Conservation Biology and Bhutan

The rate of population growth in the world is very high compared to 1000 years ago. The need for more food, more cloth, and more shelter arises with an increase in population, which ultimately leads to the exploitation of natural resources. In 1798 Thomas Malthus warned in his book, ‘An Essay on the Principle of Populations’, about the danger of exponential growth of human population while the resources only increase arithmetically. With changing times, people felt the need to protect the biodiversity and preserve it for the future generation, giving birth to the concept of Sustainable Development. Without proper knowledge of the world’s biological diversity - its amazing range of species, its complex biological communities, and the genetic variation within species--is not possible. Conservation Biology is the multidisciplinary science that has been developed to address their loss of biological diversity. It investigates and describes the diversity of the living world. It tries to understand the effect of anthropogenic activities on the environment. It focuses on practical approaches to protecting and restoring biological diversity.

The Wildlife Map of Bhutan

Bhutan, the Buddhist Kingdom buffered between two giant powerful nations, India to the West, South, and East, and China to North is rich in natural resources. Being rich in natural resources, Bhutan is not able to describe all the species that occur in her country. The idea of conservation biology is to assess and conserve biological diversity. The world’s biological diversity is numerous and we are able to assess only around 1.3 million species out of 8.7 million species. Some of the species go extinct without being discovered and some species are extant even when it is declared extinct. 86 % of existing species on Earth and 91 % species in the ocean still await description. Bhutan does not have the complete data of the existing species in the world that occurs in Bhutan. Bhutan is blessed with rich biological diversity and she has 71 % of her land under forest cover. Bhutan is located in the Eastern Himalayas which has been identified as a global biodiversity hotspot and is one of the carbon-negative countries in the world. Bhutan is leading in environmental conservation but we are lacking behind in investigating and describing the diversity of the living world that is found in Bhutan. The Reason could be; fewer field experts; community-based knowledge / traditional knowledge; Illegal poachers and loggers.

Bhutan has excellent data for birds and mammals because these species are relatively large and well-studied but their extinction rate is quite high. There are very few or no examples of extinction from Bhutan because Bhutan lacks data of biodiversity from many hundreds of years ago. The pink-headed duck (Netta caryophyllacea) was found in small numbers in parts of Northern India, Burma, and Bhutan and was last recorded in India in 1935. This is the only extinct species I found in the literature that is said to be found in Bhutan in past and is now extinct.

Anthropogenic activities affect the environment and trigger the extinction of species. One of the greatest threats environment faces is anthropogenic activities. Human reproduction, overconsumption, overexploitation of natural resources, pollution, deforestation, and industrialization are some of the activities that cause damage (directly and indirectly) to the environment. As the population of a nation or a state increases, the need to feed, shelter and provide basic needs also increases. To meet the demand from the increasing population, raw materials are extracted from nature. Over-exploitation of natural resources affects the environment drastically. The forested land is cleared for agriculture to feed the growing population, the rate of deforestation increases. As the rate of deforestation increases, the endangered species that are not known to the scientific community tend to get extinct, because endangered species usually consist of just a few populations or even a single population. When we tend to feed a large population, more industries are needed to produce foods ultimately resulting in the generation of waste. There is no problem with degradable waste but non-degradable waste creates a hindrance in the conservation of the environment. Most of the waste tends to get dumped either in the river system or dumped in a forested area, which proves toxic to the marine and terrestrial ecosystems. The burning of waste and agricultural debris contributes to global climate change. Oceanic oil spill kills millions of fish species and birds that feed on smaller fishes.

 

In Bhutan, the rapid construction of infrastructure facilities is proving/causing a threat to the environment. Most of the population depends upon agriculture and the waste from agricultural activities is poorly managed. The chemicals and fertilizers used in agriculture are destroying the soil beyond replacement. The chemical fertilizers are not only affecting the soil, but it is also polluting the groundwater and the river water. The chemical gets into water and eutrophication takes place which promotes algal bloom that blocks light from getting into the water causing harm to the marine plants and animals. Another issue in Bhutan is the improper disposal of waste. We feel proud to say that we are the only carbon negative country in the world, and we are living in Gross National Happiness (GNH) country to the outside world, but are we seriously responsible for the conservation of the environment as an individual level? We tend to think that throwing a piece of paper or waste won’t matter much, but in reality, we are contributing to environmental issues or we are even contributing to the extinction of particular species. I feel care for the environment should come from wisdom, not knowledge.

Putting theory into practice will help lower the extinction risk of biodiversity. Due to human-caused environmental issues, we are losing several species of wild flora and fauna. To protect and restore biological diversity, the International Organizations, Non-Governmental Organizations, Initiatives, Legislation and environmental activates are joining hands and collaborating in tackling the environmental issues to save mother nature. Some of the organizations that are into protecting plants and animals from extinction; International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN); World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF); Save the Frogs; Save the Elephants; Gorilla Doctor; United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP); Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC); Green Peace; Friend of the Earth. The international organizations provide ideas, knowledge, and funds to tackle and solve environmental issues.

In Bhutan, wise leaders have always focused on the conservation of the natural environment and sustainable use of resources. The Constitution of the Royal Kingdom of Bhutan mandates it to keep 60% of its land under forest cover for all time to come. Some of the organizations that are into conservation in Bhutan; Royal Society for the Protection of Nature (RSPN); Bhutan Trust Fund for Environmental Conservation (BTFEC); Department of Forest and Park Services (DoFPS); Bhutan Ecological Society; Bhutan Birdlife Society; Clean Bhutan; Ugyen Wangchuck Institute for Conservation and Environmental Research (UWICER). The laws, Acts, policies, and the legislation of government help in the conservation of nature.

The environment is very crucial for survival. The food we eat, the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the entire thing that we are using is the product of nature, and to preserve and conserve it for future generation falls upon us. We have to use the resources but that doesn’t mean using them in an unsustainable way. We are the strongest and smartest species in the ecosystem, and this smartness should be used in the conservation of biodiversity. We have to be the part of a solution, not the part of a problem. Conservationists, researchers, and students that are interested and are in love with biodiversity should assess those species that are not assessed before as it would contribute to the country’s data, should work on providing solutions/suggestions to tackle environmental issues created as a result of anthropogenic activities, and try restoring the ecosystem back.