Farm and Forest Restoration
As part of the Mountains to Mangroves initiative and in partnership with Conservation International and the Bhutan Foundation, we will restore 10,000+ hectares of degraded forests and farmlands by 2030. We will plant over 10 million high-value native trees on both farms and forests. In addition to sequestering over a million+ tonnes of carbon, we will enhance incomes of tens of thousands of rural households and over a hundred nursery growers across Bhutan.
Farm and Forest Restoration
As part of the Mountains to Mangroves initiative and in partnership with Conservation International and the Bhutan Foundation, we will restore 10,000+ hectares of degraded forests and farmlands by 2030. We will plant over 10 million high-value native trees on both farms and forests. In addition to sequestering over a million+ tonnes of carbon, we will enhance incomes of tens of thousands of rural households and over a hundred nursery growers across Bhutan.
Introduction
We Will Put Land to Productive Use
Working with communities, we will transform fallow arable land into ecologically fecund and economically productive landscapes.
Over the next decade, we will promote and cultivate high value trees and associated crops in at least 10%, about 2200 hectares, of fallow land. Planting an average of about 500 trees per hectare in partnership with local communities, we will nurture over a million high value tree crops across Bhutan. This will generate annual and long term incomes for rural farmers and serve as community carbon banks. Ecologically fecund landscapes will also significantly add to biodiversity and help mitigate climate change.
29%
(about 22000 hectares) of Bhutan’s arable dryland remains fallow
We Will Help Ensure Functional Integrity of Large Forest Landscapes
Forests cover about 71% of Bhutan’s total land area, with Protected Areas and Biological Corridors covering an estimated 51%. About 5%, 198400 hectares, are managed for commercial harvesting of timber within Forest Management Units (FMUs). As of 2020, there are 21 FMUs3 spread across Bhutan with a total annual harvest potential of 126000 cubic meters of wood. The ecological integrity, and the management capacities to ensure functionality, of these landscapes are yet to be tested and monitored independently.
We will in collaboration with relevant Government agencies, civil society actors and multi-lateral agencies help ensure that these large forest landscapes are effectively managed by instituting and performing independent ecological and performance reviews on a regular basis. Such mechanisms will guarantee that the social, economic and environmental benefits from these landscapes flow into perpetuity. Ensuring the functional integrity of these large forest landscapes is a significant climate change mitigation strategy.
5%
about 198400 hectares, of Bhutan’s total land area are managed for commercial harvesting of timber.
Statistics
Arable Dryland (hectares) left Fallow
¹ Landuse and Land Cover Assessment of Bhutan 2016, Technical Report, Department of Forests & Park Services, Ministry of Agriculture & Forests, Royal Government of Bhutan
2Gewog Agricultural Statistics 2018, Ministry of Agriculture & Forests, Royal Government of Bhutan
Timeline of Interventions
2025
Project 1 : Mountains to Mangroves Initiative
2024
Project 1 : Mountains to Mangroves Initiative
Project 2 : Resilience in Wildlife-based Communities
2023
Project 1 : Agroecoglogical Zones and Mapping Farming Systems in Bhutan
2022
Project 1 : Million Trees Project
2021
Project 1 : Million Trees Project
project 2 : National policy dialogue(s) regarding the sustainability and upscaling of socio-ecological production of landscapes and seascapaes
Project 3 : Migration Trail Initiative
Project 4 : Green and Climate Smart Business Development
2020
Project 1 : Conservation of tigers through compassion and alternative livelihood interventions in buffer zone of RMNP
project 2 : Communty-based aquaponic agriculture, virtual tourism and community awareness
2019
Project 1 : Fruits for all Initiative
Project 2 : Sustainable enterprise development and employment creation through promotion of moringa cultivation
2018
Project 1 : CA|TS conservation assured Tiger standards
Project 2 : Labelling of common flora and bird species along Takstang trails
