Centre for Research in Environment and Development

With the support provided by The Philanthropic Collaborative (TPC), USA and the Bhutan Trust Fund for Environment Conservation (BTFEC) in Thimphu, construction began in 2009 for the Royal Society for Protection of Nature’s (RSPN) Head Office and the Environmental Resource Center (ERC). The Bhutan Trust Fund for Environment Conservation (BTFEC) also awarded additional grants to furnish the ERC with the required equipment and develop its research collection. Additionally, the ERC is supported by the US$ 100,000 2011 MacArthur Award.

The Jigme Khesar Environmental Resource Centre will be a modern reference library equipped with online environmental resources, books, journals and other materials; a mini auditorium and a furnished working space for visitors and researchers focusing on the environment and conservation in relation to poverty reduction, gender equity and development, environment protection, and emerging issues such as climate change, waste management, water etc.

For the first time in the country’s history, this library will provide Bhutanese college students, college faculty, expatriate field researchers, schoolteachers and any civil servants in environmental departments with world-class digital connectivity and the latest published works relevant to environmental research in Bhutan. Initial membership with the library and access to its printed resources will be free to all, and full access to its advanced digital resources will require nominal charges for future sustainability.

RSPN is seeking the assistance of research institutions and universities for online resource sharing.