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ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATIONS AND RESPONSE IN THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES: A STUDY ON THE REPUBLIC OF BHUTAN BY TIMS-LEWECHI CHUKWUDI P. DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES, IMO STATE UNIVERSITY, OWERRI, NIGERIA chukslewechi@yahoo.com Keywords: Degradation, Bhutan, Environment, Third World, Asia Abstract: In Bhutan, just like many developing nations, the resultant environmental problems are legion. These cuts across aggravated soil erosion, flood disasters, alkalisation, and the desertification due to the effects of shifting agriculture on fragile soils, forest clearing in erosion prone and flood prone areas, bush burning, animal over-grazing and poor construction and maintenance of roads and irrigation system; pollution of water, air and land due to improper disposal of domestic and industrial wastes; pollution through oil spillage; pollution from noise; proliferation of slums in urban areas, unsanitary and unsafe housing; congestion of traffic and houses in urban areas and lack of open spaces for active outdoor recreation. All these affect human well-being especially the health and socio-economic well being of the Kingdom of Bhutan and the world as a whole. This paper is therefore an attempt to highlight and discuss the impact of environmental degradation on the people of Bhutan and further examine different steps that could be taken to combat environmental degradation in Bhutan. ADMINISTRATIVE MAP OF THE REPUBLIC OF BHUTAN INTRODUCTION: Bhutan otherwise known as the Republic of Bhutan or Kingdom of Bhutan is a small mountainous country in South Asia situated on the southern slopes of eastern Himalayas between latitudes 26.7o – 28.4o North and longitudes 88.7o – 92.2o East with a total area of 38,394 square kilometres.1 The country is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to its east, Assam and West Bengal to its south, and Sikkim to its west, and the Tibetan Autonomous Region of China to its north and north-west.2 According to the Population and Housing Census of Bhutan (PHCB) 2005, the country’s total population in 2005 was 634,982 with a growth rate of 1.3 percent per annum.3 Administratively, the country is divided into 20 dzongkhags (districts). The dzongkhags are further divided into several geogs (administrative blocks under district). At the present, there are altogether 205 geogs in the country. Some of the dzongkhags, namely Chhukha, Samdrup Jongkhar, Samtse, Sarpang, Trashigang, and Zhemgang, have sub-districts, known as dungkhags in Bhutanese.4 The majority of the Bhutanese are a homogenous group divided into three main ethnic groups: the Sharchops (inhabitants of the east); the Ngalongs (inhabitants of the west); and the Lhotshampas, (inhabitants of the south). There are also a number of smaller groups and communities with distinct dialects and cultural nuances. These include Bumthaps in Bumthang, Khengpas in Zhemgang and in parts of Mongar and Dagana, Monpas in Trongsa, Kurtoeps in Lhuentse, Layaps and Lunaps in Thimphu, Brokpas and Dakpas in Trashigang, and Doyas in Samtse. The ethnic divisions are, however, gradually fading as a result of growing inter-marriage, inter-regional migration and population mobility.5 Bhutan’s economy is one of the smallest in the world but one which is growing very fast. From 2000 to 2007, the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has grown at an average of 9.1 percent per annum. The Bhutanese economy basically revolves around four key sectors, namely hydropower, Renewable Natural Resources (RNR) encompassing agriculture, livestock development and forestry, tourism, and industry.6 The majority of Bhutanese people follow Mahayana Buddhism. Bhutan is a typical agrarian society with more than 85% (National Environment Strategy of Bhutan 1998) of Bhutanese people engaged in agriculture with limited arable land and relies on an integrated system of crops, livestock and small-scale forest management. Its official language is Dzongkha while Bhutan's capital and largest city is Thimphu.7 In 2008, Bhutan made the transition from absolute monarchy to constitutional monarchy and held its first general election. As well as being a member of the United Nations, Bhutan is a member of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and hosted SAARC's sixteenth summit in April 2010.8 Although Bhutan's natural heritage is still largely intact, Bhutanese Government has said that it cannot be taken for granted and that conservation of the natural environment must be considered one of the challenges that will need to be addressed in the years ahead. Consequently, there are a number of environmental issues in Bhutan. Among Bhutan's most pressing issues are traditional firewood collection, crop and flock protection, and waste disposal, as well as modern concerns such as industrial pollution, wildlife conservation, and climate change that threatens Bhutan's population and biodiversity. Land and water use have also become matters of environmental concern in both rural and urban settings. In addition to these general issues, others such as landfill availability and air and noise pollution are particularly prevalent in relatively urbanized and industrialized areas of Bhutan. In many cases, the least financially and politically empowered find themselves the most affected by environmental issues.9 Through 2011, Bhutan experienced accelerated economic activities pressured natural resources such as land, air, and water. Development activities increased urbanization, industrialization, mining and quarrying, agriculture, and solid waste management projects. Land degradation, biodiversity and habitat loss, high fuel-wood consumption, and human-wildlife conflicts are some of Bhutan's environmental challenges.10 To address environmental issues, the government of Bhutan has banned certain practices with varying success. “Tsheri” agriculture, especially prevalent among “Sharchops” and “Lhotshampa”, is a practice by which land is cleared and farmed intensively until it becomes unproductive and is thereafter let fallow. Because it is particularly environmentally harmful, the practice has been banned by the government since however it continues today. In the mid-1980s, it accounted for 32 percent of the agricultural land use and about 3 percent of the total land use. In the early 1990s, Bhutan imposed a ban on timber exports, though domestic timber harvesting remains heavily regulated under a network of foresters and road checkpoints. In April 1999, Bhutan also prohibited plastic bags nationwide. The ban on plastic bags, however, has proven a daunting challenge in implementation and enforcement because of the practicality of lightweight airtight storage and a lack of feasible alternatives.11 Besides tsheri agriculture, other traditional practices have drawn concern for the environment. Throughout Bhutan, dependence on firewood as a fuel source has been historically prevalent. Before hydroelectric power and other modern energy sources became available, the source of fuel for heating, cooking, and lighting was nearly exclusively firewood. The provision of electricity, as well as better regulation of fuelwood collectors and more aggressive reforestation projects, was seen in the 1980s as a key factor in forest conservation. Because affordable electricity was not available throughout the country, the government established fuelwood plantations near villages to accommodate daily needs and to promote forest conservation. Firewood harvesting and management remains one of Bhutan's leading environmental challenges; the kingdom is one of the world's leaders in firewood consumption at a rate of 2.8 cubic metres (99 cu ft) per annum and accounts for 80 percent of the kingdom's energy consumption.12 Across Bhutan, traditional farmers and grazers have continued to face human-wildlife conflicts such as crop and livestock depredation. These conflicts are complicated by problems of overgrazing and wildlife protection. Protected wildlife has entered agricultural areas, trampling crops and killing livestock. In response, the government has implemented an insurance scheme, begun constructing solar powered alarm fences, watch towers, search lights, and has provided fodder and salt licks outside human settlement areas to encourage animals to stay away. Some local farmers have begun planting crops of molasses grass in an effort to repel primates naturally. Bhutan has also sought assistance from the United Nations Development Programme in combating crop and livestock losses. FACTORS RESPONSIBLE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION IN BHUTAN: Industrial Activities: Many of the Bhutanese industries depend on extraction of raw materials, such as wood and minerals, from the natural environment. As of 2006, there were 470 forest-based and 91 mineral-based industries in the country. The volume of extraction and the technology used for extraction of these natural resources will have considerable bearing on the environmental quality of the lands from where they are extracted. Other major industrial activities that contribute to land degradation include dumping of industrial waste, discharge of harmful effluents, and conversion of forest and agricultural lands for development of industrial estates.13 Industrialization in particular has been cited as an environmental hurdle and foil to Gross National Happiness, the guiding principle of the government and Constitution of Bhutan. As Bhutan industrializes, ordinary citizens have faced increased competition for essential resources and amenities – from water to roads – with the industries that benefit from Bhutan's nearby development projects. While residents express frustration at the diminution in health and lifestyle, industrial operators point out that in Bhutan the provision of health benefits is the role of the government. Pasakha, in Phuentsholing, is a major industrial center and has been the focus of many industry-related environmental issues brought since Bhutan began its development programs in the 1960s. Bhutan has planned an industrial waste repository in Pasakha, Phuentsholing, to receive slag, microsilica powder, and gases emitted by steel, ferroalloy and carbide industries. The repository at Bhutan's largest industrial site was initially slated for completion in July 2011. Air Pollution: Air pollution is the contamination of the air with unwanted gas, smokes, particles and other substances. Air pollution is also considered as waste remaining from the ways we produce goods and generates energy to heat our environment. According to the World Bank Report of 1980, air pollution is the presence in the outdoor atmosphere of one or more contaminants such as dust, fumes, gas, midst, odour, smoke or vapour in such quantities, characteristics and duration as to make them actually harmful or potentially injurious to human, plant or animal life or property, or which unreasonably interfere with the comfortable enjoyment of life and property.14 Environmental air pollution arises from people’s economic and domestic activities such as modern agriculture, which requires pesticides that pollute the atmosphere or enter water systems via run-off and sewage. Industrial activities are responsible for a wide range of pollution. Thermal power stations, burning fossil fuel and moving vehicles emit harmful pollutants like sulphur dioxides, nitrogen oxide and carbon dioxide that cause acid rain, global warming and malfunctioning of human/animal’s haemoglobin’s. Since 2006, significant air pollution, largely attributed to external sources in India, has manifested in a brown haze in the atmosphere above Bhutan. This air pollution resulted in decreased crop output and increased concerns about public health. Bhutan's four cement plants have been cited as some of the most prevalent causes of domestic air pollution, with three out of four running without modern emission controls. Semi-annual National Environment Commission (NEC) site visits check for compliance with existing regulation and may impose relatively trivial fines, however living conditions remained poor due to dust. Enforcement has been portrayed as lax in Bhutanese media, and complaints by some residents around the Pasakha industrial center went unaddressed.15 Through 2011, many communities and smaller villages in Bhutan had pits or areas for burning refuse due to a lack of designated landfills or disposal sites. The practice increases ambient air pollution as well as air and ground toxicity. Urbanization: Urbanization has taken place at a very rapid pace over the last ten years or so. During the Eighth Five-Year Plan (July 1997-June 2002), the urban population was estimated to be only 15 percent of the country’s total and at the onset of the Ninth Five Year Plan (July 2002-June 2007) it was estimated at 21 percent. By 2005, the proportion of Bhutanese urban population had grown to 31 percent. There were 61 towns with a total population of 196,111, accounting for 31 percent of the country’s total population, according to Population and Housing Census of Bhutan 2005 (PHCB 2005). It is estimated that between 2000-2005 the country’s urban population has grown at an annual rate of 7.3 percent. At this rate, the urban population is projected to grow from 196,111 in 2005 to 564,284 in 2020 and constitute 73 percent of the country’s population by 2020. 16 This is indeed a very disconcerting prospect given the country’s geologically fragile mountainous ecosystem, rugged terrain and agrarian culture. What is also alarming is that more than half of the urban population is concentrated in just two towns – Thimphu and Phuentsholing. Thimphu alone has more than 40 percent of the total urban population while Phuentsholing has more than 10 percent. Increasing urban population has contributed to environmental problems such as air and water pollution, water shortage, municipal waste generation, congestion of traffic and buildings, and land degradation. In order to accommodate surplus population and develop concomitant infrastructure, urban centers have consumed prime agricultural lands in the valleys and encroached on hill slopes which were once forested. In the smaller urban centers, the lack of proper infrastructure and facilities for drainage, sanitation and waste disposal will have cumulative adverse impacts on land and water resources. Furthermore, there is increased extraction of sand and stones from the river banks and roadsides, and harvesting of timber from adjacent forests to cater to the growing construction demands in the urban centers. Rural-urban migration and the influx of expatriate workforce for construction work in the urban centers have spawned squatting populations in and around the urban centers and exacerbated illicit collection of fuel wood and small timber from adjacent forests. At the same time, rural-urban migration deprives villages of the farm labour required for sustainable management of agricultural lands. Shortage of farm labour was cited by local communities and renewable natural resources field staff as one of the main impediments to adoption of Sustainable Land Management (SLM) technology in the field. Poaching: Poaching in Bhutan is an environmental issue both within the kingdom and at its borders. Many species are poached for their alleged medicinal properties. Though protected within Bhutan, wildlife products including rhinoceros horn, tiger bones, musk, and cordyceps sinensis command high prices outside the kingdom. Although porous borders are blamed for trafficking in poached wildlife, some protected species such as cordyceps have their own markets within Bhutan. Climate Change: Bhutan has faced ongoing and immediate climate change since the late twentieth century. Bhutan has also seen a shift in agriculture patterns due to climate change, prompting concern over the stability of agriculture in Bhutan. In general, the faster the climate changes, the greater the impact on people and their natural environment. The impacts of climate change to Bhutan’s natural environment have not yet been properly assessed. Nonetheless, the country has experienced in the recent past a number of incidents that have brought to the fore the dangers of climate change related Natural Disasters in Bhutan which includes: The winter of 1998/99 was characterized by a prolonged spell of dry (snowless) weather. This exacerbated incidents of forest fires that winter, even occurring in places where they were earlier not known. That year, a record number of 112 forest fire incidents took place; the highest ever since forest fire occurrence began to be officially recorded. Subsequently, the summer of 2000 was witness to the unprecedented heavy rains in the country’s recent history. The heavy rains triggered off unprecedented number of floods and landslides, causing loss of dozens of human lives and damage to infrastructures and natural resources. In 1994, there was a major glacial lake outburst flood emanating from Lugge Tsho, in Lunana area, northwestern Bhutan. This caused extensive damage to agricultural lands and pastures, and loss of several human lives and livestock along Pho Chhu. There are about 2,674 glacial lakes existing in the country, of which 24 were classified as potentially dangerous lakes. Of these, the most immediate threat comes from the Raphstreng and Thor Thormi lakes in the headwaters of Puna Tsang Chhu. These lakes are adjacent to each other separated by just a moraine wall. The combined discharge of outbursts of these two lakes is estimated at 53 million cubic meters – three times more than 1994 Lugge Tsho glacial lake outburst flood. Most recently, in May 2009, just three days of incessant rain, in the aftermath of Cyclone Aila, left nine people dead, washed away bridges, damaged or destroyed government buildings, private houses, and irrigation and drinking water supply lines, blocked or washed away several highways, feeder roads and farm roads, and inundated forest plantations and agricultural fields. The Department of Disaster Management has estimated that restoration works would cost the government more than Nu 719 million (US$ 15.6 million).17 Urban Waste: As of 2011, Thimphu alone produced some 51 tonnes (8,000 st) of waste daily, at an average household output of 0.96 kilograms (2.1 lb); this represented a nearly threefold increase over the three prior years. Thimphu thromde authorities estimated 49 percent of Thimphu's total refuse was biodegradable organic waste; 25.3 percent was paper; 13.7 percent was plastics; and 3.6 percent was glass. The capital's only designated dumping site, Memelakha Landfill, met its capacity in 2002, leading to overflowing and illegal dumping there and at other sites around Thimphu. In 2009, the government reaction was a "polluters pay" policy that failed to achieve its desired results. To more effectively approach refuse issues and to address different varieties of waste, Thimphu began a subsidized pilot project for sorting between biodegradable and non-biodegradable refuse. Still, compliance with proper waste disposal remained a challenge within all segments, from street vendors to ordinary citizens.18 In the late 2000s, Thimphu experienced steady growth despite water shortages. Areas downstream from Thimphu along the Wangchu River deteriorated significantly because of human waste and refuse. In a November 2011 effort to combat downstream degradation, waste outlets were converted into collection chambers, and refuse collection programs were instituted in the area.19 In some areas with designated dumping sites, the distance to landfills makes them less practical than illegally dumping by the wayside or into rivers. As a result, communities outside urban areas suffer consequences of discarding refuse into the common water supply, increasing the demand for alternative water sources. Villages near designated open air landfills and burning sites likewise report pollution and toxicity from runoff, as well as excess scavenger activity, posing health hazards. Noise Pollution: Noise is most often defined as unwanted sound. Noise is usually measured in decibels (dB) and is generated mostly in high-density urban areas or even in the industrial areas that usually use industrial plants as their sources of energy.20 With the advent of loudspeakers, headphones, and rumbling engines, noise pollution has been identified in Bhutanese media as an environmental concern, citing negative potentials ranging from distraction to deafness. Global Warming: This is the continued build-up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. These gases, which include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and chlorofluorocarbons, block some of the heat radiated from the earth to cause a greenhouse effect. According to the Inter-government Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the last two decades of the 20th century were the hottest on record.21 Some of the major causes of increasing emissions of greenhouse gases are the burning of fossil fuels for energy and transport, the clearing of forest which reduces carbon dioxide absorption, cattle raising which produces methane emission as a by-product, and the use of technology that pollutes. Accordingly, global warming leads to the rise in seawater level and to soil erosion, flooding and drought. 9. Water Use: Competition for water use between residents and industry, as well as drying water sources, are actual and imminent environmental issues facing residents in Bhutan. Water shortages have become a widespread phenomenon in rural settlements, and as internal resettlement produces new villages, many there also face water shortages. In addition, urbanization and shifts in land ownership, including land pooling, have complicated matters of water access in Thimphu. 10. Poverty: There is relatively a high level of poverty in the country. According to the Poverty Analysis Report 2007 prepared by NSB, an estimated 23.2 percent of the country’s total population live below the national poverty line. Poverty in the country is comparatively a rural phenomenon, with 30.9 percent of the rural population living below the total poverty line compared to 1.7 percent of the urban population. Poverty incidences are highest in Zhemgang, Samtse, Mongar, Lhuentse, and Samdrup Jongkhar dzongkhags and lowest in Thimphu, Paro, Gasa, Bumthang, and Haa dzongkhags.22 Poverty and environmental degradation are inextricably linked. Impoverished communities if not provided with livelihood and income-generating opportunities are prone to engage in activities, such as illegal extraction of forest resources that contribute to land degradation. On the other side, sustainable land management activities – for instance, agro-forestry – can help the poor to enhance their livelihoods and break away from the poverty cycle. Furthermore, the poor are directly dependent on a wide range of natural resources and ecosystem services for their survival and well-being. Environmental commons (such as grazing lands, waters and forests) contribute significantly to poor people’s income but they are also very vulnerable to unsustainable use. When soil erosion, forest degradation, and decline in biodiversity occur, it is generally the poor who are most severely affected. 11. Unsustainable Mining: In recent years, mining has become one of the fastest growing economic sectors in the country. In particular, the production of gypsum, talc and dolomite has increased enormously – between 135 to 220 percent – during the period from 2002 to 2008. The most significant adverse impacts of mining are land disturbance and fissure from drilling, blasting, excavation, and site clearing, destruction of natural vegetation, sedimentation and contamination of waters, and air pollution with dust particles affecting human health and local livelihoods such as agriculture production. All these adverse impacts can be mitigated to a good extent, and in some cases avoided all together, by means of good mine planning and design, responsive environmental management practices, and timely implementation of effective land rehabilitation measures. In response to potential environmental risks from mining, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MoEA) formulated the Mines and Mineral Management Act 1995 stipulating a comprehensive set of provisions for integration of environmental management principles and processes in mining operations. However, the law and supporting regulations have not been effectively enforced for a variety of reasons such as lack of inter-agency coordination, poor institutional mechanisms for enforcement, and inadequate technical capacity within the private mining companies to plan and implement environmental management measures and within the DGM to monitor and provide technical guidance.23 Almost all the mines in the country are located along the southern belt because of abundance of mineral deposits and proximity to India and Bangladesh, which are the principal markets for Bhutanese minerals and mineral products. At the same time, the southern belt is extremely vulnerable to land degradation because of highly tetanised, fragile and unconsolidated geologic formation, very heavy rainfall, and enormous population pressure on the environment exerted by local Bhutanese communities as well as by Indian communities across the border. Illegal cross-border mining is prevalent in some areas because of a porous international border with India and lack of law enforcement capacity in terms of personnel, equipment and mobility. Another key issue pertains to the operation of small scale mines. Small-scale mining is mostly carried out on ad hoc deposits which are not studied well and are highly unpredictable in nature. Consequently, such mining resort to spontaneous removal of the deposit leading to unplanned mining operations.24 11. Tseri Cultivation: Slash-and-burn cultivation, known as tseri in Bhutan, is an age-old farming practice and has been prevalent among many farming communities of the country especially in the east and south-central regions. Tseri inherently does not cause major environmental degradation if carried out using traditional knowledge and practices. In fact it is said to be less damaging to the environment than more permanent but intense forms of agriculture.25 However, changing agricultural trends, growing population and land fragmentation have led to a gradual break-down in the traditional knowledge and practices associated with tseri. Consequently, tseri has been considered environmentally-damaging and is being discouraged by the RGoB. A number of adverse environmental impacts can be associated with tseri in Bhutan. Prolonged practice of tseri and shortening of fallow cycles have led to decline in productivity and stability of the land. Occurrence of sheet, rill and gully erosion is common especially in lower altitude tseri land where there is high intensity rainfall just after clearing, burning and sowing. And tseri burning operations have been known to cause forest fire.26 13. Road Construction: As a landlocked country with no airport infrastructure, Bhutan is currently fully dependent on the road network for travel and transportation of public goods and services. As of 2006, the country had a total motorable road network of 4,545 km.27 For the Tenth Five Year Plan (2008-2013), more than 480 km of new roads, including farm roads, was planned to improve access and connectivity to remote areas and to improve alignment of existing roads. In addition, during the same period, 508 km of existing roads will be upgraded, including widening works, to improve efficiency in road travel and transportation of public goods and services.28 Considering the mountainous terrain and fragile geologic conditions, construction of roads in the country is enormously environmentally challenging. Use of heavy machineries and cutting of mountain slopes to build roads without proper environmental safeguards and mitigation measures inevitably cause problems such as slope failure, deforestation, disturbance to wildlife habitats, and sedimentation of water bodies. In addition to direct impacts, the mass influx of migrant road workers bring on additional demographic pressure to the surrounding natural resources, particularly forests and water. 14. Imbalanced Use of Inorganic Fertilizers: Traditionally, farmers have relied on farmyard manure (cattle dung or cattle dung mixed with forest litter and/or crop residue) for fertilizing agricultural soils. It is still pre-dominant in many parts of the country. Use of inorganic fertilizers for crop production started in Bhutan only in the 1960s, concurrently with the promotion of high-yielding crop varieties and cash crops. With the expansion of road network, development of distribution systems, promotional activities through subsidies and agricultural extension services, and increasing farming of high-yielding crop varieties and cash crops, the use of inorganic fertilizers grew substantially over the years. In the 1980s, import of inorganic fertilizers averaged 700 to 800 metric tons per year.29 It has nearly quadrupled in the recent years; a total of 12,121 metric tons of inorganic fertilizers at the rate of 3,030 metric tons per year was distributed in the country between 2004-2007. Although absolute levels of use of inorganic fertilizers in Bhutan is still comparatively low by global standards, at the household level their use has becoming increasingly significant. Furthermore, the use of inorganic fertilizers is geographically skewed with Trashigang, Bumthang and Wangdue dzongkhags accounting for more than 55 percent of the total amount of inorganic fertilizers distributed in the country between 2004-2007.30 15. Policy and Institutional Issues: Lack of National Land Use and Management Policy: At the macro-level and as a cross-sectoral issue, a well-defined policy perspective on national land use and management is presently lacking. Land degradation impacts several sectors and land use conflicts between various sectors have become frequent. Urban expansion has led to loss of prime agricultural lands and depletion of forests, road construction in geologically fragile areas has caused and exacerbated landslides, agriculture on steep terrain have led to soil erosion, several mining operations have reportedly caused health and environmental hazards, and townships have been developed or planned along riversides which are vulnerable to Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) or at risk from other natural hazards. Furthermore, programs and activities to address land degradation have remained compartmentalized within various sectors. Green sectors such as agriculture and forestry feature Sustainable Land Management (SLM) more prominently in their policies and programs whereas brown sectors, especially those concerning infrastructure and urban development, have only cursory or no reference to Sustainable Land Management (SLM) in their policy and programmatic frameworks. This suggests the tendency to relate Sustainable Land Management (SLM) closely as an environmental issue rather than a development issue.31 Weak Enforcement of Environmental Laws and Regulations: Bhutan has very strong laws and regulations for the conservation of environment and mitigation of adverse environmental impacts from development plans, programs and projects. The Environment Assessment Act 2000, Forest and Nature Conservation Act 1995, Mines and Mineral Management Act 1995, and the National Environmental Protection Act 2007 are some of the key laws that provide immense scope for pursuing environmentally sustainable development and pre-empting environmental degradation at a far-reaching scale. However, Bhutan’s environmental laws and regulations have not been effectively implemented. Dearth of law enforcement personnel, ambiguity in institutional mechanisms, and lack of technical and financial resources to implement environment-friendly technology are some of the key reasons for weak law enforcement but at the same time there is also the acknowledgement that there is some degree of public and professional apathy towards existing laws. Effective environmental law enforcement will also depend on the awareness and education of the public of their environmental rights and responsibilities. Local community consultations during the course of National Action Program to Combat Land Degradation (NAP) preparation revealed that a large majority of the local people were not aware of various environmental laws and regulations.32 Institutional Lacuna for National Land Use and Management: At the present, there is a lacuna in the institutional setting for overall technical coordination of national land use and management policies, plans and programs. There are two relevant non-ministerial, inter-agency bodies that can potentially function as the overall technical agency for national land use and management. One is the National Environment Commission (NEC), but it currently does neither have the institutional structure nor the professional capacity to deal with land use and management effectively. The other is the National Land Commission (NLC) but its current mandate and institutional structure is restricted to the administration of the Land Act of Bhutan 2007 and has very little to do with the technical aspects of land use and management. The current institutional scenario is that the National Soil Services Center (NSSC) under Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) is the focal agency for the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and the main implementing agency for the Sustainable Land Management Project, the largest project specifically dedicated to combating land degradation. However, the institutional makeup of National Soil Services Center (NSSC) as a soil management referral and research facility within the 47 Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) is such that it can have only limited influence on other agencies, especially those outside the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA). This lessens its efficacy to oversee and coordinate sustainable land management in a cross-sectoral manner.33 CONCLUSION/RECOMMENDATION: The panacea to some of the environmental problems discussed above is the adoption of policy of sustainable development. Sustainable development represents development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. According to Odiette, to achieve sustainable development involves a judicious use of natural resources such that the carrying capacity and the productive capacity are not overexploited.34 Pressures on the natural environment are already evident and will be fuelled by a complex array of forces. They include population pressures, agricultural modernisation, poaching, hydro-power development, mineral extraction, industrialisation, urbanisation, sewage and waste disposal, tourism, competition for available land road construction and the provision of other physical infrastructure associated with social and economic development among others. In order for Bhutan to survive her environmental crisis degradation and maintain the earth as a place for human habitation, the country must reduce the massive pollution of the biosphere. Policy implementation needs to be continually improved. Bhutan’s Ministry of Agriculture should continue to review and update their Land Use Acts. Furthermore, sustainable rural livelihoods that do not rely solely upon natural resource use need to be developed, supported and encouraged, and there needs to be far wider understanding of the environmental threats that come hand in hand with development, to ensure the future of Bhutan's rich and diverse environment. END NOTES 1National Statistics Bureau, http://www.nsb.gov.bt, Retrieved, 08-02-2014 10:44pm. 2National Report on Bhutan for World Conference on Disaster Reduction, Department of Local Governance, Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs, Thimphu-Bhutan, January, 2005. 3BHUTAN National Action Program to Combat Land Degradation Final Draft. October, 2009. 4BHUTAN National Action Program to Combat Land Degradation Final Draft. October, 2009. 5BHUTAN National Action Program to Combat Land Degradation Final Draft. October, 2009. 6BHUTAN National Action Program to Combat Land Degradation Final Draft. October, 2009. 7http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhutan. Retrieved, 08-02-2014 08:07am. 8http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhutan. Retrieved, 08-02-2014 08:15am. 9http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_issues_in_Bhutan. Retrieved, 08-02-2014 10:15am. 10http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_issues_in_Bhutan. Retrieved, 08-02-2014 10:15am. 11http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_issues_in_Bhutan. Retrieved, 08-02-2014 10:15am. 12http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_issues_in_Bhutan. Retrieved, 08-02-2014 10:15am. 13BHUTAN National Action Program to Combat Land Degradation Final Draft. October, 2009. 14World Bank Report, Water Supply and Waste Disposal, Poverty and Basic Needs Series, Sept. 1980. 15BHUTAN National Action Program to Combat Land Degradation Final Draft. October, 2009. 16BHUTAN National Action Program to Combat Land Degradation Final Draft. October, 2009. 17BHUTAN National Action Program to Combat Land Degradation Final Draft. October, 2009. 18http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_issues_in_Bhutan. Retrieved, 08-02-2014 10:15am. 19http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_issues_in_Bhutan. Retrieved, 08-02-2014 10:15am. 20BHUTAN National Action Program to Combat Land Degradation Final Draft. October, 2009. 21BHUTAN National Action Program to Combat Land Degradation Final Draft. October, 2009. 22National Statistics Bureau, www.nsb.gov.bt, Retrieved, 08-02-2014 10:44pm. 23Department of Geology and Mines (Ministry of Economic Affairs, www.moea.gov.bt. Retrieved, 08-02-2014 10:25am. 24BHUTAN National Action Program to Combat Land Degradation Final Draft. October, 2009. 25K.P Upadhyay, Shifting Cultivation in Bhutan: A Gradual Approach to Modifying Land Use Pattern: A Case Study from Pemagatshel District, Bhutan. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, 1995. 26BHUTAN National Action Program to Combat Land Degradation Final Draft. October, 2009. 27Department of Roads, Ministry of Works and Human Settlements, cited in Statistical Yearbook of Bhutan 2007, p68. 28Tenth Five Year Plan (2008-2013): Programme Profiles. 29S. Gyaltshen, Bhutan Country Paper in: Sustainable Agricultural Development Strategies for Least Developed Countries of Asian and Pacific Regions. United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok, 1995. 30BHUTAN National Action Program to Combat Land Degradation Final Draft. October, 2009. 31BHUTAN National Action Program to Combat Land Degradation Final Draft. October, 2009. 32BHUTAN National Action Program to Combat Land Degradation Final Draft. October, 2009. 33BHUTAN National Action Program to Combat Land Degradation Final Draft. October, 2009. 34W.O Odiette, “Environmental Impact Assessment for Sustainable Development” in Environmental News, 1993.