21 Nature conservation and biodiversity for poverty reduction -case of Bhutan

Lungten Norbu^[31]

ABSTRACT

Forests and biodiversity in Bhutan play a significant role in the national and local economy of the country. Also, the protection of fragile watersheds by forests for soil protection and water discharge maintenance are critical to offset any negative impacts on settlement, agriculture and hydropower. Bhutan Vision 2020 expresses a need to balance economic development with cultural and environmental conservation. The Royal Government of Bhutan emphasizes that biodiversity and natural resource conservation do not constitute a constraint to development but also serve as opportunity for development and return of adequate benefits to the local people. The opportunities for nature conservation and biodiversity contributing to reducing poverty are great, but they will remain as ever a wishful list of opportunities if they are not converted to tangible benefits for the poor.

INTRODUCTION

Bhutan is one of the least developed countries with a population estimated at 700 000. Most people live in rural areas with settlements concentrated in the southern foothills and in the inner broad valleys while the northern parts remain virtually uninhabited. Land area suitable for agriculture is estimated to be about 8 percent and employs about 80 percent of the population (Dorjee 1995). The current population growth rate is 3.1 percent and it is likely to double by 2020 in view of improved medical services and health infrastructures (RGoB 2001).

Bhutan is lucky in that there exists no big gap between the rich and poor due to its late entry to the development arena and because of its low population. Poverty assessment using a comprehensive set of indicators was not done; a rapid quality assessment done in 2000 shows that average income per person per day is as low as Nu.40 which is less than the equivalent of US$1 per person per day. The income figure is definitely incorrect as Bhutanese economy is subsistence and all household incomes cannot be accounted in the calculation. However, there is no room to be complacent. With the advent of development programmes and commercialization, there is growing trend of disparities between individuals/households in income earnings. The Planning Commission Report (RGoB 2000a) states that the household income is significantly less in rural areas (Nu.33) than in urban areas (Nu.70).

NATURAL RESOURCES AND BIODIVERSITY

Lying in the lap of the young and growing mountain range of the Eastern Himalayas, Bhutan is endowed with rich natural resources. Forests, representing the biological resources, the ecosystems and the diversity of plants and animals, cover 2 904 500 ha, corresponding to about 72 percent of the land area. For Bhutan, keeping a large part of forests intact is important to protect its fragile watersheds and farmlands for sustaining the well-being of the people. Realizing this, the government in its policy has given high priority to conservation functions of forests over its economic functions and has endorsed a policy to maintain 60 percent of the land under forest cover for all times. About 34 percent of the country is set aside as protected areas represented by four national parks, four wildlife sanctuaries and one nature reserve located across the country (Table 1). The varied flora and fauna include 7500 species of vascular plants, 700 species of birds and 165 species of mammals (RGoB 2003). Bhutan forests are internationally significant for their rich biodiversities and Bhutan has been recognized as one of the 10 “hotspots” in the world.

Forests and biodiversity in Bhutan play a significant role in the national and local economy of the country. According to the Master Plan for Forestry Development (MoA 1991), the average allowable cut (AAC) is estimated at around 1.2 million cubic meters per annum from an operable area of 902 000 ha. Forestry contributes about 11 percent towards the Gross Domestic Product and generates 3 percent government revenue through royalty collection and sales of wood and wood products. Logs, sawntimber, veneer and other non-wood products account for 20 percent of the exports. It is estimated that about 25 000 people are employed in the forestry sector, mainly in non-monetized fuelwood collection (MoA 1991, World Bank 1997). Also, the protection of fragile watersheds by forests for soil protection and water discharge maintenance is critical to offset any negative impact of settlement, agriculture and hydropower. More important, forests are sources of livelihood for 85 percent of the population as they provide food, wood, fodder, fuelwood, leaf-litter and other non-wood forest products. The well-being of the local people is directly linked to how well forest resources are conserved and managed for all times.

Table 1. Protected area system

Source: RGoB (2003).

CLEAN DEVELOPMENT MECHANISM (CDM) INITIATIVES IN BHUTAN

With improvement in the economy, urbanization is growing steadily which results in problems such as traffic congestion, sewage disposal and rural-urban migration. Vehicle emission-testing programme is being developed and standards established while waste disposal management system is in its initial stage confined to establishment of landfill for disposing solid waste. Due to rural-urban migration, the expanding urban population is exerting pressure on natural resources. The land available for urban growth is limited by topography and government policies to maintain the present forest cover and restriction to land conversion. Bhutanese economy is estimated to be expanding (approximately by 6.5 percent in 1994) and the traditional sector (agriculture, livestock and forestry) roughly contributing 40 percent to the GDP while the modern sector (mining, construction and electricity) grew to about 30 percent of the GDP and the manufacturing industries increased to 20 percent.

Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is one of the flexibility mechanisms authorized in the Kyoto Protocol 1997 as follow-up to the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Bhutan is fully committed to the UNFCCC objectives and prepared to fulfill its obligations. Despite its new initiative in this aspect, Bhutan has built its capacity. To implement an appropriate and effective response, priorities such as improvement of databases in all ministries, devising of robust policies for sustainable development, meeting national imperatives as well as global environmental issues and studies on impacts of climate change were identified (RGoB 2000b). A menu of mitigation options identified relevant to Bhutan are (RGoB 2000b):

• Renewable energy technology options -
  Although mainly dependent on hydropower, which is a relatively clean source of energy, it is expensive due to extension of grid to scattered settlements. In this connection, it is worthwhile to explore mini-hydels, solar and biomass gasifiers.

• Improved technology to reduce fuelwood consumption -
  A majority of Bhutanese use wood for cooking and heating purposes. Improved stoves are introduced to reduce fuelwood consumption and air pollution. Electric heaters are being introduced but they are expensive and beyond the reach of the average household.

• Introduction of fuel-efficient vehicles -
  The present vehicles are not fuel-efficient and they are major sources of CO₂ emission. Monitoring systems to check emissions are in place and import of reconditioned cars is banned.

OPPORTUNITIES WITH CDM, ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES AND BIODIVERSITY FOR POVERTY REDUCTION

Bhutan Vision 2020 expresses a need to balance economic development with cultural and environmental conservation. The Royal Government of Bhutan emphasizes that biodiversity and natural resource conservation do not constitute a constraint to development but instead serve as opportunity for development and return of adequate benefits to the local people. The existing policy and legal frameworks with respect to forest, conservation, biodiversity and land provide supportive bases for management, control and use of the natural resources through involvement of the local people and communities (Table 2). As a large part of the country is virtually under “conservation”, a number of opportunities exist to reduce poverty based on the natural resources and biodiversity values.

Table 2. Legal framework supporting peoples’ participation in management and use of natural resources and biodiversity

CARBON TRADING

Due to low industrialization, Bhutan has relatively insignificant emission of Green House Gases (GHG) by world standards but it will definitely increase with population growth and advent of economic development (RGoB 2000a). There is general lack of clarity on the contribution that forests make towards poverty alleviation resulting in unappreciation of the globally emerging trend such as carbon trading that could bring immense benefits for the poor. For instance, farmers could trade carbon credits with companies for trees grown on private land or in community forestry and for intact natural forests existing due to community efforts in their forest plantation and conservation.

ECOTOURISM AND NATURE-BASED TOURISM

In Bhutan, tourism is increasingly being seen as one of the major opportunities for economic diversification. At the same time, Bhutan does not wish to compromise the fast economic return of tourism with erosion of cultural heritage and biodiversity. Thus the policy of high return and low impact tourism targets rich individuals and countries in order to limit the ill-effects of tourism on physical and cultural environments. Ecotourism and nature-based tourism are increasingly becoming popular with the people living in the industrialized countries. Thus Bhutan, endowed with bountiful nature and rich-unique culture and tradition, has a big potential to benefit from this growing market. The plan of establishing ecotourism or agrotourism (FSD 2002) based on ecologically friendly, culturally acceptable and economically viable principles should be implemented involving all stakeholders including the local people from where concrete benefits should go to local communities as compensations for restricted use of local resources in promoting tourism.

NON-TIMBER FOREST PRODUCTS (NTFPs)

Recent studies show that non-timber forest products (NTFPs) are indispensable at the household level for medicine, food, cash and employment. Also, a substantial amount of revenue is brought into the country through export of NTFPs. Bhutan Trade Statistics (1991-1999) indicate the export value of NTFPs to range from Nu.14.29 million to Nu.44.04 million. The most important NTFPs that are exported are bamboo, cane, chirata (Swertia chirata), pipla (Piper spp.), rosin and turpentine oil (from Pinus roxbhurghii), lemon grass oil (Cympopagum flexuosus), mushrooms, incense sticks and hand-made papers.

Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) such as medicinal plants, mushrooms, bamboo and local handicrafts constitute a growing market worldwide as scarcity for such niche products increases. There is a growing demand for ecological nature-based products offering attractive prices mainly in industrialized countries. The rich forests of Bhutan will provide a wide range of these NTFPs with benefits to both conservation and development efforts. NTFPs can be managed sustainably by the local people under the Community-Based Natural Resource Management Programme (CBNRM). The CBNRM is becoming a popular concept and mechanism to manage natural resources such as NTFPs in Bhutan. CBNRM would enhance the rural economy while natural resources are conserved, managed and marketed through community empowerment and participation. Research initiatives such as bringing chirata (Swertia chirata), masutake (Tricholoma masutake) and Cordyceps sinenis under CBNRM initiatives are underway. Community-based management and product development are under consideration for other important NTFPs such as bamboo, lemon grass, pasture grazing and water through rural enterprises projects.

BIOPROSPECTING

The rich biodiversity and its relatively unexplored current status represent a big potential for bioprospecting in Bhutan. Bioprospecting is a growing endeavour that involves search for new genes or chemicals of great value. The local people use different plants and animal products for medicine, dyes, spices and aromatics. If carefully undertaken, bioprospecting may offer an opportunity for substantial economic benefits. However, patenting and ownership of the products should be carefully considered so that benefits also go to the local people for their efforts and pains they have taken to preserve the valuable resources and indigenous knowledge (IK) on their uses that lead to the development of the useful commercial products. The recently approved all Biodiversity Act 2003 protects farmers’ rights and guarantees equitable benefit sharing from the use of such resources.

HYDROPOWER

Agriculture and hydropower are two pillars of the Bhutanese economy. But because of the rugged terrain, dependence of economic development solely on agriculture is hard to imagine. Bhutan is rich in water resources and hydroelectricity projects are built to generate electric power. The surplus power is exported to India, generating about 40 percent of the government revenue.

Therefore, to sustain hydropower generation, keeping intact the forest and environment close to nature is a crucial task which in turn will need the cooperation of the local communities to optimize the use of forest resources. Ploughing back part of the revenue from electricity to improve the living conditions of the local people staying within the hydropower catchments would help sustain both power generation while human communities and plant/animal communities prosper side by side.

WATER RESOURCES

Water resources are abundant in Bhutan and this represents a growing economic value. The continuous availability and quality of water depend on proper ecosystem management. Promoting community forest management and putting a price tag on the intangible services from forests such as water and recreation and sharing these benefits with the rural communities are some of the potential areas that would enhance rural income.

CONCLUSION

The opportunities for nature conservation and biodiversity to contribute to reducing poverty in Bhutan are great as they are being recognized and valued by foresters, researchers, environmentalists and development workers. They will remain as ever a wishful list of opportunities if they are not converted to tangible benefits for the poor people.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Dorjee, K. 1995. An analysis of comparative advantages and development policy options in Bhutanese agriculture. Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich. (Ph.D. thesis)

FSD. 2002. Biodiversity action plan. Thimphu, Department of Forest.

MoA. 1991. Master plan for forestry development. Main report. Thimphu, Department of Forest.

RGoB. 2000a. Poverty assessment and analysis report: a rapid assessment. Thimphu, Planning Commission.

RGoB. 2000b. Initial national communication. Thimphu, National Environment Commission.

RGoB. 2001. Statistical year-book of Bhutan 2001. Thimphu, CSO, Planning Commission.

RGOB. 2003. Vision and strategy for the Nature Conservation Division. Thimphu, Department of Forest, MoA.

World Bank. 1997. Mid-term review, Third Forestry Development Project. Washington DC, USA.