Environmental destructions affect human lives in various ways. The foremost among many is human-wildlife conflict and the way this impacts human livelihood. Recognizing this, the Bhutan Trust Fund for Environmental Conservation (BTFEC) is supporting nine projects worth close to Nu 79 M.
The projects are all aimed at preventing loss of livelihoods to human-wildlife conflict and ensuring proper management of the environment. The BTFEC approved the projects whose grant agreements were signed today.
Of the nine projects, one is developing agroforestry as an alternative livelihood in the human-wildlife conflict hotspots in the country. Ugyen Wangchuck Institute for Conservation and Environment Research will be implementing this project with a fund of a little more than Nu 5 M. Farmers across the country have reported losing their crops to wild animals in the recent times. Farmers in the south have been worst hit by such conflict. For instance, farmers in Samtse have lost crops worth more than Nu 16 M to human-wildlife conflict in the last one year, according to the dzongkhag forest office. So to ensure that human and wild animals coexist for a sustainable community livelihood while conserving the elephants, Samtse dzongkhag forest office proposed BTFEC to support a project that cost more than Nu 10 M.
” As of now, we have lost some major chunk of the commercial crops to the elephants. So we have to look at how we can manage this. We need to look at their habitat. It is because of the developmental activities that the habitats are being destroyed. So most of the fund will go into research. Of course, we would also give some for installation of electric fencing and bio fence,” said Thinley Wangdi, the Chief Forest Officer of Samtse.
Similarly, grant agreements were also signed for the revival of a wellness garden by the Central Monastic Body and to protect and conserve drinking water sources for Orong and Deothang gewogs in Samdrup Jongkhar.
“We have a spring called Hala menchhu which was used for purification healing called Jabthruel in the past. The monks used to get the water from that spring below Dechenphodrang monastery. But now this doesn’t happen because the spring water is drying up. So we wanted to revive that spring water. That is one reason why we proposed to have the wellness garden to revive thrue tradition,” said Ugen Namgyel, Leytshog Drungchen of the Zhung Dratshang.
Bumthang and Dagana were also among the grantees to manage watershed in respective districts.
“Bumthang is a beautiful valley with a lot of wetland. But because of rapid urbanization, the wetlands are lost. With the grant we want to conserve the wetland, especially along the Chamkhar Chhu,” said Bumthang Dzongda Pasang.
Bhutan Trust Fund for Environmental Conservation said they will be monitoring the implementation of the projects by various agencies.
“Every year we have monitoring and evaluation of the projects. What we do is we see where the grant is spent, the activities spelt out in the work plans. It is monitored based on the activities that have been carried out and the financial expenditures that the grantees have made. So monitoring is based on an established metrics which will indicate to us which project is doing well or which one is behind the schedule,” said Pema Choephyel, the Director of BTFEC.
In addition, the BTFEC also signed grant agreements with the College of Natural Resources and Clean Bhutan to build capacity for climate-smart agriculture and to develop a zero-waste model community at Changjiji.
A major recipient of grant is the livestock department- more than Nu 14 M to strengthen dog population management through effective waste management and mass animal birth control programme.
Phub Gyem
