BIIB Blog – Page 9 – For the mindful traveler

The prayer flag and the forest

When sentiment clashes with common sense, something’s got to give

Environment : Part III
September, 2009 – Bhutan’s verdant forests, whose coverage the Constitution mandates should not be less than 60 percent for all time to come, is under tremendous pressure from the soaring demand for prayer flags that dot the country’s hills and valleys.

Although no studies have been carried out on the impact on the forest by felling trees for flag posts, statistics with the department of forest show that thousands of trees are felled every year to meet this demand.Between June 2007 to 2008, Bhutan felled 60,178 trees, or about 165 trees every day, to meet the demand for poles, of which demand for flag posts is the highest. This excludes the 550 trees felled daily for other uses. Continue reading The prayer flag and the forest

Mapping the small mammals

A five-day training course for field forestry officials in Lobesa to address lack of data

Although Bhutan has nearly 200 species of mammals, there is no ecological information on their status – population, distribution and threats, especially for small mammals. Small mammals consist of bats and rodents, which form the most diverse order of mammals.

To address the absence of data, the forestry department, together with various international environment conservation agencies, is conducting a five-day training course for field forestry officials in Lobesa.“Small mammals are very important, because they form the basis of the food chain,” said chief forestry officer (CFO), Dr Sonam Wangyel Wang. “They are also more responsive to environmental changes,” added the CFO, “which made them especially vulnerable to extinction.” Continue reading Mapping the small mammals

Thimphu to get a new rehab centre

Energy consumption

The Youth Development Fund (YDF) has come up with a professional rehab centre for drug and alcohol dependents.

It will be launched within the next two months and will be known as the Treatment and Rehab Center for Drug and Alcohol dependents.

It was informally started last month. As an interim measure the centre is being housed at Serbithang in Thimphu. After a year or two, the centre will be permanently established in Gidakom.

The centre is being supervised and monitored by the Bhutan Narcotic Control Agency and YDF. It can accommodate about 10 people.

Source: Bhutan Broadcasting Service

Non Formal Education (NFE): A boon for the illiterates

Energy consumption The Non-Formal Education (NFE) Programme has changed the lives of countless number of illiterate adults in rural areas. For its success, this year it was awarded the Honourable Mention of the UNESCO Confucius Prize for Literacy.

Ran Maya Subba, 12 came to Begana three years ago as a domestic helper to her aunt. She is from Patala village under Tsirang Dzongkhag. Shortly after her arrival, her aunt enrolled Ran Maya in the NFE centre at Begana.

Back in her village, she could not go to school as the nearest school is about three hours’ walk from her house.

She completed her post literacy course this year and is now attending the Khushuchen community primary school in class one. Continue reading Non Formal Education (NFE): A boon for the illiterates

Shelter for homeless kids

Project Hope
Not just a helping hand but also a bridge back to mainstream society

The National Commission for Women and Children (NCWC), with support from Save The Children fund (SCF) will set up Bhutan’s first transitional shelter for children, who are homeless, abused, neglected, emotionally disturbed or face other difficult circumstances.

Called ‘Project Hope – putting children first’, the need for such a shelter, NCWC officials said, was felt after seeing increasing numbers of children begging in different parts of Thimphu and boys and girls being exploited as cheap labour.

For instance, about 15 boys, some as young as five years, at the Thimphu crematorium, beg daily or dive into the river to pick up money thrown with cremation ashes. Some of these boys live in the neighbourhood, while others are orphans, who seek refuge with their relatives at night.

There is also an increasing number of children begging at the vegetable market on weekends, say Thimphu residents.

Children as young as 10, to survive, also work at motor vehicle workshops and restaurants in Thimphu. Continue reading Shelter for homeless kids

Long haul to Samcholing school

Without boarding or teacher’s quarter facilities, it’s a 10 km hike back and forth

Going to school in remote Bhutan involves hours of walking. In Samcholing, Trongsa, it is not just some students either.

The 121 students and 10 teachers of the recently upgraded lower secondary school walk uphill for hours to their school without boarding or teacher’s quarter facilities. Located above the main Samcholing village, there is no settlement around for teachers to rent houses and all the 16 teaching and non-teaching staff walk five and half km every day to reach the school. Some students walk about 10 km.

The only female teacher in the school, Shoba G, stays in Kuengarabten. “I wake up at 5 am every morning and walk for an hour and a half to reach school,” she said.

The 2.7 km farm road that connects the school from the Trongsa-Zhemgang highway is not pliable.

Farmers of Samcholing, who live on a sharecropping system and own little land of their own, are not happy too. “We’re the least developed people and our children have no bordering facilities,” said a 52-year-old father. “If the school wasn’t in our village, our children would avail hostel facilities in Taktse middle secondary school,” said another villager. Continue reading Long haul to Samcholing school

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Vs Gross National Happiness (GNH)

Should there be alternative to the GDP?

In an email interview with The Nation, US-based historian, Eric Zencey says it’s time to ditch The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for a more meaningful and inclusive index which can more accurately measure country performances.

Why should we be thinking of an alternative to the GDP now?

GDP is a deeply foolish measure of economic progress and well-being. It was never designed to measure either of those, and we ought to find a better measure as soon as possible. Anytime is a good time to do this, but the downturn we’re facing now makes this an additionally opportune time. What we’re seeing economically is in many ways unprecedented, and its resolution will require thinking in ways we haven’t thought before. In practical terms, with GDP down worldwide, a change now is easier. The new measure could be implemented and could guide policy toward an economic recovery that gives us more of what we really want, which is social well-being, not just economic activity. Continue reading Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Vs Gross National Happiness (GNH)

Bhutan’s rich biodiversity just got richer

Adding to an already rich biodiversity are 21 new species of amphibian, insects and an equal mixture of both flowering and non-flowering plants discovered in Bhutan.

These have been clubbed in a book, “The Eastern Himalayas: where the world collides,” launched by WWF on August 10. Also included in the discovery list are 7 species of grass root parasite, commonly called lousewort, and a unique frog species, Scutiger bhutanensis.

A total of 353 new species have been discovered in the eastern Himalayas – the whole of Bhutan, parts of India and Nepal – from 1998 to 2008, that amounts to an average of 35 new species every year. The list includes 244 plants, 16 amphibians, 16 reptiles, 14 fish, 2 birds, 2 mammals and about 60 new invertebrates.

Although the book boasts of the new discovery as a result of the richness of bio-diversity in the eastern Himalayas, it pointed out that these species were threatened by forest destruction, shifting cultivation, illegal poaching, pollution and poorly planned infrastructure. Continue reading Bhutan’s rich biodiversity just got richer

The Original Bhutanese Talent

Courtesy: www.tsheringtobgay.com

“Leki, a Bhutanese stand up comedian, can imitate many different sounds from birds to dogs, and popular singers to musical instruments.”

Total Solar Eclipse in Bhutan

Videos and Images of Total Solar Eclipse in Bhutan 2009

Early morning on July 22nd, 2009, with a small group of guests, we went to Sangaygang, a hill overlooking Thimphu valley, and witnessed what was truly a “once-in-a-lifetime” event. The morning clouds, which ridiculously hung over the valley, gave way just in time to a spectacular display of the longest total solar eclipse of our time.