A new website, “Bhutan Himalayan Climate Studies” will help in catering to climate-related queries. The Department of Research and External Relation under the Royal University of Bhutan launched the website today. The portal is established with the aim to create a hub for interactions between climate researchers, government decision-makers and operational staff, thereby bridging the gap between climate adaptation research, policy and operations.
The content of the website will have a background on Bhutan Himalayan climate studies project and address challenges related to climate change in the Himalayas.
“Actually there are lots of studies being done by the academics, by the civil servants, by the researchers in the government agencies. What is not actually available is access to that information. Through this website, we are bringing all government agencies, corporations, people to share what they have done,” said Phanchung (PhD), the Director of the Department of Research and External Relations under the RUB.
He added that for Bhutan, one of the biggest challenges is also duplication of the research.
“We do not have national agencies to look at the research and that’s why there is no sharing of information that is being done by various agencies. And that is why this is one initiative that we have taken so that there is a forum to share so that we don’t duplicate and also there is an opportunity that we can work together for climate research,” he added.
The department in order to encourage more climate change studies expects to bring international and development partners together to also help financially in supporting climate studies in Bhutan.
Samten Dolkar