The 15^th Annual Black-necked Crane festival was celebrated in the courtyard of the magnificent Gangtey Gonpa, in Phobjikha on 11^thNovember 2013 coinciding with the 56^th Birth Anniversary of His majesty the Fourth King of Bhutan.

Picture courtesy: IISD

The 2013 Climate Change Conference is held in Warsaw, Poland, from 11 November and will continue until 22 November.

This Conference includes the 19th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 19) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the 9th session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP 9).

Biking tourism is another CBST product available in Phobjikha. With support from the Austrian Coordination Office (ACO) and the Association of Bhutanese Tour Operators (ABTO), Seven Mountain bikes and accessories were provided to the new CBST Group in Phobjikha

A five day national youth forum on  “Empowering youth for climate change research in Bhutan” was conducted from 1^st – 5^th October 2013. Students from about seven higher learning institutions in the country took part in the forum which was  hosted by  Sherubtse College, Kanglung, Trashigang.

A half day Knowledge Sharing Workshop on Gender Review of National Energy Policies and Programmes in Bhutan was organized by RSPN on 1^st October, 2013 in RSPN’s Auditorium, Thimphu. It is a part of ADB funded project on “Improving Gender-Inclusive Access to Clean and Renewable Energy in Bhutan”.

The project team presented the detailed project profile, understanding gender status of existing energy sector policies, strategies and practices in Bhutan with the objective in identifying good practices and lessons learned in successfully mainstreaming gender into the energy sector.

On launching the Jigme Khesar Environmental Research Fund (JKERF) in August 2013 by Her Majesty Gyaltsuen Jetsun Pema Wangchuck, Queen of Bhutan, the Royal Society for Protection of Nature initiated the first research fundraising of its kind with support from friends of RSPN from National University of Singapore.

Every living being instinctively develops a defense mechanism to prevent themselves from the predators.

Cranes in general prefer shallow water bodies for roosting. Movements on the surface of the water by the predators and other animals alarm the cranes and they fly away.

In Phobjikha, Black-necked Crane roosts are maintained and restored annually by the Royal Society for Protection of Nature around mid September, just before they start arriving in the valley. Observations have shown that the cranes prefer the artificial roosts over the natural ponds in Phobjikha.

Officials of the Forest Protection and Surveillance Unit seized a tiger skin and bones from two Indian men in Gelegphu on September 20. It was confiscated from a hotel in Gelegphu town before the men could trade it with the buyer, suspected to be Bhutanese.

August 5, 2013, Thimphu - Coinciding with the visit of Her Majesty Gyaltsuen Jetsun Pema Wangchuck to the Royal Society for Protection of Nature, Her Majesty launched Jigme Khesar Environmental Research Fund (JKERF) as a part of the Jigme Khesar Environmental Resource Centre, which was launched in October 2012. The JKERF is launched under Her Majesty Gyaltsuen's initiative as the Royal Patron of the organization.

Bhutan's natural resources being the ultimate source of sustainability, the research fund will help to address an increasing need of science based information which is inadequately matched by research capacity in the country. It will also help to reduce dependency on external knowledge on our own natural resources.