Implementation of the NBSAP
Bhutan has developed and implemented three Biodiversity Action Plans, the first in 1998, the second in 2002 and the third in 2009, with implementation in regard to the latter still in process. It is Bhutan’s intention to develop national targets in line with the Aichi Biodiversity Targets and to incorporate these targets in the BAP (2009)... More »
Actions taken to achieve the 2020 Aichi Biodiversity Targets
The most significant outcome achieved as a result of BAP implementation is the establishment of protected areas constituting 42.70% (protected areas) and 8.60% (biological corridors) of the country’s total land area. The protected areas system encompasses a continuum of representational samples of all major ecosystems found in the country, ranging from the tropical/subtropical grasslands and forests in the southern foothills, to temperate forests in the central mountains and valleys, to alpine meadows and scree in the northern mountains... More »
Support mechanisms for national implementation (legislation, funding, capacity-building, coordination, mainstreaming, etc.)
Biodiversity protection and sustainable development is one of Bhutan’s top priorities. As Article 5 of Bhutan’s Constitution makes clear, every Bhutanese person is considered a trustee of the Kingdom’s natural resources and environment. As a result, the Royal Government is constitutionally enjoined to conserve and improve the environment and safeguard the country’s biodiversity, notably by ensuring that a minimum of 60% of Bhutan’s total land area is maintained under forest cover for all time... More »
Mechanisms for monitoring and reviewing implementation
Monitoring initiatives and tools developed within the framework of the Biodiversity Action Plan include: the publication of the first-ever Field Guide to the Mammals of Bhutan, which provides brief accounts of the physical characteristics, social behavior, habitat and conservation threats of some 200 mammal species found in the country; field studies on the white-bellied heron (Ardea insignis) initiated in 2005 by the Royal Society for the Protection of Nature (RSPN), as well as research and monitoring of the black-necked crane (Grus nigricollis) as a part of their conservation management program in the Phobjikha Valley; and the first Bhutan Snow Leopard Information Management System (SLIMS), with training and field surveys conducted in Thimphu and Jigme Dorji National Park by the Nature Conservation Division (NCD), in collaboration with the WWF Bhutan Program and the International SnowLeopard Trust... More »
