Bhutan’s vulnerability to impacts of climate change continues to increase amid rising global temperature. Impacts are manifesting in various forms from drying water sources to a rise in pests and diseases in plants. These have a direct effect on agriculture, one of the backbones of the Bhutanese economy. These concerns were shared at a science dialogue session on ‘Climate Change on Mountain Livelihood and Food Security,’ held recently in Punakha.
The participants called on the relevant agencies to work together to bring about measures to adapt to the impacts of climate change.
“Temperature is on the rise and is predicted that there will be a warming of 0.2 degree Celsius at the global level for the next two decades, and there will be a significant trend for heavy precipitation. So, when we say heavy precipitation, the worry is that precipitation would be very short term. So, it means too much rain in a short period as a result of which there will be lots of cyclones. And when the precipitation is in the short term then we have the issue of drought,” said Jigme Tenzin (PhD), Dy Chief Forestry Officer from the Department of Forests and Park Services.
“Now, there is also evidence of increasing pests and diseases in agriculture and this is especially a challenge for a country like Bhutan which aims to go organic. Some plants and other forests species may become rare as increasing temperature affects the biological composition and results in the dispersion of forest species,” added Chogyel Wangmo, a Lecturer from the College of Natural Resources.
They added that increasing temperature is resulting in a shift of the tree line disrupting the ecological system.
“Particularly, we can see an increase in mean temperature during winter in high altitudes and an increase in mean temperatures in summer monsoon in the southern region. So, you see the impact. Why we should worry is because our economy is heavily dependent on climate-sensitive sectors. We have agriculture, we have hydropower, we have tourism, the major backbone of the economy. They are all dependent on climate change,” said Jigme Tenzin (PhD).
The College of Natural Resources together with the Royal University of Bhutan organised the day-long dialogue session. The entire dialogues of the session are also uploaded on the website of Bhutan Himalayan Climate Studies as a reference for the researchers and policymakers.
Changa Dorji, Wangdue Phodrang
