National Capacity Self Assessment for Global Environmental Management: Bhutan Experience

1. National Capacity Self Assessment for Global Environmental Management: Bhutan Experience Karma Tshiteem GEF Operational Focal Point Bhutan

2. Outline • Bhutan environment context • Stakeholder identification and involvement • Threats • Responding to threats: the NCSA • Follow-up: NCSA follow-up project • Issues and challenges • Lessons Learnt • Conclusions & Recommendations

3. Environment: Context Biodiversity: • Bhutan is among the top ten percent of the countries with the highest species density (species richness per unit area) • Has more than 5,400 known species of vascular plants, 600 species of birds and 190 species of mammals, including many globally threatened species. Climate change: • Bhutan stands out as one of the few countries with negative greenhouse gas emissions. • But is very vulnerable to climate change, as this is likely to affect • the country’s forestry, agricultural and energy sectors, as well as • an increased number of natural disasters, including GLOFs

4. Environment: Context Land use and cover: • Forest is by far the most dominant land cover (72.5 percent) • However, as 79 percent of the Bhutanese population primarily depend on agriculture, and only 7.7 percent of the country is arable agricultural land, land-use can be very intensive. • Over one third of the country is protected as protected areas Given the importance of Bhutan’s natural resources in terms of climate change, biodiversity and land degradation, good management of Bhutan’s land and forests yields significant global benefits !!! However, at present, the land and forest resources in Bhutan face a series of well documented threats & Challenges.

5. Environment: Threats Some of the key well documented HUMAN- induced threats are: • Unsustainable wood collection, for fuel and for construction and furniture. • Wood consumption for fuel per capita is one of the highest in the world • Wildlife hunting, both to supply international trade and to protect livestock and crops from wild animals; • Overgrazing of pastures and in forests; • Forest fires, caused almost entirely by man; • Pollution, due to construction, and growing transport and industry. Population growth and urbanization are important drivers immediately behind these threats.

6. BHUTAN Environment: THREATS • With extreme climatic conditions, rugged terrain and fragile geologic conditions, Bhutan is inherently vulnerable to natural disasters such as landslides and flash floods. • Vulnerability to climate change induced disasters has become obvious in the recent years. For example, the winter of 1998/99 was characterized by a prolonged spell of dry (snowless) weather. This exacerbated incidents of forest fires that winter, with forest fires occurring even in places where they were earlier not known.

7. BHUTAN Environment: THREATS There are also important NATURE- induced threats: • With extreme climatic conditions, rugged terrain and fragile geologic conditions, Bhutan is inherently vulnerable to natural disasters such as landslides and flash floods. • Vulnerability to climate change induced disasters has become obvious in the recent years. • Climate change is resulting in the receding of several glaciers in the Himalayas, increasing the risks of dangerous glacial lake outbursts (GLOF). • The most recent GLOF which occurred in the country in October 1994 wreaked enormous damage to agricultural land, property and infrastructure, and caused several deaths in the downstream valleys

8. The NCSA objectives • To better understand the dynamics behind the threats to the global, national and local environment in Bhutan and assess its capacity to implement the Rio Conventions • Identify thorough a broad-based consultative and participatory process, priority capacity development needs in the biodiversity, climate change and land degradation thematic areas. • Consequently also identify capacity development needs across the thematic areas

9. Stakeholders identification • Gross National Happiness Commission (DADM)–National co-ordination authority for aid management • National Environment Commission (NEC): High level body with inter-ministerial representation for policy decisions and guidance on matters related to sustainable development. • Ministry of Agriculture: Overall authority for the management of Bhutan’s renewable natural resources sector (RNR) • Ministry of Trade & Industry (Ministry of Economic Affairs): Environmental management functions in terms of reducing or controlling industrial pollution, promoting clean technology and energy, and providing geotechnical services including assessment and monitoring of geologically vulnerable areas • Ministry of Works & Human Settlement: Promotes environment – friendly road construction techniques and eco-friendly human settlements • Royal Civil Service Commission: apex body responsible for HRD and civil service administration • Development Partners (UNDP)

10. Stakeholder involvement and process Principle of broad-based, consultative and participatory • Inception and Planning Workshop to sensitized the stakeholders on concept process and methodologies • Formation of Thematic Working Groups (TWG) to take advantage of in-house expertise and enhance ownership • Thematic Assessment ( Review of existing literature, questionnaire survey and preparation of thematic profiles. • Cross-cutting analysis and consolidation of the thematic profiles into an NCSA Report

11. Bhutan NCSA: Responding to the threats identified • Based on the findings of the Bhutan NCSA, the Govt prepared an Action Plan for addressing priority capacity needs to implement the three Conventions. • The Action Plan included seven Outputs : • Policy and legal framework for environmentally sustainable development improved • Implementation of environment mgt mandates at central, dzongkhag, and geog levels improved • Information and monitoring systems in the four thematic areas strengthened • Implementation capacity of NECS and MoA enhanced to effectively to effectively function as national focal agencies • Institutional mechanisms for environmental management strengthened • Environmental financing mechanisms strengthened • Environmental education and awareness programmes strengthened • Further to subsequent consultations with concerned stakeholders - and based on in-country opportunities - the government has packaged the Outputs into the following three priority project proposals for immediate action: • Enhancing Environmental Management in Local Governance System; • Strengthening Policy and Legal Framework for Environmental Management; • Strengthening Information and Monitoring System for Environmental Management.

12. The NCSA follow up: UNDP-GEF project “Enhancing Global Environmental Management in Bhutan’s Local Governance System” • Long term project goal: to ensure effective environmental management in Bhutan in support of its national socio-economic goals and fulfillment of the Rio Conventions obligations • Project Objective: to enhance global environmental management by mainstreaming the provisions of the Rio Conventions into enhanced environment management 3 Outcomes: • Enabled Central-level framework to enhance decentralized capacity for environmental management and implementation of the provision of the 3 Rio Conventions 2. Enabled decentralized institutional framework and personnel to enhance local environmental management which include implementation of the Rio Convention provisions • Existing Environmental Information Management System enhanced to backstop national policy and decision making in response to global environmental management needs as per the provisions of the Rio Conventions Project approved by GEF, to be signed in May

13. Issues and Challenges • Accessandenvironmentdegradationvscosts (especiallyupfrontcosts) • Poorawarenessaboutlong-termadverseenvironmentalimpactonlivelihoodsamongthegeneralpublicandlocalgovernancefunctionaries • Coordinationinenvironmentalmanagement systems both at national and local levels • Weak compliance and enforcement of environmental regulations • Inadequate capacities of relevant environment agencies and mechanisms • Lack of data and information on environment, such as air and water quality • The “overall challenge” is to maintain the level of high environmental quality while achieving growth

14. Lessons from the NCSA process • Inter-agency Thematic Working Groups ensures ownership and cross-sectoral synergies • The importance of broad-based consultations including the “voices of the rural communities” • Coordination / Institutional structure to situate the process (i.e. SC, Task Force, TWG etc) helps not only ensure stakeholder commitment but also build on existing knowledge and engender synergy with other parallel on-going efforts