Bhutan Climate Platform

RNR AGRICULTURE REPORTRNR AGRICULTURE REPORTRNR AGRICULTURE REPORTRNR AGRICULTURE REPORT

An assessment by SWS Self Assessment using Bhutan Management Effectiveness Tracking Tool Plus (2016), showed that climate change and severe weather as one of the potential threats for the sanctuary in near future. 
The book consists of various reports on studies conducted related to climate change namely;

The Kingdom of Bhutan is nestled in the Himalayas, sharing borders with India to the south and China to the north. The country is a net carbon sink and has committed to ensuring that 60% of its total land area will remain as forest. Despite efforts to encourage sustainable economic growth at the national level, the impacts of climate change, driven partly by the global greenhouse gas emissions, will continue to affect Bhutan. The agricultural sector, which employs about 69% of the total population, is the most vulnerable to the changing climate. There is need to identify which crops may become unsuitable under climate projections and, equally, which crops may offer new opportunities to rural communities. A joint study by the
International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MoAF), funded by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), was undertaken to assess the impacts of climate change on five key crops (i.e. rice, maize, potato, chili and tomato) and three diversification crops (i.e. quinoa, kiwi and cardamom). The results of the study will help decision makers identify which areas may require interventions due to the imminent loss of climate suitability for the crops. Equally, the results can be used to provide input on suitable locations to test the diversification crops and potential areas for expansion of the key crops. The analysis was undertaken using the most up-to-date climate models and an ecological niche model and was analyzed in ArcGIS. It was a collaborative study,
which included a 2-week capacity building workshop between CIAT and MoAF and an additional case study to integrate knowledge on gender and climate change.

The second volume of national Forest Inventory reports on biomass and forest carbon stock of the country, regeneration and increment status, species diversity , forest health and disturbance and predictions of wildlife habitat based on presence-absence record.

The fragile mountainous ecosystem of the eastern Himalayas is particularly affected by climate change. Rising mean temperatures are the main projected change in Bhutan, as a higher temperature rise is projected in mountainous areas than elsewhere in the world. A wide range of health risks associated with these changes is also projected to increase. Some of the increased risks are given below: 

The probability of glacial lake outburst floods (24 of the estimated 2674 glacial lakes in Bhutan are considered potentially dangerous); 

The risk of flash floods and landslides during the monsoon period of June to August; 

The geographical range and incidence of vector-borne diseases, particularly malaria and dengue. Dengue is an emerging infectious disease in Bhutan; it was first documented in the country in 2004 and is now endemic during the monsoon period; 

The incidence of waterborne diseases due to drying up of water sources or contamination from flooding (diarrhoeal diseases already contribute to about 10–15% of the burden of morbidity) 
The three global outcomes defined for the global project on “Piloting Climate Change Adaptation to Protect Human Health“ were adjusted slightly to the specific context of Bhutan and its identified health risks related to climate change. Working towards these outcomes, Bhutan specifically focused on: 

Bhutan has developed the FREL and FRL mainly to take stock of emissions and removals from the forest sector and set a baseline to measure future (additional) performances. The data collected is also expected to provide overall guidance for planning and implementation of activities in forestry and other relevant sectors. The FREL and FRL submission is made to strengthen Bhutan’s position and commitment under its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) by revalidating the forest cover, instituting a system to quantify and monitor carbon stocks and establishing a benchmark for tracking its performances in terms of forest management.

This assessment complements past climate related hazard assessments with analyses and mapping of vulnerability at District level, with a focus on socio-economic and non-climatic, development data with view of enhancing the understanding of the scale of impact of climate change and providing actionable information about the social and economic impacts of climate change to inform adaptation planning. 

This assessment provides risk mapping of vector borne diseases associated with climate change. It builds on the priority identified in the Health NAP in particular “Prepare Vulnerability and Risk mapping of health outcomes associated with climate change”, and complements the initial projections of dengue and malaria through analyses of exposure and vulnerability. 

The document outlines approaches for curriculum development and identify academic and professional training that could be provided by Bhutanese institutions. The strategy will also identify levels of such training and curriculum, potential funding mechanisms, and how programs and funding may be sustained over time. 

The stocktaking establishes the baseline for national adaptation planning work in Bhutan via performing a stocktaking of the existing information and data gaps on climate change risks, impacts of climate change on sectors, and existing climate change scenarios.