Bhutan is also exposed to hazards such as flash floods, including GLOFs, forest fires, storms, and landslides
Nestled between the high Himalayas and the low southern foothills, Bhutan is known for its Gross National Happiness.
It is also known as a country with a pristine environment, absorbing more carbon dioxide than it emits.
Identified in the country’s Nationally Determined Contribution (2016), the country’s vulnerability to the impacts of climate change are primarily the fragile mountainous environment and dependence on agriculture and hydropower generation for economic development.
Bhutan is also exposed to hazards such as flash floods, including GLOFs, forest fires, storms, and landslides. Its Third National Communication to the UNFCCC (NC3) (2021) identifies the impacts of climate change on key sectors of Bhutan such as water, agriculture, energy (hydropower), human health, and glaciers. These risks and increased exposures highlight the high degree of vulnerability of the country.
Adaptation priorities consider the country’s vulnerability to the impacts of climate change, particularly its fragile mountainous environment plus dependence on agriculture and hydropower for economic development.
Bhutan is also exposed to hazards such as flash floods, including glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs), forest fires, storms, and landslides.
Author’s take
As an international university student in Bangladesh, during my leisure, I had the opportunity to be involved in an impactful project called Green Bangle Movement, which is being implemented in Sitakunda, on the outskirts of Chittagong in southeastern Bangladesh.
Inspired by the experiences and knowledge I got from this involvement and marking COP, I have some observations and recommendations on the climate change impacts.
Turn in narrative for a carbon-negative country
Bhutan’s population is small but its carbon footprint is smaller. This narrative takes a twist because Bhutan is experiencing the devastating impacts of climate change.
Despite its global reputation as a strong carbon sink and a geographical hotspot, it is not immune to climate change. Leaders, scientists, activists, and climate warriors come together to tackle this rising global challenge and as a student, from a country that does not contribute to climate change but experiences one of the biggest climate hits, I make this plea.
Voice of my homeland
The forests of Bhutan carry stories from centuries ago, which stand as the outcome of how our ancestors protected the environment. Our mighty mountains touch the sky and the slow-melting glaciers give birth to legendary lakes in between the majestic mountains and fast-flowing rivers that run like the vein of life curving through valleys.
But these mountains are melting, the legendary lakes become something the downstream settlements are fearful of and our rivers are swelling unpredictably- our steadfast protectors need protectors from climate change.
As I have mentioned, my people, the Bhutanese have always lived in harmony with nature, often worshipping the forest and water. Yet, despite our best efforts, we face the cruel irony of being among the most vulnerable to a crisis we did not create.
Bhutan’s vulnerability to climate change
Our glaciers and mountains are retreating and it means that the sources of our rivers are disappearing. This untimely melting causes the rivers to swell, leading to floods and landslides, washing off the hard-grown crops of our farmers. Additionally, the once-predictable monsoon weather becomes a dry season, thereby completely changing the course of farming.
More than half of the Bhutan population runs their livelihood on farming and we can correlate the rise of poverty, decline in income, and loss of the national economy at large – while Bhutan may seem like a paradise from afar, the scars of climate change are becoming increasingly visible in our everyday lives.
A personal urge
The elders worry about the future of our rivers and the children wonder why the seasons no longer feel the same. While this might sound like distant projections or abstract, I have seen farmers lose their crops to unexpected floods, communities being washed by sudden river swelling, and farmlands becoming barren due to this shared global challenge: climate change.
This is our reality. This is a personal plea from a student from the Himalayas to the global citizens that we contributed to this global issue and it is in our power to solve it.
Bhutan cannot solve this crisis alone. We need global solidarity. Wealthy nations must fulfill their promises of climate financing, not as an act of charity but as a moral obligation. We need investment in adaptation strategies, in renewable energy, and in the survival of nations like Bhutan.
It is high time that we realised the urgency of keeping global warming below 1.5°C in line with the Paris Agreement, counting the value of every fraction of change in degree, being hopeful of the way forward and believing in this action against climate change for the generations yet to come.
The author, Tandin Ongmu, is a Bhutanese national, studying in Asian University for Women in Bangladesh.
