More than ten million trees will be planted across the country by 2030. The joint initiative by the Bhutan Ecological Society, the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, the Conservation International and Balipara Foundation NGOs aims to revive thousands of acres of damaged forest land. As part of the project, a three-day meeting between the key stakeholders was recently held in Paro.
Nearly 20,000 acres of degraded forests across the country will be restored with this initiative in the next five years.
The initiative will not only help maintain the country’s forest coverage over 70 per cent and improve ecological conservation and promotion, but will also bring economic benefits to the local population. According to the Bhutan Ecological Society, high-value trees and trees feasible to the location and its climate will be planted.
It is not just about planting the trees. Today, Bhutan is planning to trade carbon with Singapore, therefore if we can plant more trees, we can leverage carbon financing to support restoration efforts, including capacity buildings and research needs,” said Norbu Wangdi (PhD), Director of Forest and Water under Bhutan Ecological Society.
Setting up of nurseries, capacity building, and research needs were discussed at the meeting. Participants also discussed opportunities in carbon trading and funding future initiatives through this project. The initiative will begin from next year.
Namgay Wangchuk, Paro
Edited by Yeshi Gyaltshen
