The Environment and Climate Change Committee meets with Bhutan for life
The Environment and Climate Change Committee met with Bhutan for Life at the Gaykid Khangzang, National Assembly, to discuss major activities, achievements, and challenges since 2016. The meeting focused on addressing environmental and social issues and exploring the way forward.
Bhutan for Life, a pivotal program in Bhutan’s environmental landscape, plays a crucial role in addressing global environmental change, ensuring innovative and sustainable financing for the Protected Area (PA) Network, and designing free-flowing river stretches linked to the PA network. The program also emphasizes the engagement of multiple stakeholders in planning and implementation.
During the presentation, Bhutan for Life highlighted several issues, including the introduction of the Project Finance for Permanence (PFP) concept, which is new to Bhutan. Other concerns included the gap between conservation and development priorities, low awareness of Environmental and Social Safeguards, challenges with the Grievance Redressal Mechanism, and the need for gender mainstreaming in program activities. Additionally, coordination among stakeholders was identified as causing duplication of efforts, and a high attrition rate was noted as impacting the program's effectiveness.
Committee Members raised issues concerning strategies to upscale eco-tourism, provision of cattle insurance, ensuring of sustainable funding, mitigating landslides, developing climate-resilient infrastructure, emphasizing on cultural preservation, and planting trees along roadsides.
Bhutan for life also presented the intervention required from the Parliament such as consideration to review and address the coordination gap between the institutions and continued support in conservation efforts since our economy is largely dependent on natural resources.
