Located within South Asia, Bhutan is a landlocked country east of the Himalayans. Much larger countries such as China, India, Nepal, and Bangladesh border this small and somewhat forgotten kingdom. The happiest country in Asia is also known for its historic landmarks and ancient culture. They are also known for their skill in archery, kite flying, and cricket. In tight isolation from other countries, Bhutan gradually moved towards modernization in the early 2000s. However, while the kingdom of Bhutan is currently working to move the country forward, there are environmental setbacks that greatly hinder its development. Aside from the three environmental issues that affect Bhutan which include unsustainable agriculture, waste disposal, and deforestation, Information Technology provides a way for this country to effectively combat these issues while also improving its environment and economy.
The most important environmental issue in Bhutan is deforestation because it affects the local environment and economy as a whole. It is in a unique situation because although Bhutan is mostly covered in forests, yet it struggles with balancing between modern development and its natural resources. This is the most crucial issue within Bhutan because as more and more of the forests are destroyed, there is more waste and less agriculture. Illegal logging of trees, forest fire, and infrastructure development (in regards to expansion of agricultural and industrial growth) are all causes of deforestation. Therefore, wildlife is at stake, which means loss of biodiversity, in addition to loss of soil protection. Livestock and crop production are also affected because the people are restricted in the natural resources they use, putting their livelihood in danger. Eventually, the government started to realize the risks of losing the forests. According to U.N. FAO, “Between 1990 and 2010, Bhutan lost an average of 10,700 ha, or 0.35% per year” (Mongobay). To improve Bhutan's environment in matters of agriculture, firewood, and other natural resources, the government worked with non-governmental agencies that also addressed these issues.
This is the most important issue because it is linked to all the branches of Bhutan's economy and environment. Due to deforestation, Bhutan is losing their resources for sustainable agriculture, clean water, and urbanization, all the elements that are important for survival. Not only that, deforestation reaches into the global market in regards to economic value and carbon emissions. Since Bhutan made improvements to preserve their forests, it is now a carbon neutral country and they have one of the lowest deforestation rates. In fact, along with “Panama, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Peru, Belize, Gabon, Guyana, Suriname, and Zambia, along with Fresh Gulana, contains twenty percent of Earth's remaining tropical forest and eighteen percent of tropical forest carbon” (Mongobay). The forests play an enormous role in maintaining the water source, agriculture, wildlife, food, and resources.
Unsustainable agriculture is a growing environmental issue in Bhutan. Due to Bhutan's advances to the modern world through urbanization, it takes a toll on its natural surroundings. Though Bhutan is one of the least populated countries in South Asia, as more hotels, buildings, and towns are built, its forests and wildlife are replaced. The lack of agriculture is detrimental for the Bhutanese because it is their primary source for food, income, and jobs. Therefore, as urbanization increases, there is a risk of available land. As stated from Bhutan: In Pursuit of Sustainable Development, a national report for the United Nations, the Bhutanese follow a concept that “Gross National Happiness is more important than Gross National Product…the belief that there is more to life than material development”. Though they focus on the people's own happiness, it also states “the past twenty years have witnessed some of the worse economic crises and a growing divide between the rich and poor, with women bearing much of the brunt of poverty”. Bhutan must diversify and commercialize within a limited market, as well as overcome barriers such as lack of financing, lack of economic infrastructure, and farm labor. Nature can also affect Bhutan's land quality: erosion, climate change, and prolonged seasons. Only a small portion of Bhutan's land is suitable for productive progress because it is heavily regulated for industrial resource extraction and it is more restricted for traditional, isolated farming systems, which is a combination of crop and livestock production, as stated from Choki Lhamu's The Development Experience of Bhutan. With the absence of sufficient land and rapid growth, it leads to other rising issues such as sanitation, waste disposal, and clean water.
The reason why this is the second most important environmental issue is because it is the top layer of Bhutan's environmental issues. If there is no land for the people to work with, there will be no productivity, source of income, or food. Unsustainable agriculture can be attested to deforestation and the abuse of its wildlife and soil preservation. It is closely linked with deforestation because the agriculture also derives from the forest.
The third environmental issue is waste disposal, a growing problem for Bhutan. Waste disposal reaches out in many other aspects of Bhutan's issues, such as its rapid growth in urban areas and in population. For the human environment, it is unhygienic as the waste results in fleas, rodents, odors, birds, and other possible health risks. In Regional Resource Center for Asia and the Pacific”, it states that in the city of Thimphu, it is “poorly equipped to deal with such an influx of migrants, the urban areas are witnessing severe constraints on housing, water and sanitation. Also, if such a trend continues, the demand for both physical and socioeconomic infrastructure will put increasing pressures on urban and peri-urban environments”. Waste disposal affects a city such as Thimphu because it is so limited; it cannot keep up with the growth and trend of the developing cities. Luckily, Bhutan has worked to combat waste disposal through segregation of biodegradable and non-biodegradable items, hazardous waste collected by health care facilities, and implementing industrial programs and landfill sites. Nonetheless, it can still be difficult to effectively reuse waste because “burning of combustible waste is sometimes resorted to in order to reduce the volume of waste although there is no recovery of any form of energy. Due to mountainous terrain it is difficult to locate flat land for development of landfill sites, which is now posing a tremendous pressure on the city corporations” (Solid Waste Management). Since Bhutan already lacks land quality, waste disposal affects its surroundings because it prohibits the use of its resources. If most of the land is covered in waste or is being used as landfill, it really limits what can be used for the country's economic needs.
This is the third most important environmental issue because waste disposal is a huge factor for the inadequacy of these disposals creates environmental, economical, and health hazards. Since Bhutan is working to be a modernized country, they have to find ways to effectively take care of the waste, all the while being environmentally friendly. As quoted in the National Strategy and Action Plan: Integrated Solid Waste Management, “it is vital to look into the future of developing integrated solid waste management concepts such as waste minimization, recycling and reuse, and informal sector micro -enterprises that link income generation to environmental protection” (Ministry of Works and Human Settlement). Though it was not a concern years ago, Bhutan's increase in population and modernization have proven that it is now an environmental issue they must consider.
Information Technology is making its mark in Bhutan as it breaks into their environmental and developmental structures. Ultimately, IT helps because it has many uses and benefits for Bhutan. Specifically, it can be used to improve Bhutan's unsustainable agriculture. To combat natural disasters, IT can support its agriculture as a monitoring tool for its resources through weather forecasts and alerts to reduce destruction. To improve the agriculture, IT can provide new technology that will increase productivity against food protection and poverty through monitoring tools. The Technology Adoption and Productivity in Bhutan states, “ A doubling of the agricultural income per household from an average of 73,000 Nu per household per year would reduce poverty from 30% to 17%...Experiences in other countries have shown that the returns to the productive investments are significantly higher than to subsidies, sometimes ten times as high.” (Dupka, Minten). By putting investments within IT and systems such as electricity and fertilizers, Bhutan's poverty issue can improve. It can help collect data to record crops, livestock, prices, the market, and farming difficulties. With this sort of knowledge, Bhutan farmers will be able to keep track of improvements or failures. IT itself can give Bhutan an outlet for a step towards modernization and better living.
The use of IT can inhibit “sharing knowledge, planning and controlling of resources, office and factory automation, business management, and marketing” for a country that is looking for modern advancement, such as Bhutan”. It will help Bhutan by providing employment as its population grows, and it will also provide pathways to new improved lifestyles. With something such as a monitoring tool, Bhutan will be able to gather information for what works best, and what doesn't work for its agriculture. The monitoring tool can even help with Bhutan's way of gaining information on any limitations for the growth of crops and livestock. It can also help monitor and regulate crops between other towns and villages. With IT, Bhutan can work its way to moving into modernization, improving its own state of agriculture and well being.