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Adaptation to Climate Change – Bhutan’s Scenario |
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Bhutan is a small (38,394 sq. km.) land-locked country situated in the Eastern Himalayas. It is characterized by a mountainous topography, a rich biodiversity (Bhutan forms a significant part of the Eastern Himalayas Biological Hotspot), and a small but fast growing population. The population is estimated at 678,000 and growing at a rate of 3.1%. Bhutan’s economy is primarily agrarian with about 79 % subsistence farming and a GDP contribution of 36.4%. In the last decade hydropower has driven economic growth and contributes 41.7% of the total annual revenue generated - the share of hydropower to GDP is currently 11%, expected to rise significantly in the future with large hydropower stations being put into operation. Mountains cover almost the entire country, and provide a huge potential for hydropower generation. As mountains are the home of 79% of Bhutan’s largely rural population, Bhutanese society is to an extreme degree dependent on this ecosystem. It functions as a reservoir providing stable water flow and soil retention for sustainable hydropower generation, it is the environment from which the farming communities extract resources for their livelihoods and their work, and it is the basis for another of Bhutan’s sources of income, tourism. Steep slopes and heavy monsoon rains make the Bhutan, however, prone to natural disasters in the form of flash floods and landslides. Such disasters not only endanger lives, but also impact the economy through the disruption of roads and other communication facilities. Increasing variability of weather and incidence of extreme weather events conditions caused by climate change is likely to increase the number of these natural disasters, and a related change in precipitation patterns is likely to necessitate an appropriate adaptation by farmers.
The Royal Government of Bhutan (RGoB) has a unique devotion towards environmental preservation. The government has officially chosen the “Middle Path” of development, insisting that economic and social development must not compromise the integrity of the natural environment. This has been reiterated in every recent development strategy document such as the 9th Five-Year-Plan (9FYP - 2002), the National Environment Strategy (NES - 1998) and the Bhutan 2020 Vision Statement (1999), and will also be the foundation of the National Environment Action Plan (under development). The results of this commitment are amply shown in Bhutan’s first national greenhouse gas inventory, which indicates that Bhutan has a net-negative emission of greenhouse gases (-5.89 tons per capita), due to its very limited emissions and large sequestration through the 72% forest cover. Bhutan is, however, not free from feeling the impact of the global climate change, and Bhutan’s Initial National Communication (INC) to the UNFCCC identified potential impacts and responses on the physical, ecological, and socio-economic systems of the country and suggests mitigation options in the areas of energy, industrial processes, agriculture, land-use and forestry, and waste management. These impacts are addressed in the NAPA.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 01 October 2007 )
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