Land of The Thunder Dragon
BHUTAN BELIEVES IN GROSS NATIONAL HAPPINESS
“Today, GNH has come to mean so many things to so many people but to me it signifies simply – Development with Values. Thus for my nation today GNH is the bridge between the fundamental values of kindness, equality and humanity and the necessary pursuit of economic growth.”
– His Majesty King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck
Bhutan has always had a unique approach to how it manages its affairs, from political leadership to social development. As Bhutan came into the modern age and began to develop, it adopted its own philosophy—Gross National Happiness—which has guided its development. The Fourth King of Bhutan, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, introduced Gross National Happiness in 1972 on the premise that true development of a nation should not be based on technological or commercial development but on a holistic model that places people at its center.
At its core, Gross National Happiness is a responsible, human-centered paradigm focused on the well-being of all citizens. Gross National Happiness stands on four pillars: Good Governance, Equitable and Sustainable Development, Preservation of Culture, and Conservation of the Environment.
The 4 Pillars of Gross National Happiness
- Conservation of the Environment
- Equitable and Sustainable Development
- Good Governance
- Preservation of Culture
GOOD GOVERNANCE
Democracy was introduced in Bhutan in 2008, making it the youngest democracy to be established under peaceful measures. The development of democracy in Bhutan is under close watch by the rest of the world and is evolving as policymakers learn how to listen to and engage with their constituencies, and as citizens learn to be proactive and engaged in the democratic process for the first time.
EQUITABLE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Bhutan’s criteria for development are equal parts social and economic, whereby citizens have increased access to quality education, health care, and social services, as well as opportunities for employment and entrepreneurship. A crucial element to this growth goal is to ensure that these services and opportunities are available to the most disadvantaged populations in society.
PRESERVATION OF CULTURE
In the quest for development, many countries in the developing world have sacrificed or neglected their culture and traditions in pursuit of GDP. Bhutan sees culture as central to its identity for its people and as a nation. The preservation of culture in Bhutan means the preservation of community, of shared values, and of shared history. Bhutan’s culture is found in its distinctly unique architecture, language, festivals, and rituals.
CONSERVATION OF THE ENVIRONMENT
It was with conservation in mind that the Constitution of Bhutan was drafted to include a stipulation that 60 percent of land in Bhutan shall, for all time, remain under forest cover. Today, more than 70 percent of Bhutan remains forested, and a third of it constitutes national parklands. Conservation efforts must go further than simply demarcating these lands; they must protect the wildlife and the vast biodiversity that is found throughout the country. Bhutan is proud of its status as a carbon-negative country and as a global front-runner in conservation efforts. These efforts include demonstrating responsible approaches to energy production in the form of hydropower and to community conservation programs that engage the public in the process. Finally, although Bhutan stands on a positive footing for environmental protection and conservation, it is still deeply affected by global climate change. In this area, too, Bhutan is hoping to serve as an example of how to responsibly mitigate the associated damage and participate in productive conversation to combat further degradation of the environment.
CONSERVATION AND PRESERVATION OF TRADITIONAL MEDICINAL PLANTS
ABOUT THE PROJECT
Bhutan is a biodiversity hotspot with several endangered species of flora and fauna and more than 7,000 species of vascular plants. More than 600 medicinal plant species are identified in Bhutan, around half of which are currently used in preparing medicines. The Bhutanese traditional practice of medicine dates back to the eighth century and still forms a significant part of basic health care, blending culture and healing tradition, in which Buddhism is the prevailing influence.
Traditional Medicine Services in Bhutan
In 1967, the Third King of Bhutan, His Majesty Jigme Dorji Wangchuck commanded the health department to establish a traditional medicine system for the welfare of the Bhutanese people and to preserve its rich culture and tradition. Accordingly, an indigenous dispensary was opened on June 28, 1968, at Dechencholing in Thimphu, and the medicinal herbs were collected from Lingzhi and Langthel in Trongsa. Since then, traditional medical services has grown rapidly over the years. Today, there are 51 traditional medicine units attached to the district hospitals and basic health units across Bhutan.
The Bhutan Foundation is pleased to partner with the Faculty of Traditional Medicine (FoTM) under the Khesar Gyalpo University of Medical Sciences of Bhutan (KGUMSB) to establish a medicinal herb garden and Tanadugphodrang (Paradise of Medicinal Buddha) at the Faculty of Traditional Medicine in Thimphu, Bhutan.
Medicinal Herb Garden
Most of the medicinal species are found in hard-to-reach highlands in the central and southern foothills of Bhutan. The Faculty of Traditional Medicine under the auspices of KGUMSB take their students on field trips to observe and identify medicinal plant species. But the difficulty of travel to the remote highlands limits faculty and students to only one or two visits during the training period. The establishment of a medicinal herb garden at the Institute for Traditional Medicine will enable daily access to student learning and training based on the bSo-rig pharmacopoeia and will house more than 100 rare and threatened medicinal plant species. The project puts a special focus on conservation and sustainability of the rare and threatened medicinal plant species.
Establishment of Tanadugphodrang
The other part of the project is the establishment of a Tanadugphodrang based on bSowa Rigpa, the Traditional Bhutanese Medicine text. In the Buddhist traditional texts, the Tanadugphodrang is the paradise in which the Buddha identified different medicinal plants in the four directions (east, west, north, and south). The establishment of a physical Tanadugphodrang will enable students to practically learn and understand the origin and diversity of traditional medicine. The establishment of Tanadugphodrang will be the first and only one of its kind in Bhutan.
PRESERVING AND PROMOTING TRADITIONAL MUSIC OF BHUTAN
ABOUT THE PROJECT
For many years, Bhutan remained isolated and untouched by the outside world, keeping its unique identity and culture intact. As early as the 1920s, during the reign of the First and the Second Kings of Bhutan, the majority of the Bhutanese people experienced very little or no exposure to foreign culture. Life in ancient Bhutan was simple and rich in cultural and traditional practices. All this was possible as a result of the undying allegiance of the forefathers and the benevolent leadership of the kings. Today, in modern democratic Bhutan, one of the greatest qualities that unites all Bhutanese is the country’s unique cultural identity.
The Importance of Traditional Songs in Bhutan
There are many important aspects of Bhutanese identity and culture, but traditional songs and their accompanying dances play a special role in shaping and sustaining a distinctly Bhutanese way of life and outlook. As Bhutanese culture is an oral one, songs have long been a primary way to pass on knowledge and values from generation to generation. It is through song and dance that the Bhutanese have kept alive accounts of their great leaders, saints and heroes, as well as related stories of the lives and struggles of ordinary people. It is through song and dance that the Bhutanese have passed on local histories, conveyed spiritual values, and acknowledged the profound beauty and importance of nature. And it is through the emotional moments of shared singing and dancing that members of communities have bonded together, whether while working in fields or rejoicing at festivals.
Although these types of traditional songs are still widely appreciated and practiced in rural areas, with modernization and rural-to-urban migration, they are at dire risk of disappearing. It is tremendously important that we act now to ensure that this great body of accumulated cultural knowledge is not lost.
Research
Research is needed to rediscover original song lyrics, melodies, and dance movements, to observe natural settings and contexts of performance, and to understand the meanings and full significance of these art forms. Our partner and the implementing organization on this project, the Music of Bhutan Research Centre (MBRC), will be conducting fieldwork on as many music traditions throughout the country as possible. They will reach out to 14 dzongkhags (districts) all across Bhutan, to include several villages in each district.
Documentation and Preservation
His Majesty the Third King of Bhutan, Druk Gyalpo Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, also known as the father of modern Bhutan, held traditional Bhutanese songs and dances in high regard. His Majesty was a highly respected patron of these traditional arts. In fact, upon the command of His Majesty, the finest singers in Bhutan traveled to Kolkata, India, in the 1960s to record songs for the first time in Bhutanese history. MBRC continues to be inspired by the foresight of the Third King in his efforts to preserve and support Bhutan’s traditional music.
For every research topic, MBRC conducts in-depth interviews with key elder tradition bearers and master musicians, and fully documents practices through high quality audio recording, videography and still photography. Artists and communities are compensated for their participation in the project. MBRC maintains an archive for all materials in Thimphu, which to date includes over 20,000 hours of audio and video recordings, transcriptions of songs and interviews, field notes, photographs, musical instruments and dance costumes. Archival holdings are indexed and accessible to researchers and the public upon request.
Promotion
Through careful research and documentation, the project aims to save threatened forms of knowledge and beauty, create a cultural resource bank for scholars to study and future generations to draw from, strengthen and re-invigorate traditions through active relations with artists and communities, and expand public awareness and understanding. Materials generated by the project will serve as a resource for development of future educational tools (film, web, print, CDs etc.), some of which will be distributed to high schools, colleges, and libraries throughout Bhutan. The research will also provide a valuable foundation for developing and promoting cultural tourism for the benefit of source communities.
UNDERSTANDING CLIMATE CHANGE IN BHUTAN
ABOUT THE PROJECT
Bhutan is carbon negative and has committed to remaining carbon neutral, yet it is not spared the wrath of climate change. For Himalayan countries such as Bhutan, erratic weather patterns, fast receding glaciers, and the risk of Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOF) have now become stark reality. Climate change, if left unchecked, can become one of the biggest threats to humanity. However, climate science often remains abstract, especially when explained through complex computer models and simulations that are difficult for the ordinary person to understand.
The Himalayan Environmental Rhythms Observation and Evaluation System (HEROES) Project
It is important for communities to understand climate change in a manner that they can relate to, so that appropriate mitigation of the causes of climate change (namely reduction of greenhouse gases) and adaptations to changes in climatic conditions can be devised accordingly. The Himalayan Environmental Rhythms Observation and Evaluation System (HEROES) project, implemented by the Ugyen Wangchuck Institute of Conservation and Environment (UWICE) in partnerships with schools and nature clubs across Bhutan, employs a combination of weather data collection (through a network of weather stations) and citizen science to help understand climate change. While the high-tech weather stations provide an uninterrupted flow of weather and climatic data (temperature, humidity, and wind speed) across Bhutan’s varied ecological and elevation gradient, the citizen science component of the project encourages hundreds of students to actively engage in observing their immediate environment to detect changes in how plants and wildlife respond to climate change.
Using Citizen Science to Collect Climate Data
In its second year of implementation, the HEROES project has already succeeded in mainstreaming plant phenology observation and climate change as a topic in the high-school environmental science curriculum. Bhutanese students will soon be learning about this very important topic that affects us every day. The project supports a network of 23 weather stations (20 in schools, and 3 in remote mountain locations). Some 34 teachers and 340 students have been trained and are now participating in the project. The numbers continue to grow.
Bhutan will be one of the few places in the Himalayas to have a comprehensive set of climate data that will be vital for helping understand climate change. This will be supplemented by an understanding of how key plants and animals respond to a changing climatic pattern over time. In the process, hundreds of students will gain first-hand knowledge of how climate change affects us through our surrounding environment. Thousands more will understand climate change though local lessons in school.
JOMOLHARI SNOW LEOPARD CONSERVATION PROGRAM
ABOUT THE PROJECT
The Jomolhari Trek, an important leg of the famous Snowman Trek, is one of the most popular trekking routes in Bhutan and passes through prime snow leopard and blue sheep habitat. Numerous camera trap photos, signs, and DNA sampling from the region has established it as one of the best snow leopard habitats in Bhutan. Like the tiger, the snow leopard is an apex predator and it is a flagship species of the high mountains of Asia. However, the global snow leopard population stands at an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 spread over 2 million square kilometers of habitat across the mountains of the Himalayas and Central Asia, spanning 12 countries. Bhutan is one of them, and the snow leopard is a sentinel of much of Bhutan’s northern alpine regions along the Tibetan border.
Jomolhari Mountain Area
This region has some of the highest snow leopard activity in Bhutan and is a hotbed for snow leopard and its prey, the blue sheep. The residents of this region are primarily yak herders, as the area is mostly above treeline. While yak predation is prevalent in the area, the herders have generally been tolerant of some level of predation all along. However, public attitudes and perception toward snow leopards are fast changing.
Jomolhari Snow Leopard Conservation Project
The Jomolhari Snow Leopard Conservation project is an integrated approach to conserve an important snow leopard region in Bhutan. We believe that bringing benefits from conservation to local communities will encourage resident communities to actively participate in snow leopard conservation, which in turn can only succeed with their support. Yak-herding communities will benefit from improved health care, livestock husbandry, and education services and income generation from tourism and related initiatives; snow leopards will benefit from protection by the local communities. It is a win-win situation.
Jomolhari School Among Snow Leopards
Despite Bhutan’s tremendous progress toward achieving universal access to primary education, in some regions, geography and climate can impede school attendance and access to supplies. The Bhutan Foundation is taking action by supporting the multifaceted “School Among Snow Leopards” initiative, an important component of the Jomolhari Snow Leopard Conservation Program. Due to cold climatic conditions, the highland schools are, often, closed early. They also face a lack of educational materials, teaching aids, and supplies for the students. The lessons are taught in a dark and cold room.The program seeks to tap into the full potential of these students and provide them with a supportive setting that complements learning alongside values of conservation, community development, and livelihood sustainability. In this way, we hope to improve educational opportunities for the children of Soe by providing an educational setting that enables them to succeed, and create awareness about conservation of the community’s surrounding environment.
THE CIVIL SOCIETY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
ABOUT THE PROJECT
In Bhutan, a civil society organization (CSO) is a local nonprofit organization that is not part of the government but complements the government’s efforts and plays a significant role in the development of the country. In a small country like Bhutan, CSOs play a major role in mobilizing and sensitizing communities more effectively than government institutions; draw attention to new development challenges that require political attention; encourage greater development effectiveness by promoting accountability; and become service providers in areas of need, such as education, health, and governance. Developing a strong civil society also reinforces democracy, the practice of democratic procedures, and the experience of personal responsibility for public good.
Capacity Building for Civil Society Organizations
Since the Civil Society Act was established in 2007, the number of CSOs in Bhutan continues to grow. With the increasing demands and needs of a rapidly developing society, it is critical that these CSOs develop strategic plans in fulfilling their roles and accomplishing their missions.
The CSOs must learn to manage their organizations to carry out the work that benefits the public in advancing the shared interests of the Bhutanese people. With these ideas in mind, the Bhutan Foundation has mapped out steps that would continue to build on the current success and vitality of the existing CSOs by providing them with opportunities to build their organizational capacity through development workshops and trainings as well as space for greater collaboration among the CSOs.
The Civil Society Development Program works to strengthen and support civil society organizations’ ability to deliver to the people and to serve the public, while promoting high standards in accountability, ethics, and management.
Project Objectives
Our Civil Society Development Program aims to achieve the following objectives:
Help build capacity among CSOs and facilitate better collaboration among the various organizations.
Improve CSO organizational capacity and extend professional help through workshops in management, finance, marketing, fundraising, and public relations.
Contribute toward building a proficient civil society sector and encourage the public to identify, select, and support effective organizations.
Build and maintain a forum where CSOs may share and disseminate information and eventually maintain a comprehensive database of information on the activities of civil society organizations in Bhutan.
IMPROVING EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES
ABOUT THE PROJECT
Bhutan is seeing a significant rise in the number of vehicle-related and unintentional injuries, as well as increasing threats of natural disasters. But in a country with rugged and mountainous terrain, transport to the nearest health-care facility can take hours, which is critical to patient care. The Bhutan Foundation is working to address these issues by building Bhutan’s capacity in emergency medical services.
Training Doctors and Nurses
The Bhutan Foundation and the Ministry of Health sponsored two Bhutanese physicians to be trained as Bhutan’s first emergency department physicians, thereby recognizing emergency medicine as a specialty for the country. The main goal of the program is to train all doctors and nurses working in emergency medicine and trauma care in Bhutan. This is done using a train-the-trainers model so that in-country training capacity is built for a long-term, sustainable program.
Improving Pre-hospital Care
Where no pre-hospital trauma care system exists, the most basic tier of a system can be established by teaching interested community members basic first aid techniques. For five years, the Bhutan Foundation and Ministry of Health have provided trainings to potential first responders, such as ambulance drivers, police, firemen, taxi drivers, and nuns, in using basic first aid, providing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), controlling bleeding, applying splints, and using safe and proper transport procedures. Empowering community members with basic life-saving skills can significantly reduce the number of preventable deaths.
SUPPORT FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES IN BHUTAN
ABOUT THE PROJECT
Education for all has been and continues to be a priority for Bhutan. Recognizing a gap in special education, the Bhutan Foundation works in collaboration with the Ministry of Education’s Early Childhood, Care and Development (ECCD) and Special Education Needs (SEN) Division to enhance educational opportunities for children with special needs. The program supports 12 public schools across Bhutan, mainly in building capacity for teachers and providing teaching/learning materials and resources to enable children with disabilities to succeed in the classroom. This program focuses on the largest percentage of students requiring help, which is the group of students with mild-to-moderate learning difficulties.
Supporting Schools that Provide Access to Education for Children with Special Needs
The Bhutan Foundation’s Special Education Program started in 2008 in collaboration with the Ministry of Education. Over the last seven years, the program has increased the capacity of Bhutanese teachers to provide assistance to children with special needs, 12 schools have been identified by the Ministry of Education to provide these services throughout the country, a US Special Education Advisory Committee has been established, and the Ministry of Education has drafted a National Special Education Policy for the country. These accomplishments have been possible through the support and hard work of our partners on the ground, the Ministry of Education, and supporters and donors of the program who have provided pro-bono technical assistance and advice for the project. As the program continues to grow for Bhutan with more children identified and increased awareness, more challenges lay ahead to address the children’s needs.
Helping to Make Meaningful Employment a Reality
Opportunities for individuals with disabilities to transition into and function in Bhutanese society are vital for an inclusive community. In partnership with the Disabled Persons’ Association of Bhutan (DPAB) and in collaboration with Amankora Bhutan, a branch of the luxury hotel group, Aman Resorts, with presence in more than 15 countries across the world, the Bhutan Foundation has started a transition program to train visually impaired youth in spa therapy. With the hotel and spa industry growing in Bhutan, a career as a spa therapist could mean a more secure future for the trained youth. Under the program, eight candidates identified by DPAB, who have either dropped out of school or have never been to school, spent six to nine months training in spa therapy. After being certified as spa therapists, three of the trainees ventured even further to start their own business—Dhungsel Home Spa.
The Bhutan Foundation hopes to support such social ventures in the coming years. In addition to spa training, we also helped initiate an intern program for four students from the Wangsel Institute for the Deaf to train in hotel services at the Amankora Resort in Paro, Bhutan (western Bhutan).
Building Capacity of Social Workers
According to UNICEF’s two-stage disability survey carried out in 2011, the prevalence of moderate to severe disability in Bhutan is 2.8 percent. The country is now seeing an increase in the population of individuals with moderate to severe disabilities with growing awareness and an increase in services available to them. To address this need, the Bhutan Foundation in collaboration with the Anderson Center for Autism in upstate New York is supporting the training of two social workers from Ability Bhutan Society, a local civil society organization that serves children with disabilities. These social workers are on a one-year fellowship at the Anderson Center for Autism to train with experienced professionals in the social services fields, contribute new ideas, and learn best practices. These skills are then taken back to Bhutan where these social workers will adopt effective approaches within their organization to train more social workers and further enhance services for children and adults on the autism spectrum.
Read more about the Bhutan Foundation here
