ISSN NO: ISSUE2021
ISSUED ON: 2021
This open access journal is dedicated to promoting the informed conservation of the Himalaya’s rich natural heritage and ecological diversity, with a focus on Bhutan. All articles published in the journal of Bhutan Ecological Society reflect individual views of the authors and not necessarily that of the Society or the Editorial Board. The copyright of each article remains with the author(s).
Bhutan Ecological Society. Copyright © 2025. All rights reserved.
Designed by Wangyel Studio.
Terms and Conditions
Privacy Policy
Cookies Policy
The black-necked crane (BNC) is endemic to the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, the adjacent southern Himalayas, and the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau. They are listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN and are a Schedule I protected species in Bhutan. In early 2015, an injured crane was rescued in Phobijkha and named “Karma”. Karma could be a founder for exsitu conservation of BNCs. To determine Karma’s sex, four molecular sexing methods were texted. Two of these, introduced by Fridolfsson & Ellegren (1999) and Griffiths et al.(1996), were found to be applicable to BNC and both suggested that Karma is male. It is planned that a female mate be introduced to Karma.
Wastewater is one of the most significant issues that arise as a result of increased economic activity, urbanization, and population density. Depending on the source, wastewater may contain organic waste, pathogens, nutrients, pesticides, heavy metals, and other chemicals related to pharmaceuticals, personal care products, industrial, and household products. In recent years, wastewater from both point and non-point sources has increasingly begun to contaminate Bhutan’s surface water resources. Open disposal of untreated wastewater into the environment pollutes the environment, which then poses a threat to human and ecological health. This review article aimed to present the current state of wastewater generation and contamination of surface water resources in Bhutan. A review of secondary data sources, including published research, media reports, government legislations and regulations, and policy documents revealed that wastewater contaminants are increasingly polluting Bhutan’s surface water resources, necessitating immediate remediation. The Bhutan Environmental Standards (2020) does not contain discharge standards for all emerging contaminants that may cause chronic toxicity, endocrine disruption in humans and aquatic fauna, and disease outbreaks. Therefore, regular monitoring and controlling of contaminants discharged into the surface water bodies should be a national priority for Bhutan.
Bhutan is a carbon negative country; however, we are vulnerable to climate change and the impacts of climate change on water resources, agriculture, water hazards such as flash floods, incessant rainfall induces landslides are evident in the country. Water also plays a crucial role in driving some of the major economic sectors of Bhutan.
Hydropower is a climate-sensitive sector as it is completely reliant on water levels and flows in the rivers, which is variable depending on good monsoon years. Threats from climate change may impact the hydrological regime and electricity generation from hydropower. The agriculture sector consumes over 90% of the water resources and employs more than half of the population of Bhutan.
In line with global projections, wet regions will continue to get wetter and dry regions will continue to get drier in Bhutan. The already water-stressed areas may be expected to further exacerbate in the future. An increase and shift in the overall snow and glacial melts is expected due to the implication of increase/ shift in temperature, this will in turn affect river flow. There will be a higher chance of reduced flow during warm and dry period and flooding threats during monsoon season. Bhutan is highly vulnerable to the threats of GLOFs since most of the human settlements and major economic activities are located along the main drainage basins.
As Bhutan’s way forward to a climate resilient society, numerous projects and policies are in place through proper planning and readiness which also proposes short-, medium-, and long-term adaptation measures for various key climate sectors. Agonisingly, they are few and far between leaving the country vulnerable to the threats of climate change leading to too little water in lean season and too much water in summer season.
Focal Sampling method was adopted to study the activity-time budget and behavioral response of Grus nigricollis to human disturbances at Bumdeling Gewog and Yangtse Gewog during the winter period, from 29December 2016 to 20 February 2017. A total number of 1932 of behavioral events, amounting to 9,660 minutes, were recorded (1732 adults and 201 juveniles) during the observation period of 48 days. All observations were carried out between 07:30 a.m. and 06:00 p.m. and observation periods of the day were further divided into early morning (07:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.), late morning (10:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m.), early afternoon (12:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.), and late afternoon (03:00 p.m. to 06:00 p.m.). The result showed that Grus nigricollis spent more time foraging
(42.1±6.3), followed by vigilance (22.8±6.3), locomotion (18.7±6.4), maintenance (13.4 ±6.2), out of sight (2.2 ±6.3), and resting (0.9±6.3). The diurnal rhythm of different behaviors varied according to time, with foraging behavior reaching its peak at 11:00 a.m., 02:00 p.m, and 04:00 p.m. and resting behavior peaking at noon. The study revealed that Maidung constituted a higher set of threats as compared to Khabretsey and Bategang, with significantly high percent frequency of people and vehicular movement, unregulated tourists and visitors, and disturbances by dogs and livestock. Disturbances were categorized based on the types of disturbances recorded in these regions during the field survey. Grus nigricollis spent more time scanning in the presence of non-lethal human disturbances, however, flight initiation probability increased when approached more directly and closely (<50m). Based on the result of the study, conservation management should initiate public education to reduce unnecessary disturbances by people and initiate community co-management of its site to provide better foraging grounds for the vulnerable Grus nigricollis
Bhutan lies in the Eastern Himalayan ecoregion and is identified as part of the 10th global biodiversity hotspot. The baseline data for bird conservation on species richness, abundance, and diversity of avian in Forest Management Units (FMUs) are, however, inadequate because of a conservation focus on rare and endangered species. The objectives of this study were to compare the avian richness, abundance, and diversity to analyze the effect of vegetation parameters on avian species diversity and composition in disturbed and undisturbed habitats in GFMU in one winter season. The Open Width Point Count method was used to sample birds along the established transects. Quadrates 20 m x 20 m were used to sample vegetation, with 30 quadrates in each habitat type. A total of 71 avian species belonging to 28 families were recorded. A higher avian diversity (Hʹ = 2.95), species richness (S = 22) and abundance (n = 1150) were observed in the undisturbed habitat than disturbed habitat (Hʹ = 2.85), (S = 15), and (n = 809). Moreover, correlation of vegetation parameters such as canopy cover and shrub cover with avian diversity and avian composition revealed a medium association in undisturbed habitat. Further, there was a statistically significant difference between the disturbed and undisturbed habitats on avian diversity and composition, signifying that both the habitats are vital for avian conservation. A long-term study is needed to indicate variations in species composition and diversity caused by the existence of migrants, by breeding, and by effects of the other season in both the habitats.
This paper provides the distribution and morphometric measurements, along with locality information, of Oligodon cyclurus in Bhutan through the study of five specimen n=5 collected from 2016 to 2021. As a Least Concern (LC) species that is little known in the locality, the species faces threats from the community. The study suggests that awareness campaigns for local people, especially the younger generation, on the role of Oligodon cyclurus’ in the ecosystem must be conducted in order to protect the species. Further studies about its distribution pattern, population status, and molecular identity are direly needed.
The sediments transport in the rivers of the Himalayan region is significantly high due to the fragile geology and rugged terrain of the
landscape. This poses a serious challenge to sediment management and increases reservoir capacity loss in the hydropower plants and sediment induced wear on underwater components of hydropower plants. Sediment induced wear requires repairing, replacement, and causes loss of revenue due to reduced turbine efficiency or downtime during replacement/repairing works. It is, therefore, economical to close the water intake and stop the turbine operation when Suspended Sediment Concentration (SSC) and particle sizes exceed limit values.
In view of optimizing power plant operation during high sediment periods and to improve the life and efficiency of the turbines, sediment impact assessments were carried out for the four high head power plants under the Druk Green Power Corporation (DGPC) in Bhutan, namely Basochhu Hydropower Plant – Upper Stage (BHP – US), Basochhu Hydropower Plant – Lower Stage (BHP – LS), Chhukha Hydropower Plant (CHP), and Tala Hydropower Plant (THP). Based on the erosion rate and the economic analysis for the uncoated runners, the optimal SSC was estimated for each power plant for the switch–off decision: 1,445 ppm for BHP – US, 1,690 ppm for BHP – LS, 6,546 ppm for CHP and 5,540 ppm for THP.
Education, Research & Advocacy
IMPACT
