One in three Bhutanese overweight, finds study
The increasing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) on health facilities demands greater multi-sectoral actions for the implementation of NCD prevention activities. NCDs are a major public
Kuensel (Bhutan)
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SAARC forestry centre in Thimphu
The management and maintenance of Bhutan's pristine forest and mountain ecology could reach a new level with the establishment of a SAARC forestry centre in Thimphu on June 11. The centre will conduct research into mountain ecology, explore new ways of managing forest resources and other related fields, and gather research data from member states to serve as a nodal point of information on forest and related topics, besides providing policy inputs to member states.
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JICA support for poverty reduction programs
The GNH commission and the Tarayana foundation received USD 315,650 (Nu 13.5 million) from the Japan international cooperation agency (JICA) on June 12 for a two-year project targeted at community development and local governance initiatives to reduce poverty. The Tarayana foundation, to receive USD 160,000, will open learning centres, provide non-formal education for school dropouts and skill development courses to farmers in the remote communities of Lawa, Lamthang, Metakha, Thaphu and Samthang in Athang gewog of Wangduephodrang.
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15 m euros for Austrian-Bhutan bilateral program
The Austrian government has committed 2.15 million euros to Bhutan within the bilateral program for this year.
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Elephants damage crops in Sipsu
Even as this article was being written late last evening, a group of six elephants entered a maize field in lower Hungay, Sipsu, as farmers helplessly watched from a safe distance. It was raining heavily. This week alone, marauding elephants from across the border destroyed more than 17 acres of maize plants, a few acres of ginger in the villages of Hungay and Peljorling in Sipsu.
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More breathing space for reptiles
If all goes according to plan, the country's only crocodile farm in Phuentsholing will move to a more spacious location, further from the urban centre and allowing elbowroom for its inmates. An acute lack of space has been a longstanding problem for the farm, which was set up in 1976 behind Norgay cinema on a 0.58-acre area with 12 crocodiles (Crododylus palustris) and seven gharials. According to the gharial conservation program in-charge, B P Dhal, the new site planned near Dhoti khola, around a kilometre beyond the present location, will spread over a five-acre area.
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Community forests: A success story for some
In 1997, villagers of Dozam, Mongar were given a portion of a forest to be managed by them. The villagers were stumped. Like others across the country, they depended on the forest for many things, but managing one seemed beyond their doing. "Many were reluctant and did not have the confidence to carry out the programme,' said chairperson of Dozam community forest, Rinzin.
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Potential for organic food production
Bhutan has a potential for organic farming, given the right production environment, say agriculturists and experts from the US. With the country's vast forest producing abundant biomass and other natural resources, organic farming in the country is a more sustainable agricultural model, which can produce both sufficient quantities and high quality nutritious food.
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Cleaning up Bhutan
From June 2008, around 120 industries in Bhutan will have to follow the industrial emission standards set up by the national environmental commission (NEC). However, an NEC report in November 2007 showed that most of the major factories were not within these new norms. The NEC, which will be monitoring these factories, as of now has only three technical staff with equipment yet to be purchased. In a related development, a pollution control team from Delhi, India, has said that Pasakha was too crowded with factories even if it eventually met emission standards.
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Highway construction and environmental concerns
Even as Bhutanese motorists greet the expanded highways with pleasure, there are continuing environmental concerns over the dumping of large amounts of mud over the edge of the Thimphu-Phuentsholing-Paro highways. National environment commission (NEC) officials are worried about the destruction of flora and fauna, potential problems for the Tala and Chukha projects due to sedimentation, increased chances of floods and landslides, and the aesthetic deterioration.
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Tigers in snow leopard land
Fresh pictures and pugmarks from the Jigme Dorji national park (JDNP) show that royal Bengal tigers in Bhutan are being found at altitudes never seen before. In fact, authorities say that the tigers are going so high that they are overlapping the habitat of the elusive snow leopard.