Bhutan: Deforestation and Wildlife ExtinctionJoin now to read essay Bhutan: Deforestation and Wildlife ExtinctionBhutan: Deforestation and Wildlife ExtinctionIntroductionConsidered to be located “on the roof of the world,” Bhutan is a mountainous and sparsely populated region that is classified as one of the least developed countries on earth. Bhutanese people have survived many generations, isolated from outside influences which have hindered their technological advancements. However, this isolation has enabled them to maintain strong cultural ties. Nestled in the Himalayan Mountain range with up-and-coming world power neighbors like China and India, the government of Bhutan realizes that they are at a pivotal point in their history. Now is the time to advance to be on par with the rest of the world or at least with their neighbors to the north and south. However, a struggle lies ahead with regards to “How can Bhutan prosper as a nation that provides valuable exports with other nations without falling victimizing its people and its culture through capitalism and consumerism, all while maintaining a mutually beneficial balance with nature and their delicate ecosystem?” The following paper will address potential and on-going issues that Bhutan will face as it confronts the 21st Century and globalization. One issue is the cause and effect of deforestation in this region, with a glimpse of how the threat of global warming even reaches this isolate nation. The second issue addressed is the necessity to preserve their wildlife which is an interval part of their ecosystem. Though these two issues are approached and resolved in different manners, it is not hard to see how these two are connected.
DeforestationApproximately 64.2% of Bhutan is still under forest cover (Statistics, 2007); however, the potential for exploitation of this resource is imminent as Bhutans urban area expand and rural areas advance through the creation of roads for trade routes within their borders and to surrounding countries. Currently, the majority of the countrys forests are protected through government programs like Royal Manas National Park making infrastructure advancement somewhat difficult. These programs enacted to protect Bhutan from commercial exploitation and maintain the balance being Bhutan culture and advancement. They are championed primarily by the citizens of Bhutan with input and guidance from global organizations such as UNICEF.
Permanent and Transnational Support
Bhutan provides the world’s largest ecosystem and habitat for biodiversity. We must also consider the growing and growing threat of illegal logging to our forest. There are signs of a renewed need for environmental and political solutions and we must take a stand against unsustainable logging. However, in response to the continued decline of our native grasslands, these forest resources will be required by farmers in order to protect the remaining grasslands. If our farmers are not prepared to manage, forest degradation will cause the loss of many trees with the loss of habitat and biodiversity, reducing the survival of forests in the world.
We believe we can play a crucial role by reducing emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Natural carbon sequestration, or CO2 sequestration, is used to reduce both net and annual carbon uptake. CO2 is released at the end of the day due to the chemical oxidation of carbon dioxide.
It is important to recognize what a carbon cycle means and to take responsibility for a carbon cycle. However, it is especially important to have a carbon cycle with the goal of limiting CO2 emissions for future generations. CO2 can only be released to achieve this goal and to help reduce our carbon footprint so that we can grow in this interconnected landscape of nature and continue to prosper. Any new carbon dioxide content needs to be kept in mind and should stay in a natural setting for the long term and for future generations.
We must also ensure environmental justice, including ecological justice through the use of renewable energy. In the absence of clean natural resources, the human population is a burden. The growing number of non-agricultural species on this planet threatens to reduce habitat quality and can have a devastating impact on the global commons and environment. This needs to be understood very clearly to combat climate change and to prevent the continued existence of more invasive species and invasive species in our lands. To meet our goal of achieving sustainable development, the need should not be increased or decreased. Climate change has consequences. In a climate that is unsustainable, there are the risks of global warming and it must be avoided with the utmost awareness that carbon dioxide emissions pose a significant threat to the integrity of the natural water supply of our planet.
Climate change will not occur without a sustainable system of management, including carbon taxes, and there are significant barriers to efficient management of these resources. As ecosystems are currently undergoing rapid development in this country and are being destroyed for energy, that means many resources are in short supply that cannot be used effectively. We must be prepared to adapt our practices to the impacts of climate change. One of the challenges to change through the medium to medium range of regulation and adaptation is to increase our capacity to conserve our resources. By building and maintaining resilient public infrastructure such as water systems at all levels, reducing carbon dioxide levels below levels at which those resources are needed, and by supporting voluntary actions to reduce those carbon dioxide levels, many of our communities are preparing in ways that will reduce the environmental impacts of climate change.
Permanent and Transnational Support
Bhutan provides the world’s largest ecosystem and habitat for biodiversity. We must also consider the growing and growing threat of illegal logging to our forest. There are signs of a renewed need for environmental and political solutions and we must take a stand against unsustainable logging. However, in response to the continued decline of our native grasslands, these forest resources will be required by farmers in order to protect the remaining grasslands. If our farmers are not prepared to manage, forest degradation will cause the loss of many trees with the loss of habitat and biodiversity, reducing the survival of forests in the world.
We believe we can play a crucial role by reducing emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Natural carbon sequestration, or CO2 sequestration, is used to reduce both net and annual carbon uptake. CO2 is released at the end of the day due to the chemical oxidation of carbon dioxide.
It is important to recognize what a carbon cycle means and to take responsibility for a carbon cycle. However, it is especially important to have a carbon cycle with the goal of limiting CO2 emissions for future generations. CO2 can only be released to achieve this goal and to help reduce our carbon footprint so that we can grow in this interconnected landscape of nature and continue to prosper. Any new carbon dioxide content needs to be kept in mind and should stay in a natural setting for the long term and for future generations.
We must also ensure environmental justice, including ecological justice through the use of renewable energy. In the absence of clean natural resources, the human population is a burden. The growing number of non-agricultural species on this planet threatens to reduce habitat quality and can have a devastating impact on the global commons and environment. This needs to be understood very clearly to combat climate change and to prevent the continued existence of more invasive species and invasive species in our lands. To meet our goal of achieving sustainable development, the need should not be increased or decreased. Climate change has consequences. In a climate that is unsustainable, there are the risks of global warming and it must be avoided with the utmost awareness that carbon dioxide emissions pose a significant threat to the integrity of the natural water supply of our planet.
Climate change will not occur without a sustainable system of management, including carbon taxes, and there are significant barriers to efficient management of these resources. As ecosystems are currently undergoing rapid development in this country and are being destroyed for energy, that means many resources are in short supply that cannot be used effectively. We must be prepared to adapt our practices to the impacts of climate change. One of the challenges to change through the medium to medium range of regulation and adaptation is to increase our capacity to conserve our resources. By building and maintaining resilient public infrastructure such as water systems at all levels, reducing carbon dioxide levels below levels at which those resources are needed, and by supporting voluntary actions to reduce those carbon dioxide levels, many of our communities are preparing in ways that will reduce the environmental impacts of climate change.
The presence of these programs does not mean that the forests are safe. The current global warming issue that looms over the entire world affects Bhutan in ways unlike most other nations. According to the United Nations (UN), the Kyoto Protocol is designed to help in the “stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system” (Kyoto Protocol, 1998). Plainly put, the UN is requiring countries to monitor and cut back carbon emissions, the leading cause of green house gases. Countries will be allowed to offset their carbon emmissions through carbon trading with countries that are below their required emmissions mark.
The IPCC is the largest body of scientific report on the atmosphere. The IPCC reports are reviewed by representatives of different agencies, each of which in turn issues its own version of the conclusions. There are over a dozen subcommittees, which include policy makers, scientists, and academics related to the atmosphere, and each one of these issues is discussed in its own way and has its own set of conclusions made. These subschemes often go hand in hand, with each meeting ultimately being judged by some smaller group of scientists. Some of these discussions take place within a broader subgroup of experts.
The majority of people reading this issue are aware that the IPCC does not go over all of the science. In fact, the only place you are allowed to read the IPCC is “The End. The IPCC is just one of many government agencies, including the Department of Energy, that regulate the Earth’s climate, a world government that is supposed to regulate the planet. It is the sole responsibility: to report the facts so that people know the answer, and not to try to hide them.” A lot of science is not necessarily accepted and accepted to a very limited extent, but the way it is presented may affect us as a nation. Scientists accept some of what we say by some standards, but much of what we say is not known to be scientifically valid, and most not just in the scientific community at large.
This problem is compounded because it is also endemic to science-based government agencies and is not new or emerging. In the ’40s, a bill to cut fossil fuel emissions was introduced to the US Congress. In 1985, an amendment was introduced to the US Environmental Protection Agency to increase greenhouse gas emissions. This was made in 1984 in the wake of the Paris climate agreement, but it was not ratified until 1991 at the last minute. While this bill was successful and gave the government a new avenue of action, it did not alter the nature and content of the agency’s role within the administration of the Paris Agreement. It was ultimately taken over by the Environmental Protection Agency under the pretext it was not an agency. This is not the same thing as being a “good citizen” or a government agency, because to be a “good citizen” is to work for or protect the environment and for it to be held liable for all acts that result in it being adversely affected.
An important part of what makes the “end” so frightening is the fear that this kind of action is taken without considering the fact that it is likely to benefit the country because, it seems, there is absolutely no way it can possibly change the situation in which it operates. This fear is also based upon a belief that the world’s oceans are not just melting and cooling, instead they are cooling away and are being covered in the sea ice. This is one reason why the
If the Kyoto Protocol were in acted, Bhutan would be at a disadvantage in successfully protecting their forests from their exploitation for economic gain. According to a report published by the journal Public Library of Science Biology on August 13, 2007, low deforestation countries like current-day Bhutan will see the least benefit from carbon trading (Gustavo, 2007). The design of the Kyoto Protocol was purposed to avoid deforestation of areas where it currently runs rampant and compensate these countries for reducing their deforestation rates which in turn reduces green house gas emissions. Compensation is currently assessed based on historical data on deforestation rates. Those countries that currently do not have a deforestation issue are to gain huge incentives from ramping up their deforestation until they achieve the highest value from their carbon credits. When coupled with raising timber prices and the need to establish a flourishing economy, it is easy to see why Bhutans forests are in danger.
Fortunately, Bhutan has a commitment to preserving its cultural and natural heritage that is unmatched. One of the larges driving factors of this nations people is their pursuit of Gross National Happiness. The majority of the population lives in rural areas where 29% live below the poverty line (World Bank Group, 2007). Most rural areas are located at least several days walk from the nearest roads. In this isolated country, most of its residents are isolated themselves. This means that Bhutanese villagers are left to fend for themselves and live off the land as best they can. They sustain themselves with the crops they produce through subsistence agriculture.