For five days, Frédérique Parbonnaud and his team visited nature parks, Bhutanese fortresses, called dzongs, and monasteries to meet the specialists of the GNH concept and the people responsible for environmental policies. Together, they observed the way in which this play out in the field. They also gathered the opinions of inhabitants and Buddhist monks with the objective of identifying the challenges confronting the country: the consequences of global warming, opening up to the world, development and modernisation.
Bhutan is a country with a wide variety of climates and landscapes as well as an extraordinary biodiversity: 5,600 species of plants, 165 species of mammals, almost 800 species of birds and more than 20 protected species. With 72 per cent of its land covered in forests, of which more than one quarter consists of national parks, the country is blessed with exceptional wealth and has only one desire: to preserve it.
Nestled in the Himalayas and squeezed between China to the north and India to the south, Bhutan is a country with a wide variety of climates, landscapes and an extraordinary biodiversity. It was in the 1970s, when Bhutan first opened itself up to the outside world and saw the consequences of economic development in certain countries, that the fourth King of Bhutan, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, invented the concept of “gross national happiness” or GNH, as a model for development. This model rests on four pillars: economic development, good governance, the promotion of traditions and the preservation of the environment and biodiversity.
In a market in Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan, the inhabitants have a real responsibility toward the environment. In their daily life, they are urged to sort their waste and to use biodegradable bags.
By setting conditions that at least 60 per cent of the land be covered in forests and in focussing on green energy and hydroelectric power, Bhutan is a model environmental figure. A mountainous country whose rivers tumble down from the Himalayas, Bhutan has in fact made hydroelectric power one of the mainstays of its development, partly to supply electricity to the country and partly for export to India. It is a choice that is in line with the principles of GNH and with the pledge Bhutan has made never to become a net carbon emitter. Despite all these efforts made in environmental matters, the Bhutanese look at global warming with a jaundiced eye. Responsible for the melting of the Hamalayan glaciers, global warming is causing flooding, which is a threat to hydroelectric power.
The RTL crew went to the valley of Puna Tsang Chu to visit one of the country’s most modern hydroelectric power plants, that of Basochhu. Some of the electricity produced is used in Bhutan, but most of it is exported to India. It represents one-third of the country’s revenue. Thanks to an agreement signed with New Delhi to increase exports, the government hopes to take in 2 billion dollars a year.
The government is also doing everything possible to avoid the devastating effects of mass tourism and to protect the country’s identity. Interviewed by Frédérique Parbonnaud, Robert Dompnier, a tour operator, explains that Bhutan is biased in favour of protecting itself from mass tourism by voluntarily charging extremely high prices. Even though the number of tourists has multiplied by 10 in the last 20 years, it did not exceed 30,000 last year.