Bhutan's commitment to conservation

Photograph by rajkumar1220 via Flickr

Bhutan has rejected the use of Gross National Product (GNP) as a measure of its progress since 1971. This was the year in which the reigning king, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, first introduced the concept of Gross National Happiness (GNH), and thus made environmental conservation one of the main pillars of Bhutanese society.

GNH encompasses four main factors of societal development: good governance, sustainable socio-economic development, cultural preservation and environmental conservation. It aims to address national development in broad, holistic terms, rejecting economic profit as the only means of measuring progress in favour of other, non-economic areas of wellbeing. It addresses the human element of society that is increasingly being lost in western nations, and it favours an approach to living which gives people a sense of duty to their community and their surrounding environment.

Environmental conservation has a unique position in Bhutanese society because of its strong link to the wellbeing and profit of the nation’s people. The relatively small size of the country, its isolationism, its topography and its heavy reliance on natural resources for its livelihood means that conservation is an indisputably important element of Bhutan. The country’s interest in conservation stems partly from a cultural and religious awareness of the connectedness of nature, and the spiritual importance given to it through Bon Shamanism. This spiritual background means that the country has a deep-seated commitment to conservation extending far beyond that of an interest in economic progress.

The importance given to environmental conservation on a national level is effective. Because the country’s wellbeing and its natural resources form a complex relationship of dependency, the conservation of those resources takes priority. Bhutan’s high reliance upon hydroelectricity, for example—which forms the basis of the country’s energy supply—means that forest conservation is of the utmost importance. The forests protect the headwaters of the river catchments, which are essential to hydroelectricity; the need for forest cover is so great that the 2008 National Constitution pledged to maintain 60% of the country’s forest cover in perpetuity. The forests are key to the wellbeing of the rural poor, too, contributing to economic growth due to its protection and maintenance of soil and water. That over 75% of the country is covered by forest today is an apt instance of the commitment Bhutan has made to its natural resources since 1971.

Bhutan pledged to commit to conservation on a national level, and the 2008 constitution reflected this by bestowing individual responsibility to all Bhutanese citizens for their environment. The central position conservation holds in the nation’s development means that all plans are made around it. Environmental conservation is important on an individual as well as a national level in Bhutan, and it is this level of commitment that has helped the country succeed environmentally over the years.

The importance of a healthy, prospering environment is becoming more apparent globally as research into environmental damage increases. Bhutan is not a perfect example of a country, but its underlying values are true to increasingly important environmental needs on a global scale. Internationally, now, countries must revise their economy-oriented values and measures of progress, and think sensitively about the needs of the environment as a whole; it is important to remember the importance nature plays in every nation, and to follow Bhutan’s example in committing holistically to an effective conservation plan.

Originally published on The Global Panorama.