How are you, Bhutan?
The landlocked cog between Asia’s industrial giants, whose glacier summits hide a climate risk that trickles down to the hillside communities below.
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Bhutan, despite being carbon-negative, witnesses severe climate change impacts and should continue serving as an important role model for climate resilience.
Steep and high mountains are the prime characteristics of Bhutan, which is home to almost 800,000 people. It is prone to precipitation variability, temperature increases, and glacial melts which lead to floods and glacial lake outbursts.
The economic impacts of flooding are expected to grow and could be 4% of its GDP by the 2030s. Flooding in Bhutan is expected to increase the annually affected population by 3,000 people by 2030.
What do the experts say?
Heavy rainfall and glacial melt can cause flooding to the agricultural areas located along the drainage. Hydropower accounts for 24 % of the total GDP and agriculture accounts for 16%.
The agriculture sector also employs 50% of the population and is threatened by the impacts of climate change such as flooding and drought. Therefore, variations in rainfall and water flow can have a devastating impact on food security, lives, and livelihoods in this landlocked country.
Bhutan is a carbon-negative country with nearly 70% of its land being covered in forest areas. However, Bhutan’s carbon emissions are rising and currently account for 1.8 metric tons per capita.
Bhutan is committed to achieving its NDC objective of remaining a carbon-neutral country. It strives to ensure emissions limit within the sink capacity of its forests. The country has also integrated climate change initiatives within its 12th Five Year plan.
Other policies like the Bhutan Climate Change Policy and National Energy Efficiency & Conservation Policy have been adopted to weave climate change into development processes.
It is also the creator of the Gross National Happiness (GNH)—a development philosophy that pursues ecologically balanced sustainable development, which is enshrined into its Constitution, as well as legal and policy frameworks.
Is this information sufficient?
What do you need to know about Bhutan?
Bypass all the climate clutter and avoid tedious, lengthy web searches by taking note of the following short and important climate change figures for Bhutan:
CO2 emissions (metric tons per capita)
1.8
Bhutan
1.5
South Asia
CO2 emissions (kt)
1380
Bhutan
2.77
mil+
South Asia
Total greenhouse gas emissions (kt of CO2 equivalent)
2470
Bhutan
4.19
mil+
South Asia
Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (% of GDP)
19.2
%
Bhutan
18.2
%
South Asia
Forest area (% of land area)
71.4
%
Bhutan
18.8
%
South Asia
Forest area (sq. km)
27000
+
Bhutan
897000
+
South Asia
Is this information sufficient?
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