My Own Thoughts

Mr. Karma Dukpa, Director of DoFPS with the participants The Community Forests (CFs) Programme of the Department of Forests and Park Services (DoFPS) has potential for contributing towards national efforts of poverty reduction. This is because, such programme besides encouraging participatory management of forests and natural resources provides avenues for deriving economic benefits. Such economic benefits can have direct bearing on bringing down poverty incidences. With its reach currently confined to rural areas, it is also in sync with the poverty which is predominantly a rural phenomenon. However, after having almost 305 Community Forests incepted in Bhutan involving 35,993 rural households covering forest area of 40,329 hectares, the need was felt to timely assess its impact on poverty reduction. Towards this, the Chief Forestry Officers (CFOs) of field divisions, Park Managers (PMs) and Dzongkhag Forestry Officers (DzFOs) gathered at Bumthang attending “Seminar on Comm...

No. of CFMG members in Dzongkhags One of the objectives of the Department of Forests and Park Services (DoFPS) is to ensure people’s participation in sustainable forest resource management to improve the functions of forest ecosystems and enhance rural livelihoods from forest resources. Meeting this objective is pursued through Community Forest Programme which is the transfer of the primary responsibility for management (protection, development and utilization) of forest near villages to local management groups called CFMGs. “Community forestry is not only restricted to tree management, rather it is a community based natural resource management encompassing catchment’s protection, NWFP and rehabilitation of degraded areas” earlier stressed one of Social Forestry official. Statistically, with 300 approved CFs in the Country as of 31 st  March 2011, the department has now achieved 60% against their 10 th  plan target of 500 numbers of community forests. These CFs ar...

Repellent installed in paddy field Often the battleground for the vicious warfare between man and beast is crop-laden field of the farmer. Both venture into the war zone with no viable option at their disposal. On one side of the balance, the dwindling forests cover with not much of stuff to fill their yearning stomach, the wild animals sneak into the green field to steal their fill. On the other, a farmer has invested his own share of energy in the quest of securing a ration for his family for the year. He witnesses it go down the drain when a pack of wild animal pays a surprise and uninvited visit to his field one fateful night. At loss and burning with vengeance, he hunts down the culprit. But this doesn’t prove to be anything useful to put an end to the clashes. This battle if not done something is here to keep wagging for time immemorial. On the comforting side, there is some solace with the fact that different stakeholders under Ministry of Agriculture and Forests is e...

Participants of the National Level Forest Management Workshop Bhutan committed to be a carbon neutral at the 15 th Conference of Parties held in Copenhagen. This will be further validated by the concrete fact when the Department of Forests and Park Services come up with precise amount of carbon sequestering capability of the country after the comprehensive National Forest Inventory. Moreover, such nation-wide inventory will also pin-point exactly the different attributes of forests system such as forest cover, forest type and forest resources (timbers and Non-wood Forest products). Towards this, the Chief Forestry Officers (CFO) from both functional and field divisions, Park Managers (PM) and Dzongkhag Forestry Officers (DzFO) have converged at Thimphu to not only discuss and deliberate on   modus operandi   of National Forest Inventory but also dwell on emerging issues related to Forests. In his welcome note, Mr. Kinley Tshering, Chief Forestry Officer of For...

  The first Board Meeting of the Ugyen Wangchuck Institute for Conservation and Environment (UWICE) was held today under the Chairmanship of His Excellency, Lyonchen Jigmi Y. Thinley, Prime Minister of Bhutan. UWICE will mature up to be the premier research and educational institute in the region. The meeting endorsed many strategic components for cruising towards the goal. The approval for the change of nomenclature for board of advisors to panel of advisors and appointing of the panel was unanimously accorded by the incumbent members. The proposed organogram for the institute, manpower requirements and the HRD plan were also endorsed with minimal or no alteration. For instance, under the endorsed HRD plan, UWICE will have almost 14 faculty members with PhD in different disciplines by 2015. However, it is directed that further discussion with RCSC be done to avoid contradicting any laws in force. The institute also proposed to facilitate invoking of interest amongst the i...

Participants cleaning Hongtsho area Thirty eight students including three teachers of Nature Club from Motithang Higher Secondary School, along with staff and community representatives from Chang Gewog, Thimphu Dzongkhag and forestry staff of Nature Recreation and Ecotourism Division (NRED) and Royal Botanical Park (RBP) under the Department of Forests and Park Services (DoFPS) carried out clean up along the national highway till RBP, Lamperi on 23 April 2011. This was the first such activity initiated by the Department of Forests and Park Services to highlight the problem of indiscriminate garbage disposal in the forest areas-which is an important environmental issue calling for a joint coordinated efforts by all stakeholders. This is also in line with the recent directive from the Hon’ble Minister, MoAF that henceforth DoFPS and its field offices will take active role in waste/garbage management in forest areas. A total of 60 participants gathered at YHS parking at 8.30 ...

More than a decade ago, with the first gunshot going in the air signifying the bold move by 109 households in Mongar forming Dozam Community Forest Management Group (CFMG), the Community Forest (CF) Programme now has reached all 20 Dzongkhags. The first ever CF in Bhutan was incepted in the year 1996 setting the firm foundation. They’re to be partly attributed for the current popularity of CF porgramme since even at the time when CF plan and policy was at the infant stage, they audaciously set the momentum. After a halt for almost four years, Dagor Phendey and Gayzor CFMGs from Pemagatshel Dzongkhag in 2001 joined the mainstream in pursuit of not only reaping benefits but also managing forest resources responsibly. The group consisted of 42 and 28 members each claiming the 64 ha & 70 ha. of Government Reserved Forest (GRF) respectively. Other 18 Dzongkhags remained ever cautious and still skeptic of the programme while they’ve still to witness success and learn from mistakes...

The bag-packs still lies unpacked; the dust is yet to settle and enriched memories of rural setting are still fresh in the minds of Social Forestry officials from their recent retreat walk. They’ve treaded the path least trodden in the quest of getting the real feel of lives the people in remote villages lead harmoniously co-existing with nature. Following the conventional adage of “seeing is believing” in letters and spirits, the 12 officials recently embarked on a 5-day retreat walk from Haa to Samtse. The retreat walk was undertaken to physically see for themselves various problems and challenges faced by the people in remote hamlets. This is possible by interacting with local farmers en route about their use of forest and other natural resources. Besides, the retreat walk also enabled to further develop, enhance and foster team spirits and synergies between different components of Social Forestry programme such as community & private forests, Non-Wood Forest Products (...

JDNP harbours all four national symbols Country’s infrastructure development and conservation of environment rest at either side of the weighing balance. It is usually a challenge to strike a perfect balance between two for that matter sustainable development philosophy is easier said than done. The construction of social infrastructures such as schools, institutions vis-à-vis any other developmental activities inflicts an obnoxious scar to environment. Roads construction of any types in a bid to provide connectivity – a vital lifeline to the farmers in the fight against abject poverty compromises heavily on the natural environments. Challenging all such facts, Jigme Dorji National Park will construct environmentally harmonious “park road” which will serve an exemplary for all future roads within and not necessarily, the jurisdiction of the protected areas in Bhutan. The 24 kilometers ‘park road’ will run from Dodena to Barshong villages in Naro Gewog under Thimphu Dzongkhag....

It was never in his wildest dream – the coveted opportunity to fly in the plane and explore the land beyond his imagination. He possessed no pre-requisition of availing such prospects of travelling on the metal bird. All he has is seen and heard others speaks of exhilaration of such journey overseas. He vied for the journey but chances stood ever slim.  But it was piously nullified when he was nominated as one member for the CFMG study tour/visit to Nepal. Mr. Sonam Norbu, Chairman of Zhasela Community Forest in Minjay under Lhuentse Dzongkhag has spent past 37 years of his life languishing within four horizons in his farmland. He has rarely strayed beyond the confinement of his village minus occasional visit to the dzongkhag. The acute shortage of working hand in his farm land permitted few of such travel and herded him selfishly in his own community. This is to prove wrong when under the sponsorship of Participatory Forest Management project (PFMP), the Social Forestry Div...

Hon’ble Lyonpo (Dr.) Pema Gyamthso with the participants of the workshop The park resident and other stakeholders are very much part of effective and efficient management of the park and they can equally contribute by playing critical roles. This is what Jigme Dorji National Park is portraying through conducting of consultative meeting which is in full swing at NRDCL conference hall at Thimphu. The consultative meeting is the first of its kind involving the local leaders, Gewog Administrative Officers from 15 gewogs, Dzongkhag Forestry staff, Dzongkhag Planning and other stakeholders initiated by protected areas in Bhutan. The two-day meeting is spearheaded towards collective development of park’s mission, vision and objectives besides many issues and constraints with special reference to Community Forest, Community-based Sustainable Natural Resource Management, Management zoning, Research and human wildlife conflicts. The meeting commenced with presentations introducing the ...

In a bid to boost ecotourism within the Protected Areas (PA) in Bhutan with its prospects of stretching its benefits tentacles outside PAs, the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) mission in collaboration with Nature Recreation & Ecotourism Division (NRED) under DoFPS  has undertaken a study. The team led by Ms. Ester Marjan Kruk, Tourism specialist from ICIMOD has come up with 5 broad recommendations encompassing various components of ecotourism development which are currently specific to Wangchuck Centennial Park in Bumthang. Chairing the debriefing by ICIMOD mission on WCP ecotourism strategy held yesterday, His Excellency Lyonpo (Dr.) Pema Gyamthso said, “Tourism cuts across cross section of the society, hence there is need to push its growth by extending the visiting season and also diversify products”. His Excellency added ecotourism is not only in line with what Bhutan adopted a green economy but the benefits tickles down to the grassro...

Chief-guest being led to the celebration ground by Hon'ble Lyonpo The second annual nomads’ festival was held from 8-10 March 2011, at Wangchuck Centennial Park, Nagsephel, Bumthang. One of the several rationales for hosting such a grand festival dedicated to the semi nomads of the eight Dzongkhags was to bring together these communities & herders to showcase their varied cultures, traditions and experiences. The semi nomads from Haa, Paro, Thimphu, Gasa, Wangduephodrang, Bumthang, Trashi Yangtse and Trashigang participated in the event. The Hon’ble Minister, Ministry of Agriculture and Forests, Lyonpo (Dr.) Pema Gyamtsho in his welcome address reminded the nomads of their sacred and indispensible duty of contributing towards sovereignty of our Country by acting as a buffer zone at the bordering areas. This they can further re-enforce by continuous stay and taking care of their ancestral farmland. The Hon’ble Lyonpo, highlighted his visit to highland areas where he...