Bhutan: A small country that inspires the world

When we think of Bhutan; our mind fills in with a sense of peace and serenity, visualizing monks meditating at the peak of a snowy cliff.

Personally, Dr. Strange came up in my mind, not because of the role played by Cumberbatch rather the place or the ambience aura around him which was filled with unbound peace. Later did I figure this was Nepal and not Bhutan.

You and me know this place for being an epitome of culture tradition, prayer and meditation surrounded by many monasteries with monks. But little do we talk about how this country could provide a model to our last possible hope of climate neutrality.

Now you might be thinking - a country only about the size of a single state of India how could it possibly have an impact on the entire world ? It is not on the impact it created on the world, rather on the brilliance of how the people connected with mother nature that we are yet to learn from. This made Bhutan world's only country to be carbon neutral.

Before we delve into the model, I have to take a moment to appreciate the diligence and commitment of the King and the of Bhutan - Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck also known as the 'Dragon King'. He persuaded the people to accept democracy and taught them how to vote, which made the system amendable so that people will get more power to take decisions for the country. It became a system to observe more of people's power than monarch subjecting the people.

But ironically people were quite confused as to why their monarch was doing this. It was like a situation where the father has let his son live alone. People were confused as to why the change in reforms came all of a sudden. Well, the King believed that they were born into this monarchial system and did not attain this position through merit. In short, he did not feel like he deserved it.

But even today the people of Bhutan see him as a loyal friend or trusted leader more than a king. As a dear friend cares for the happiness of his friend so does the king for his people as he announced Gross Domestic Happiness(GDH) as the country's measure of success and not Gross Domestic Product(GDP). They also boast that the he was the one solely responsible for the climate progress they have achieved today.

Talking about the climate progress achieved by Bhutan; during COP15 first meeting of regarding the climate crisis, Bhutan was just a small country trying to raise their hands amongst the big powerful governments professing they will maintain climate neutrality.

But sadly no one cared, none the less no one paid attention because everyone was busy blaming other for the climate crisis. It was at COP21 that people actually noticed Bhutan and listened to the offers it brought to the table.

-Free electricity to the rural farmers. No more relying on firewood.

-72 percent of their land is under forest cover

-Subsidized electric vehicles

- Afforestation schemes throughout their country

-Connecting major land reserved areas, so the wildlife can to roam around

These are some of the few reforms that made to Bhutan the only country in the world to bind more CO2 than it releases. . Surprisingly it not only attained carbon neutrality, rather it is known to become carbon NEGATIVE. So much so, that it had the ability to export its renewable energy that it generates .

But sadly even though they have contributed the most to reduce the carbon footprint in the world, they are the one to suffer all the devastation like the tsunamis, floods landslides. The state bearing all the cost to maintain the neutrality, but unfortunately all systems are falling apart.

So lessons we can learn from Bhutan :-

1. Never think you're too small or insignificant to speak up for climate crisis

Bhutan yet being one of the smallest countries in the world today, leads the world to change by inspiring many countries restore what they have taken away from nature.

Today us the youth have gained an international voice to speak up for climate goals to protect our only hope for the future. Since we've received the stage and the audience to listen -all we need to do is SPEAK. Spreading awareness to millions more is very important to gain momentum to solve climate change. Age or size should be no barrier for our passion or hope.

2. Wise leader who has a clear vision of the future is important

“As we look to the future, I want to impress upon you three words that come to my mind- EVOLVE, ADAPT, and UPGRADE.”

- HM the King JKNW (18 Aug 2018)

These words by the King, shows how much vision he has for the people of Bhutan. Similarly, we as an individual must the ability have to look at our future and paint a image of what we want to achieve, say within these next 10-20 years. As for climate change, we can already feel the impacts, and if we fail to bring down the carbon emissions in the next 11 years we have to be ready to face nothing but a disastrous end.

3. Trust and hardwork are key for a united struggle

The people put their immense trust on their king, because he was willing to sacrifice his monarchial position for their good. The bond between the Bhutanese community was close-knit. People can truly bond with each other when there is a string of trust attached. This is important when we are to unite in this struggle of climate crisis.

So all I ask of you is to be aware, educate yourself about the climate change and spread awareness to all those who are not aware.

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