People of Bartsham and Bidung in Trashigang are at loggerheads over a community forest. The forest has been an issue for over three years now.
The people of Bidung want to convert a government reserve forest into a community forest. As per the Local Government Act, the people of Bidung have full control over their forest resources in their own gewog. The issue arose when the people of Bartsham supposedly tried to take over the forest.
But the people of Bartsham claim that they have traditional rights over the community forest and should be given membership as per the Forest and Nature Conservation Act.
“Bartshampas do not only have the previlage. People from Radhi, Phongmey, Shongphu and Samkhar utilise the natural resourced from our gewog. Likewise our people also go to other gewogs and Dzongkhags to use their natural resources as per the forest rule,” said Bidung Gup, Dorji Wangchuk. He also said there is no agreement stating that they have right to get natural resources from their gewog alone.
Dorji Wangchuk also said Bartsham has been trying to overtake them in terms of every developmental activity. “Our people are innocent but it’s a democracy now and our people know what their right is. It’s not that Bartshampas do not have forest at all. They have 54 percent forest coverage in their gewog.”
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Despite repeated meetings, the issues could not be resolved so far.
The Dzongkhag forest office has now come up with a new proposal. If agreed by both the gewogs, the community forest will be granted to only 27 households in Bidung and the remaining will be kept as the government’s reserved forest for the benefit of people of Bartsham.
Dzongkhag forestry officer said initially when Bidung gewog applied for community forest, there were only 25 households. But later they increased the number of households to control a larger area as their community forest.
Similarly, in Radhi Gewog, people of two chiwogs are battling over the control of a community forest. People in Tongling wanted to convert a forest near their village into a community forest but people of Radhi are objecting to it. The plan to create a community forest therefore is still pending.
People of Radhi also wanted to be a part of the community forest since they helped people of Tongling to manage the forest in 2003 when there was landslide in the area. Now residents of Tongling are accusing the others of trying to overtake their forest.
The Gewog and the Dzongkhag forestry office have held several rounds of meeting, but the issue could not be resolved.
The community of Tongling village has rejected the proposal put up by the Dzongkhag Forestry office. So both the geog and the Dzongkhag could not resolve the issue.
