is the main development planning framework, with its underlying objective to achieve self-reliance and inclusive green socio-economic development. It recognizes conser- vation of the natural environment as a means to sustainable economic development and improvement of resilience to natural disasters. Four National Key Result Areas have been identified to contribute to the overall achievement of national goals: sustainable and equitable so- cio-economic development; preserva- tion and promotion of culture; con- servation and sustainable utilization of environment; promotion of good governance. Bhutan Bhutan T he Kingdom of Bhutan is a landlocked country with an area of 38,394 km 2 situated on the southern slope of the Eastern Himalayas, bordering China to its north and India to its south, east and west. Bhutan is well known for its rich forests and vegetation and today forests cover 60 per cent of the land. There are over 5,600 species of seed of which 94 per cent are native species and about 105 species are endemic to Bhutan. Close to 200 species of mammals live in the country, including 27 globally threatened species. Around 700 species of birds are found in Bhutan, 18 of which are globally threatened. The country is rich in agricultural diversity, having more than 100 species of agricultural crops. Bhutan has a proactive approach to modern development characterized by an emphasis on environmental preservation, and more recently the pursuit and promotion of Gross National Happiness as an alternative to modern development. lamentables on flickr