Financial support from the Adaptation Fund through the Bhutan Trust Fund for Environmental Conservation, BTFEC has been transforming the lives of many farmers in Tsirang and Dagana. The fund has helped them to overcome severe drinking and irrigation water shortages.
A joint team from the Adaptation Fund, along with BTFEC, recently monitored the projects and commended the two district administrations for their progress.
In Tsirang, the team monitored the progress of the ongoing drinking water project for Tsirang Toed and Pungtenchhu gewogs.
Once complete, the project worth around Nu 120 M will address the acute drinking water shortage in the two gewogs.
Tsirang Dzongda informed the team and the beneficiaries that the two-year project, which began in February last year, is more than 58 per cent complete so far. It is expected to benefit over 8,500 residents, once operational.
Meanwhile, the Adaptation Fund also supported the construction of three irrigation channels in Dagana.
The irrigation channel in Drujeygang’s Ambithang-Pangserpo Chiwog has boosted paddy cultivation. Until this year, only four farmers cultivated paddy, but this year, 15 farmers have started paddy cultivation.
Similarly, the irrigation water supply project in Gungpa Sumchu Chiwog in Tsangkha Gewog has provided an uninterrupted irrigation water supply to 220 acres of land, benefiting 70 households in the chiwog. The project was constructed at a cost of about Nu 24 M.
While in Laja Gewog, a new irrigation channel worth around Nu 42 M has brought a huge relief to over 40 households in Thasa and Kompa chiwogs.
Officials from the Adaptation Fund said that quality work and progress will not only help beneficiaries but also play a crucial role in securing additional funding support from the Adaptation Fund.
Hugo Remaury, the senior technical consultant of Adaptation Fund said, “Of course, as in every project, you always have unexpected things that you have not planned at first. But the Bhutan Trust Fund has demonstrated very good capacity to adapt to different unexpected events that arose. So, we are very satisfied with the very strong adaptive management from the Bhutan Trust Fund.”
Officials from the two districts urged the project beneficiaries to make the best use of the facilities through sustainable practices and community ownership.
Singye Dorji, the chief finance officer of BTFEC said, “There is a huge potential for us to secure additional budgets to implement similar projects in the country. This is because the Adaptation Fund currently has a huge budget allocated for respective countries. For Bhutan alone, a total of 40 million US dollars has been allocated, but so far, we have availed only 10 million US dollars. This means we still have access to 30 million US dollars, giving us a great opportunity to secure additional funding support.”
Spanning across four districts: Dagana, Tsirang, Monggar, and Paro, the project aims to deliver tangible results to over 37,000 beneficiaries.
It focuses on agriculture, water management, ecosystem resilience, and community-based adaptation.
The five-year project will end in 2028.
Besides addressing existing water crisis, the project is also building climate resilience for the future.
Pema Tshewang
Edited by Tshering Zam
