The Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in South Asia at the eastern end of the Himalayas. In the north it borders China and in the south, east and west, India. It is separated from Nepal by Sikkim.
In the early 17th century, it existed as a patchwork of minor warring fiefdoms. At that time, the lama and military leader Nagawang Namgyal, the first Zhabdrung Rinpoche ( a title used when referring to or addressing great lamas in Tibet), was fleeing religious persecution in Tibet. He unified the area and cultivated a distinct Bhutanese identity.
In the early 20th century, Bhutan came into contact with the British Empire and retained strong bilateral relations with India upon its independence.
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Fog shrouded temples nestling among the mountains is the image that comes to mind when you think of Bhutan. It is a seldom travelled destination, and the people of that country prefer it that way.
The Bhutanese have proved time and time again that they are different. For one, they base their political decisions on a Gross National Happiness (GNH) index. They do not go by economic growth like other countries do.
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In 2016, they became the world’s first country to become carbon neutral. What does that mean? As you know, carbon dioxide is the leading greenhouse gases produced by humans that has contributed to climate change. Most countries produce more carbon dioxide than they can absorb. So, the gases that are not absorbed makes its way into the atmosphere.
Bhutan on the other hand, has a tree cover that covers 72 per cent of the country. It absorbs over six million tons of carbon annually, while producing only 1.5 million tons.
How did they manage this? The Constitution of the country was amended to include that forested areas should not drop below 60 per cent. A ban was put on export logging. Early on, Bhutan realised that the condition of the environment would be the focal point in human happiness. So, environmental protection became the priority in Bhutan’s political agenda.
They followed a simple option — stopped destroying their environment and started to protect it.