Rural-Urban Migration: The Impending Crisis II

One and a half decades back when a Thimphu-based UN Consultant requested me to do a paper on “How to be prepared for Rural-urban Migration”, one of my principal recommendations was that all government schools in Thimphu municipal area - Primary to Higher Secondary - should be auctioned off to private operators and the money raised from it should be used to establish large central schools in remote Dzongkhags. My paper never saw the light of day - it got dumped in the digital dustbin, on grounds that it was too radical.

A lot of water has passed under the bridge since, but my recommendations are as valid today as it was fifteen years ago. The situation hasn’t improved - infact, it has gotten worst. Today the pace of rural-urban migration has increased by leaps and bounds. As a result, every classroom in Thimphu schools are packed like cans of Sardines. The situation is so bad that some Head Teachers of Thimphu schools resort to switching off their phones during admission time. And yet, succeeding governments refuse to be decisive about the issue and, instead, continue to take the bull by the rump. Schools after school are built in Thimphu Thromde to keep pace with the burgeoning demand. As a result, Thimphu Municipality today outstrips every other Thromde, Gewog and Dzongkhag - in number of schools and student enrolment. Take a look at the following:

Thimphu Thromde (municipality) has a total of 32 schools (whole of Thimphu Dzongkhag has 45). By contrast, whole of Zhemgang Dzongkhag has only 31 schools. The overall student strength of schools under Thimphu Thromde outnumber all of Bumthang, Dagana, Gasa, Haa, Lhuentse and Trongsa Dzongkhags put together!

Trashigang, Bhutan’s most populous Dzongkhag has student enrollment of only 11,598, while Thimphu Thromde has a staggering enrollment of 24,067 students – that is more than double the student strength of entire Trashigang Dzongkhag. As a percentage of enrollment, Thimphu Thromde is miles ahead of every other Dzongkhag - at 13.9% of the national total, while the next highest - Samtse Dzongkhag - trails at 9.1%.

So then, why am I bringing up this issue? Trust me it is not to expose the colossal investment in educational facilities in one city, as opposed to the rest of the country, although it beats me why our planners and lawmakers do not see this immense disparity. My father did - when he visited Thimphu few years back. Ten minutes of being driven around the town, he exclaimed:

“My God, I now understand why there is no money for developmental activities in the rest of the Dzongkhags. There cannot be enough money in the Gyalpoi Baangzoe to finance all the fanciful activities that are happening in and around Thimphu”.

If some of you read my 10-articles series on rural-urban migration published in the Kuensel few months back, you would have read that I blame our education system as the No. 2 cause - after wildlife predation - that trigger rural-urban migration. However, I also believe that same school system can come to our rescue - not only to halt rural-urban migration, but to reverse the trend and, over time, restock the villages with farmers and farm hands who will go on to bring about a revolution in farm production.

But for that we need the will to take the bull by the horn, and set into motion the first baby steps! The baby steps can begin at schools, colleges and other institutions of learning.

Rural-Urban Migration: The Impending Crisis

The spectacle of the avalanche is a sight to behold - it starts with a fluffy ball of snow coming dislodged and rolling down the mountainside. As it cascades downhill, the ball grows bigger and bigger while at the same time gaining velocity and mass. Within minutes, the whole mountainside begins to hurtle down with a thunderous roar that can be heard hundreds of miles away, in the aftermath, bringing ruin and destruction to everything in its path. The landscape is laid asunder and the geography of the land is altered beyond recognition.

That is exactly how the rural-urban migration starts: it begins with a trickle but slowly builds up into an exodus, in its wake, altering demographics and turning producers into consumers.

While porcupines merrily raise families in a labyrinth of burrows built underneath the ground of fertile lands abandoned by migrating farmers, most of these migrants end up eking out a living by the roadside - inside shanty ramshackles, tinkered together with metal sheets salvaged from castaway asphalt drums. Equal numbers of these escapees become burdens to relatives in urban centers, who are themselves buckling under a lifestyle and a system that denominates everything in terms of money. Some are forced into that shadowy zone between the honorable and the doubtful. Young, muscular hands that should be commandeering plough handles in rural farms, now don water spray guns in carwash centers and grip and navigate steering wheels of trucks and buses. At the end of day, they lumber back to their shanties and crawl into their beds - tired and spent - to dream fretful dreams of their urban dreams gone sour. But I fear that they still think that they are better off - from a life that is even worst than that they have now.

The allure of the glitz and the glitter of life in urban centers is not the reason why the strong and the mobile have chosen to move away from their traditional rural homes and way of life. It wasn't a choice that they made willingly. It was an option that was open to them - an option they chose to prefer over the meaningless toil and struggle that had become their daily, and nightly routine.

This swelling number of forced migrants to the urban centers represents an important and critical human capital gone to waste. From being producers, they have now become consumers thereby putting pressure on our already scares resources and infrastructure. Over time, they will lose their most important life skill and their inherent strength - farming and farm work. Their locked and barricaded homes in the villages will rot and crumble - their fallow lands will be overgrown with trees and bushes. The possibility of reverse migration will become harder, if not entirely impossible. A whole lot of homeless, landless floating population will be created that will see no reason for hope or optimism.

The old, the infirm and the weak occupy most of the village homes that are still inhabited. They grow what little they can but there is no guarantee that they will harvest the yield of their toil and hardship. They will bang empty tins and rattle bamboo bells all night long – to ward off wild boar and deer and porcupine. During day they will holler and howl curses at the marauding monkeys. They will buy stuffed tigers from China to scare off the monkeys, which will eventually get shredded to smithereens, once they become wise to the falsehood. The monkeys are reported to have become so daring that they walk into village homes in broad daylight and walk away with bundles of corn hung out to dry. All that the old ladies in the homes can do is shriek with fright.

This pathetic and almost surrealistic condition in the villages and urban centers is caused by a malady called “rural-urban migration” - a man-made sickness brought about and perpetuated by a misnomer called “human-wildlife conflict”. It is the result of a conservation policy that is out of tune with the changing times and one that got stuck in a time warp.

Rural-urban migration is not a trend that is unique to Bhutan. It happens elsewhere in the world. But what causes it in the land of the GNH is pretty unique and unparalleled!

Bhutan's case of human displacement as a result of encroachment by wildlife must be the first of its kind in the world. It provably goes down well with the chilips - in tune with our unfailing claim to uniqueness, in everything we do or say. Elsewhere in the world opposite it true - human encroaching into the habitat of wildlife, thereby causing conflict and endangerment. Bhutan's record of shrinking cultivation of farmlands is proof that there is no encroachment into wildlife habitat.

In Bhutan whole villages are emptied as a result of rampant and uncontrolled predation by wildlife. And conflict is not allowed - by law! Our laws give primacy to wildlife, over human life and well-being. The country is already paying the price - and it will get worst over the years.

It is time that we end our apathy and do what we must - to halt, if not reverse, the rural-urban migration. We are in no position to afford the consequences that are not too difficult to imagine. If we do not do something now, it may be too late for us.

My Lunar New Year Wishes

I wish a VERY HAPPY LUNAR NEW YEAR to all my readers around the world.

Exactly three hundred and fifty five days back, on the 19th of February, 2015 last year, I had made a New Year wish - something that I have never done before. I had wished that the two governments of Bhutan and India would get together and decide to shut down the Punatsangchhu Hydropower Project-I (PHP-I). That didn't happen - the project authorities continue to dig deeper and deeper into the core of the earth, to find stable ground on which to start building the dam’s foundation. Unfortunately, despite years of digging, solid rock eludes them. In the meantime, the unstable mountainside to the right of the river continues to slide and sink - pointing to horrendous consequences, should we continue to ignore and defy nature’s warnings.

Eight years since construction started, the state of the stalled PHP-I dam construction as of 7.10.2015

WISH I 

First on the list of my wishes for the year is the reiteration of my last year’s wish: closure of the Punatsangchhu Hydropower Project-I. As bizarre and fantastic as it may sound, I believe that this is the only way out to avoid irredeemable loss - both environmental as well as financial. The fallout from the failure of this dam is simply inconceivable. Such an eventuality could be the cause of the end of Bhutan’s hydropower dreams.

Is another dam being planned for the PHP-II that is happening downstream of the PHP-I? If so, the preponderance of the near certainty of the failure of PHP-I dam would be cited - to justify the costly fortification measures to withstand the effects of dam burst of the PHP-I, if such a thing is possible. In all this what is certain is that the “self-liquidating” Punatsangchhu Hydropower Project-II too will see between 400-500% cost escalation. Regardless, the project authorities and the government will not bat an eye-lid. They will assure the people of Bhutan that “geological surprises” are a norm and that the project will still reel in money, guaranteed by the “cost plus” pricing arrangement with government of India.

WISH II 

My second wish for the year is still about hydropower projects - Bhutan’s most efficient factories of debt and enslavement. I wish: NO FURTHER HYDROPOWER PROJECTS - beyond the three that are at varying stages of planning and execution - Nikachhu in central Bhutan and Kholongchhu and Nyeramari in the east. And, as recommended in the first Bhutan Hydropower System Master Plan, that all future hydropower projects be located in one or two of our five major river basins, instead of shackling all of our river systems, to eternal bondage.

Playing Chinese Checkers: Bhutan's Hydropower Master Plan as of now

WISH III 

Yet again my third wish has to do with hydropower projects. I wish that all future hydropower projects be located closer to its ultimate market - India - towards the south of the country, instead of way up in the north bordering the alpine regions. What is the logic of locating the projects far away from the market? Other than to increase project cost and thereby bring down profitability, it makes no sense to locate projects far away from the market. Even a kid can understand that transportation of construction material and delivery of the product to its market will be lot more cheaper, if the production facilities are sited at locations that are closer to the market. There is something sinister in the way this simple logic is ignored.

Bhutan's Hydropower Master Plan according to my wish. No hydropower projects above the red line

WISH IV

Once again, my fourth wish has to do with hydropower and electricity. Our government and the hydropower sector are shameless in declaring that hydropower is the mainstay of our economic activity. We claim that we produce electricity in abundance and that our biggest export is electricity. We claim that we are the cheapest in the region - in terms of unit cost to the consumers.

If all these were true, how is it that our factories in Pasakha are shutting down one after another, for want of power? How is it that the common man is required to queue up for hours at the gas station, to buy and use imported LPG and kerosene for cooking and heating, instead of the supposedly cheap electricity? How can the government and the power sector be so brazen as to claim that we are the cheapest in the region? How does it matter? I repeat, how does it matter when, in the face of all this gloating, the reality is that the Bhutanese people are unable to afford our own electricity - neither for cooking nor for heating homes?

Therefore, my IVth wish is that instead of the Economic Affairs Ministry trying to organize and streamline the long queues at the gas stations, the government and the contended mandarins at the power sector put their acts together to ensure that there is no need for long queues at the gas station. One sure way is to make electricity affordable to the Bhutanese people. What we lose in Rupee earnings as a result of making electricity affordable for the Bhutanese people will be more than made up through reduced import of LPG and kerosene. Please do some mathematics.

WISH V

The most shameful thing about a country that projects itself as a net exporter of hydro electricity, is the fact that we have to import power during the winter months at a price higher than that at which we export during the summer months. This is a most shameful and pathetic situation!

Therefore, my Vth wish is to build dams over the Wangchhu and the Punatsangchhu, so that we can harness the excessive water available during the monsoons, caused by snow melt and rain water which otherwise go on to flood the plains of India. Such storage reservoirs will augment the drastic fall in water availability during winter months, thereby making it possible for our generators in the power plants to work at full capacity to generate electricity, even during the winter months. This will eliminate the need for import of expensive electricity during the lean season.

WISH VI

The meaningless and environmentally disastrous Shingkhar-Gorgan Highway is a ruinous undertaking that is the very antithesis to our reputation as a responsible nation with strong commitment towards the protection of nature and environment. The road cuts through one of the world’s most important high altitude tiger habitats, it infringes on the established laws, while it affords no benefit to the people or the country. On the contrary, doing this road will effectively dismantle our image as a forerunner in environmental conservation and stewardship.

I wish that the government would shelve this project once and for all.

WISH VII 

My wish number VII for the year concerns one of our most shameful census rules: the law that disallows the registration of a child born to a Bhutanese mother as a natural Bhutanese. This law is in stark contrast to our claim that we have no gender prejudice in the country. Not only that, the fact that such a primeval law is still prevalent, is a demonstration that we are not truly a GNH country that we claim to be.

Therefore, my most important wish for the year is that we abolish this law immediately to bring equality among genders. The reason is simple: if one’s claim to Bhutanese citizenship is to be based on the Bhutaneseness of a parent, the mother is the only true parent that needs no verification in 100% of the cases, while a father may not necessarily be the claimed biological father. Thus, the law is flawed and it relegates the mother to the position of a second-class citizen. If we claim that we are not a primitive society then this law must go!

WISH VIII

My last wish is a call for the amendment of the Nature Conservation Act of Bhutan. This law is the principal cause that has contributed to the creation of Gungtongs in the rural villages. Some of its provisions go against the concepts of conservation, which is all about maintaining a balance and not about according primacy to one species over the other.

Birth of the Crown Prince

The birth of Bhutan’s long awaited Crown Prince has at last been announced this Friday the 5th of February, 2016. Her Majesty the Queen as well as His Royal Highness the Crown Prince are reported in perfect health.

The news of the Royal birth was reported worldwide

Monday the 8th February, 2016 has been announced a public holiday. To celebrate the happy occasion the Prime Minister announced plans for the full restoration of the Drugyel Dzong in Paro.

Their Majesties the King and the Queen will grant soelra to every child born on Friday the 5th of February, 2016.

The sense of apprehension that the people of Bhutan felt over the delayed birth of the Crown Prince is finally put to rest.

I wish His Royal Highness the Crown Prince good and healthy growth.

Thimphu City's Charming New Bus Stop

In the last decade, exterior designs of our buildings and other structures - both public as well as private - have seen subtle but marked departure from the traditional architectural design that use to be replicated in every new house construction. Houses constructed using traditional building materials and following strict traditional design guidelines of the old look beautiful, in addition to being aesthetically charming and visually pleasing. However, over time, modern architects and designers began to marry the old with the new - most often producing garish monstrosities that neither appeal nor contribute to the overall aesthetics of the surrounding.

Modern towns such as Thimphu, Paro, Punakha, Wangdue and Mongaar are filled with these grotesque structures that attempt to retain the beauty and appeal of the traditional Bhutanese design, but fail miserably. And yet, we have to accept that in the times that we now live in, traditional method of building and design is no longer efficient, nor economical.

Although I am not an architect, I have realized that the beauty and the charm of our traditional houses and structures can be attributed to one principal factor: SYMMETRY! I noticed that in order to maintain symmetry, our traditional structures grow broader, as they grow taller. There seems to be some unwritten rule that is applied that ensures symmetry (Bhutanese builders use no drawings to construct houses!). This was OK during times of plenty. However we are now at a time when the only way to grow is vertically - one is limited by lack of space to grow horizontally, thereby unable to maintain symmetry. Thus modern Bhutanese buildings are a far cry from the traditional ones. For an understanding of what I am talking about, take a look at the following structure:

Times have changed - you cannot imagine how radically! Take for instance the rule that requires that only a person with a degree in architecture - regardless of his age or experience - can design and draw building plans. A master builder that has built the most beautiful Dzongs and Lhakhangs are no longer qualified to design structures, according to the new rules of construction!!! That is the most ridiculous thing and yet, there is merit in the rules. However, if that is true, then it is also true that the traditional method of building is no longer efficient or structurally or aesthetically sound. Sadly, the rules still state that the exterior appearance must follow traditional Bhutanese design. That is precisely why we have such garish looking buildings whose only qualification to traditional Bhutanese design is the Bo and Phana and painting of gargantuan Phalluses on the walls.

There is a need to re-look at our design rules so that our building look much better than they do now - atleast in the urban centers.

 Beautiful traditional structures that are charming and pretty

This brings me to the recently inaugurated Thimphu Bus Stop under the UNDP funding. I loved the design from the time the tubular frames were transported to the site - even before they were hoisted for installation. I visited the construction site many times - as the construction and the installation progressed.

 Thimphu's charming new Bus Stop - utilitarian, slim, efficient and sexy

The design is modern, utilitarian, slim and attractive and, above all, spacious. Imagine a clunky and obtrusive traditional structure in its place. The construction material is also durable and long lasting and element proof. I also like the fact that it uses tubular poles rather than MS angles. The space management is great. I visited it a number of times to see how accommodative the place was. I like the square sitting arrangements that in my thinking can hold 16 persons each. The seat top made of thick hardwood is a thoughtful choice. Even more, I like the fact that there are two dustbins and NO SMOKING signboard so that people know they are not allowed to smoke. It even has a CCTV although I am not sure if it is in service.

Ofcourse there are some visible flaws to the structure. For one, the roof is too small and needs to be much, much wider than it is now. The other thing is that I get the feeling that the gradient of the roof slope should be more. I am not sure that in times of heavy snow, the roof can withstand the weight. I also think that they should have removed or relocated the overhead electric wires that run over the roof of the Bus Stop - that could pose a danger. Other than that, the structure is great looking and sexy. Unfortunately, given the space constraints, I know that not all similar Bus Stops due to be installed in other parts of the city will be as spacious as this one.

However, the thing I want to talk about is not so much about the structure as much as the fact that we may be putting the cart before the horse. I hear that more than a hundred Bus Stops will be built around Thimphu, with funding from the World Bank. In my opinion - that can wait. What we need before the Bus Stops is: more comfortable buses and expanded network of bus routes and better paving of the existing roads.

I think the World Bank project should start with acquiring more buses while simultaneously building more excess points and repairing the existing network of roads in Thimphu so that the commuters have an enjoyable experience. That should encourage larger number of people to consider taking the bus, as an alternate means of commuting. Once the enabling conditions are put in place for a joyous bus ride, the Bus Stops can follow.

The World Bank project is essential and timely - but I think the sequence of project implementation needs rethinking.

ADDENDUM:
My apologies - I am told that the construction of the City Bus Stop above was funded by the UNDP. Those that will follow will be funded by the World Bank.

Save The White-bellied Herons

The last letter written by the famed ornithologist and heron expert - Dr. Heinz Hafner - mentor to a generation of heron biologists and conservationists around the world - is said to have mentioned that the “highlight of his life was the discovery of a White-bellied Heron (WBH) nest”. There has never been a report of the sighting of the bird’s nest, since 1929 - leading Dr. Heinz to believe that the WBH was bound for extinction.

Then, nearly three-fourths of a century since its last sighting, the world became aware of the discovery of a White-bellied Heron nest in Kamechhu, Wangduephodrang, Bhutan in May of 2003.

Five months later, in the same year, in October of 2003, Dr. Heinz Hafner passed away at his home in the Camargue, France - happy in the knowledge that the world's rarest of the Herons had a chance at survival.

I wrote the following article for the KUENSEL (published: 26.12.2015) - to honor the late Dr. Heinz Hafner, and to celebrate the recognition of Bhutan’s leadership position in the bird’s conservation and protection, during the recently concluded international workshop on the Conservation of the White-bellied Herons.

……………………………

Early this month (1st - 4th December, 2015), Punakha saw the convergence of close to 70 participants - all with interest in conservation and environment - to an international workshop held at Drupchhu Resort, Punakha. First of its kind in Bhutan, the workshop discussed the conservation of the critically endangered White-bellied Heron (Ardea insignis). All the countries identified as the birds range were represented: Bhutan, China, India and Myanmar. Although pre-2000 records show that the birds’ range included Nepal and Bangladesh, these countries were not represented, presumably because the birds are now extinct in those countries.

The workshop was a collaborative effort between the Royal Government of Bhutan and the Royal Society for Protection of Nature (RSPN). In addition to representatives from the range states, the workshop saw participation from the following national and international organizations:

Asian Species Action Partnership, Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment, College of Natural Resources, Department of Forests & Park Services, Druk Green Power Corporation, International Crane Foundation, International Rivers, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN/SSC/SCPSC), Namdapha Tiger Reserve, Nature’s Foster, Punatsangchhu Hydropower Project Authority - I, Royal Society for Protection of Nature, Synchronicity Earth, Wildlife Institute of India, Wildlife Conservation Society, WWF-Bhutan, Ugyen Wangchuck Institute of Conservation & Environment and Zoological Survey of India.

The Punakha workshop was a follow up to the first such workshop held last year, at the Hotel Brahmaputra Ashok, Guwahati, India (2nd - 4th December, 2014) when a Working Group for Conservation of White-bellied Heron was established.

White-bellied Heron (Ardea insignis)
The White-bellied Heron is the world’s rarest heron and one of the most threatened birds that is listed as “Critically Endangered” in the IUCN Red List. As of 2014, its occurrence was reported from only three countries - Bhutan, India and Myanmar. In August of 2014, a juvenile WBH was captured on the east side of Nujiang River (Salween) in Gaoligong Mountains National Nature Reserve, Yunnan Province, China. However, the bird died within days at the Yunnan Wild Zoo. This juvenile WBH was the first confirmed sighting of the species in China since 1938. Although there have been more reports of the bird’s sightings in other regions of China, particularly Hubei Province, Central China, none of the reports have yet been confirmed.

Although the world population of the WBH was earlier stated as anywhere between 50 - 200, the Punakha workshop determined that the confirmed population is only 60, distributed among the following rage countries.

Confirmed global WBH population

Even while it is nearing extinction, knowledge of these birds is poor, and disparate at best. Thus, the Punakha workshop, and the one that preceded it in India, will hopefully help bring coordinated efforts towards its protection and conservation, among the range countries.

White-bellied Heron and Bhutan
As of 2015, Bhutan has recorded the highest number of WBH’s in the world - at 28 individuals. The birds’ primary habitats are the Punatsangchhu and Mangdechhu river basins.

His Majesty King Jigme Singye Wangchuck reported the first confirmed sighting of the White-bellied Heron in Punakha sometime during 1974. However, going by the motifs woven into our ancient textile called the Chagsipangkhep, it is safe to assume that the birds existed in Bhutan - in larger numbers in the distant past.

The motif of a large bird woven into the Chagsipangkhep has a striking resemblance to the WBH

Bhutan’s leadership in WBH conservation
Bhutan leads the world - both in confirmed numbers, as well as in efforts towards its conservation and protection. The Royal Society for Protection of Nature (RSPN) started their systematic field investigation and ecological study of the birds in 2003. Under the guidance of Peter Frederick, PhD, Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, RSPN’s research team of Rebecca Pradhan and late Tshewang Norbu published the world’s first scientific research paper titled “The Critically Endangered White-bellied Heron” in 2011. Bhutan also became the first country in the world to attempt captive breeding of the WBH - successfully hatching a chick that was later reintroduced to the wild.

History of Bhutan’s WBH conservation efforts
Dr. George Archibald, Co-founder of the International Crane Foundation visited Bhutan in 2002 along with the late Ms Ellie Schiller, a professional fisheries biologist and Head of Felburn Foundation, USA - an organization dedicated to preserving nature. During a trip along the Mochhu, their guide Hishey Tshering of Bhutan Birding & Heritage Travels pointed out a large bird to Ellie, explaining to her that the bird was among the world’s rarest birds, called the White-bellied Heron. Ms Ellie Schiller took a picture of the bird through the eyepiece of Hishey’s spotting scope. The film roll was sent to Bangkok through Druk Air’s Captain Tenzing Tshering who developed the film and brought back the prints to be handed over to Ellie who was still in Bhutan. She loved the bird and offered Hishey Tshering the necessary funding for the study and conservation of the WBH. Hishey Tshering declined the offer - citing inadequate knowledge and expertise. Instead he suggested that the funding be channeled to the RSPN with the condition that Tshewang Norbu, a jobless aspiring birding guide be attached to the project. Consequently, Felburn Foundation, in partnership with the WWF-Bhutan and the International Crane Foundation became the principal supporter that funded the RSPN’s concerted efforts to study and conserve the WBH, beginning 2003. Tshewang Norbu died in a vehicle accident few years back.

The WWF-Bhutan and Bhutan Trust Fund for Environmental Conservation (BTFEC) are other major donors that fund the RSPN’s conservation efforts.

In partial fulfillment of their corporate-environmental responsibility, the Punatsangchhu Hydropower Project Authority provided funding amounting to Nu.2.00 million. The RSPN used the money to embark on the first-ever pilot project of captive breeding of the bird. Technical assistance for the project was provided by the San Diego Zoo, USA.

Threats to the White-bellied Herons 

There are a number of threats to the WBH - principal among them are habitat loss, impacts of climate change and hydropower development and activities related to it. In Bhutan particularly, it is significant that the country’s largest hydropower projects are located in the middle of the WBH’s most populous habitat.

Rebecca Pradhan at the RSPN says that her records show that they have so far sighted over three dozen chicks since the start of their study of the birds. Regardless, their adult population has not seen any significant increase over the years. She thinks that predation could be another threat to the healthy growth of the bird’s population.

Mitigating the challenge of possible extinction 

There is a real threat that the birds may disappear from its local range. Thus, the RSPN is working on an ambitious project for the bird’s captive breeding. A detailed proposal is under preparation, to start a captive breeding center at Basochhu, Tsirang - so that the birds can be introduced to other suitable sites around the country - both to propagate the numbers as well as to improve diversity in the gene pool. The Punatsangchhu Hydropower Project Authority has indicated that they would provide the funding to start this important conservation initiative.

Photographing the WBH 

The photographs that appear in this article is the culmination of fours years of dogged pursuit of the birds - year after year - from Phochhu/Mochhu in the West; to Basochhu/Changchey in the South and Berti in Central part of the country. Finally, I managed to photograph these rare birds in Rurichhu, Wangdue. My photographs of the WBH are featured in the Guinness Book of World Records as well as the Archive in the UK - the images are among the rarest in the world.

An adult WBH keeping watch over the nest

One parent keeps watch over the nest while he/she waits for the other to return with food

A five weeks old WBH chick in the nest at Rurichu, Wangdue

A WBH chick preening - sign that it is now ready to learn to fly

Responsibility and leadership 

The Punakha workshop has established that Bhutan is the country that has the highest number of these near-extinct birds. This recognition is an endorsement of the pristine condition of our environment as well as the re-validation of our standing as the front-runner in environmental conservation. However, this honor comes with responsibility.

Bhutan’s leadership position and pioneering work in the study and conservation of the WBH is undisputed. We are years ahead of other range countries in the knowledge base of the birds’ biology, ecology, habitat and its known and perceived threats. Therefore, it is now our responsibility to ensure that the birds not only survive, but multiply in the coming decades.

To allow the bird’s population to decline would be a national shame.

Of Coins & Postage Stamps

For those of you who are interested in numismatics, check the following out:

http://www.coinworld.com/news/world-coins/2015/12/Singapore-Mint-issues-2016-Year-of-the-Monkey-coins-for-Bhutan.1.html

Bhutan is not known for its minted legal tender. However, among the world of philatelists, our postage stamps have always been ranked among the very best.

Only a few perhaps know that at one point in our history, proceeds from the sale of our unique postage stamps accounted for the highest foreign exchange earning. Our postage stamps were so famous that it used to be said that millions of dollars worth of fakes - rather unauthorized stamps - were printed in the Bahamas and sold to collectors around the world.

Today Bhutan is known for its GNH - those days Bhutan use to be known as the country with the most beautiful postage stamps. They were our goodwill ambassadors!

New Throm To Construct Housing for Kholongchu Staff

So … it is finally happening! I offer my congratulations to the government for making this happen.

http://www.bbs.bt/news/?p=55175

It is a small step for the Kholong Chhu project but a monumental leap for the country. We have miles and miles to go before we arrive at a point when we can begin to say and hope that the hydro-power projects hold any meaning for Bhutan and the communities around where the projects are happening. For now, I am happy that the initial steps have been taken; I hope that there will come a day when Bhutan can claim that the projects truly belong to us.

My Dad and His Thoughts

I am currently out of the country and, therefore, immune to the waggeries of the madness that seems to have overtaken the country. Thus, while I am waiting to have my first meeting of the trip with my designers tomorrow, I have time in hand to introspect and think of more pleasant things to write about. One thought comes to my mind: my old man. I have to visit him soon upon my return.

Every year, I make atleast three trips to my village home in Tingtingbi where my 85 years old dad still lives and howls his daily prayers at the top of his voice, as if the Gods in heaven were deaf. These trips are either to attend the annual Chotpa, to shoot birds or simply to re-bond with the old man who, in his twilight years, is turning out to be more chirpy and humorous than he ever was in his younger days. It is perhaps an unconscious attempt to let go of life and live out the remainder of his time in this world with an air of joviality and cheerfulness. Good for him - because unlike most his age who tend to become greedier and cantankerous as they approach their final days, my old man is learning to ease up and gracefully submit to the inevitable. These days I notice that he does not even ask me why I am home - for him it is enough that I am around - reason does not seem to be important.

Most times I invite him to accompany me on my search for the birds. Once in a while he would accept and come along for the ride that is most often very early in the morning and last a few hours. He would sit quietly besides me on the front seat because he does not want to distract me. Sometimes, he would see a bird or two that he would point out to me.

During one such trip he suddenly asked me:

“Yeshey why do you shoot the same bird so many times? Why do you need so many photos of the same bird? I have seen you shoot the same bird over and over and over again”.

I told him:

“Dad, that is because the bird may be the same but everything else is different. The perch is different, the way the bird is sitting is different, the lighting condition and its position is different, the way the bird’s tail is raised is different; the twinkle in the eyes of the bird is different; the posture is different. It may be preening, it may be singing, it may be flapping its wings, it may be hovering, it may be dancing; it may be pecking. The same bird can be shot in a million different ways and each of the frames will be unique and different. Thus, for me it is not the same. Every frame I capture will be different from the last - so I keep shooting them over and over and over again".

Then one time he said something that I had never thought about before. He said:

“You must be the only businessman in this country who does not have to pay for his merchandise. All the birds, the trees, the mountains, the lakes, people, dzongs, monasteries, festivals, rivers and valleys, the green forests - they are all free for you. You simply pick and choose and photograph them and sell them to make money."

That is rather over simplification of things but a small part of what he said is true. Regardless, his jaw drops when I tell him that one of the three camera bodies that I carry around cost me - just the body without the lens - Nu.500,000.00++.

He then grumbles that I am being terribly wasteful :)-

Redirect Technological Development on the GNH Path

Recently I met, what I consider an unusual delegate, to the recently concluded GNH Convention in Paro. I say “unusual” because this person works for the world’s premier technology company that touches practically every aspect of our lives - whether awake or asleep.

In my view technology companies and what they put out in the market influence our lives in the most fundamental ways. Thus, if GNH fails, technology must take part of the blame for its undoing. That is what I told him when we had some discussion on the subject of GNH. The discussion continues over e-mail. The last e-mail I wrote to him reads as follows:

………………………………….

Hi ………,

Thank you for your two mails … I apologize for the delay in responding to them since I was out of town and then got really busy upon return.

Bhutan is just too insignificant - considered from any point of view: we simply cannot make a difference, neither economically, technologically - in any way. But despite that, even considering that 90% of the world population probably does not know the existence of Bhutan and even if they did - they wouldn’t know where we are, Bhutan does arouse some interest among world leaders and thinkers and policy makers – I think primarily because of our GNH philosophy and may be because of our leadership in environmental conservation. Both of these, in my personal opinion, are unlikely to be sustainable over the long haul but for the moment - it draws world attention to a minuscule country that is a none-player. So I agree with you - there must be something that we are doing right - that we can generate so much interest that a technology person working for a company that is at the forefront of technology that practically directs human behavior, should be interested enough to come to Bhutan and try and decipher the abstract that is GNH.

Your thoughts are great that Bhutan should chose and adapt technology that is appropriate in terms of GNH that we propagate. However, do you truly believe that is possible? You as a technologist should know more than I do that to a large extent technology and its application determines what we understand by happiness - it treats our illnesses, it causes our diseases; it influences the way we interact with friends and family; it reduces distances and yet keeps us far apart.

As you may remember, I had expressed the view that GNH is unlikely to work until we completely dismantle the present economic order - how and what we produce, how we consume, how we transport, how we market – alter the very objective behind all our economic activities. But this is an impossibility – because the human race has evolved way beyond the point where we have the option to do things differently. No single nation can perform singly. No single nation can hope to do things differently and as long as that is the reality, GNH will be a tough deal to deliver. That is evident by the fact that after so many years, we are still undecided on the true path to realization of GNH. Paradoxically, successive studies show that he who is affluent is a happier man!

As I told you, I believe that the loss of human values and other social ills can be, to some extent, attributed to the emergence of technology. Technology now directs our social habits, the way we perceive efficiency, affluence, the way we conduct our love affairs - it defines us. Consider for instance the mobile phone - it was designed for ease of communication but advancement in technology has turned this device into some thing that impedes human-to-human interaction - it drives a wedge that distances a human being from the other. We are a nervous wreck if our computer or the Internet should fail.

Thus to me it seems like people like you who are at the forefront of technology must work towards redefining the fundamentals of your design approach. I think you can start by steering the direction of technological development towards a more useful path – the GNH path - that which will enrich human society in better ways than it is doing now.

The technological alternatives that you talk about being more appropriate for Bhutan is something way beyond me :) For a person that started the technology revolution in Bhutan - I now shun it to the extent that I refuse to be on Facebook, Viber, Tweeter etc. It is not deliberate but instinctive.

You have some great suggestions - perhaps you should talk to our government about them. They are certainly worth pondering over. May be you should come back next year for the GHN Conference for a longer duration and present your ideas to the appropriate authorities.

Bye and take care

Yeshey

The Illegal Shingkhar-Gorgan Road, Yet Again

In a world that is beset by climate change related problems, Bhutan is projected as a shining star of environmental conservation. Bhutan has the reputation of being the most “carbon negative” country in the world.

A recent glowing report by the Guardian says:

“The Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan has made the world’s most far-reaching climate promise to the Paris climate summit …."

It further goes on to say:

“Bhutan, which tests all policies and projects against a Gross National Happiness (GNH) index ……"

High praises indeed that make you proud, as a Bhutanese. Unfortunately, hidden away from the gloss and the glitter, something sinister has been in the works for the past few years - construction of the Shingkhar-Gorgan road which breaks all the rules in the book. It is an environmentally disastrous project that was proposed, and stopped, by the erstwhile DPT government.

The construction of this road breaks all the rules in place. In fact, given the rules in place, its construction is illegal. NEC and the Wildlife Conservation Division has repeatedly denied environmental clearance for this project because of the impact it would have on the environment and because it will destroy one of the most important habitats of the critically endangered Royal Bengal Tiger.

It is not a healthy sign when a citizen finds the need to oppose almost every move that the lawmakers propose. It is really tiresome. I am not going to say much on this issue - I am plain tired of making so much noise. I have already written close to 10 article on this issue - under the lebel “environment”.

The situation has not changed in any way - from the time the road was first proposed. The DPR and the EIA cannot be any different from how it was presented earlier. The rules have not been changed that would now allow the road to be constructed. Thus I am going to leave it to the agencies responsible - NEC and the WCD - to do their duties, as they must, as the custodians of the law.

Bhutan has to begin to be serious about the promises it makes. Or face the danger of being ridiculed.

In the House of Gods, There is Madness But Not Complete Failure

I am happy to see sense finally prevail among the National Council Members. The NC is now no longer talking of lifting the Minimum Daily Tariff – they are talking of a revision in the tariff.

Thank God for that!

“The NC’s Economic Affairs Committee Chairperson, Pema Tenzin also said they are changing their stance from their earlier recommendation. The Committee had earlier recommended maintaining the royalty, which is US$ 65 per night, and freeing up the rest of the tariff so that the market can decide depending on the values and experiences."

Read the full report here:

http://www.bbs.bt/news/?p=54960

and the Kuensel's report here:

http://www.kuenselonline.com/plug-undercutting-or-reform-daily-tourism-tariff-council/

Now I hope that the Cabinet will see that revision of the tariff at this point in time would be ill-advised. They would understand that their road-widening initiative is already causing a substantial dip in tourist arrivals. It will only get worst in the coming years - until the road conditions improve. 

Bhutanese Tourism Industry Under Attack: VII

I am truly disgusted that there are people in this country who can contemplate doing away with our very successful Minimum Daily Tariff tourism policy that has seen the industry grow into the most vital and successful. Rightfully, it should be the hydro-power sector that must take the coveted place of being the first and the brightest. Unfortunately, I suspect that it has undergone a complete shift it its long term objectives.

I am not a tour operator but I am drawn into the business once in a while since I am asked to host some friends of friends abroad who visit Bhutan. Thus I had the opportunity to understand the industry from close quarters.

In my earlier articles I have covered most of the topics related to tourism - in this one I talk of:

The Fuss/Misconception Surrounding “Undercutting”:
Some have painted a very grim picture about the prevalence of the practice of “undercutting” that is supposedly rampant in the Bhutanese tourism industry. They say that it is an evil that must be rooted out. They say the practice is bad for the business. However, ask them how it is bad, how it hampers the growth of the tourism business and they are clueless. They have nothing to offer by way of justification - except that they will contend that it is illegal to “undercut”!

It is quite possible that undercutting may be in practice - but not merely confined to the big operators as is being put out. Small time operators may practice undercutting too - each of them for two entirely different reasons.

The truth is that there is no need for “undercutting”. There are a few billion prospects out there. If you are creative enough, if you work hard enough, if you are able to put your imagination to work, there is more than enough for a hundred thousand more tour operators to play the field.

That said, among trade circles, there is a different nomenclature that is employed to define “undercutting” - as we know it. It is referred to as “discount”. Nowhere in the world - including Bhutan - offering discount over the published rate is a crime. My understanding is that the TCB rule simply requires that every tourist wishing to visit Bhutan must pay a sum of US$250.00 per person per night halt. The rule does not prohibit a tour operator from offering discount to his/her tourists - as long as the discount offered does not become deductible from the Minimum Daily Tariff which is, in any event, not permitted. The crux of the matter is: how can a case of “undercutting” be proven - when the full Minimum Daily Tariff is deposited?

Small time operators offer discount because they can afford it - they have no overhead costs to factor into their pricing. The big timers offer discount because for them it is a matter of increasing volume to attain a certain level of economies of scale. Offering discount to clients is an accepted business practice everywhere else in the world.

I look at “undercutting” as a none-issue. As long as a tour operator deposits the tour payment calculated at the rate of the mandatory US$250.00 per person per night halt, no charge of “undercutting” can be leveled against the tour operator. The country does not suffer loss of foreign exchange, which is the primary concern. As long as the tour operator files his tax returns based on the business turnover calculated at US$250.00 per person per night halt, the country does not suffer reduction in tax collection.

The TCB may not recognize “discount” as a necessary evil - but remember, they have not outlawed the practice. As long as they continue to get their US$250.00 per person per night halt, “undercutting” is none-existent. It is a baseless and unproven supposition - pure and simple conjecture!

As one American professor of journalism once told me - an unproven truth is not a truth.

As to the allegation that bulk of the tourism business is monopolized by the big boys - Kuzuzangpo la - Welcome to the real world! There is only one way to fight that - work hard instead of whining - so that you too become big. Only the incompetent complain that others are doing better.

You cannot expect some Robin Hood to come and slice away someone’s business and deliver to you. Or may be, in Bhutan's case, you can!

........... End of Series