5Th Five Year Plan

Chapter I THE LAND AND THE PEOPLE 1.01. The Kingdom of Bhutan has an area of 46,500 sq. kms situated in the eastern Himalayas between 26.5 and 29 degrees north, latitude; and 88.5 and 92 degrees east, longitude. The country is relatively compact, with a maximum north-south distance of 170 kms as the crow flies, and a maximum east-west distance of 300 kms. It is landlocked, bordered east-west by the Indian state of Sikkim, West Bengal and Assam in the south, and Arunachal Pradesh in the east; and by the Tibetan Autonomous Region of China in the north and north-west. The nearest seaport is Calcutta 700 kms away by road from Phuntsholing, the main gateway town. Thimphu, the capital, is in Western Bhutan, about 180 kms by road to the north of Phuntsholing. 1.02. Bhutan's borders are by and large natural ones. The border with Tibet is traditional, following the watershed of the Chumbi Valley in the north-west and the crest of the Himalayas in the north. The southern border with India was established by treaty with the British in the nineteenth century and by and large, follows the line made by the Himalayan foothills with the plains. 1.03. As can be seen from the above description, Bhutan is almost entirely mountainous with flat land limited to the broader river valleys where population is more concentrated and in small sections of the Duars in the south. The mountainous terrain formed formidable barriers between Bhutan and its neighbours and also between the people living in the different river valleys. As a result, Bhutan remained till recently, in a state of almost complete isolation from the outside world. 1.04. Geologically, Bhutan as part of the Himalayan range is relatively young as the Himalayas form the fold mountains resulting from the collision of the northward moving land mass of India with that of Eurasia about 30 million years ago. As a result, the terrain is among the most rugged in the world with altitudes rising from 160 m to over 7,000 m within distances of less than 100 kms and with the intervening land rising and falling by as much as 1,000 m at a time. The country can be divided into three distinct geographical zones--the southern foothills, the 'inner' Himalayas and the higher Himalayas. The southern foothills rise from the plains to heights of about 1,500 m extending to the north by about 20 kms inside Bhutan; the middle part of the Kingdom consisting of the inner Himalayas rise somewhat more gradually to about 3,000 m. This region contains the broader river valleys: Paro, Thimphu, Punakha, Bumthang and Tashigang which comprise the economic and cultural heartland of the Kingdom. The northern region of the Kingdom comprises the main Himalayan range which although less higher than the western Himalayas, nevertheless. rise to heights of over 7,000 m. This area is very sparsely populated. 1.05. Almost all valleys have a swiftly flowing river or stream fed either by perennial snows or the summer monsoons or both. These merge ultimately into four major river systems as they flow south the Ammochu, the Wong Chu, the Sankosh and the Manas with only the Ammochu having its primary source outside Bhutan. The two largest systems are the Manas which drains eastern Bhutan and the Sankosh which drains the area between Bhutan's highest peaks--the Chomo Lhari (7,314 m) in the north-west and the Kula Kangri (7,554 m) in the north. The flows in the rivers are the highest in the monsoon months (June to September) and lowest in winter (December to March). 1.06. The country can be divided into three distinct climatic zones corresponding broadly to the three main geographical divisions. The southern belt has a hot, humid climate with temperatures remaining fairly even throughout the year between 15°C and 30°C with rainfall ranging between 2,500 mm to 5,000 mm in some areas. The middle inner Himalayas has a cool, temperate climate with annual precipitation averaging about 1,000 mm with the western region receiving comparatively higher rainfall. The higher and more northern region has a severe alpine climate with annual precipitation around 400 mm. Much of the precipitation is concentrated in the summer months with the south-west monsoon accounting for 60-90% of the total precipitation. There is, however, substantial variations within these broad ranges and the climate and rainfall characteristics change dramatically from one valley to an adjacent one with consequent sharp changes in the composition of agricultural production. NATURAL RESOURCES 1.07. No comprehensive land use survey has so far been conducted in Bhutan. However, 63% of the country was covered by aerial surveys between 1974 and 1979 with assistance from the Pre-investment Survey of the Government of India primarily to obtain a low density forest profile of the country. Although 37% of the area was omitted from the survey, these were largely un habited areas in the north and north-west. This survey, yielded valuable data on the land use pattern prevailing in Bhutan. 1.08. As can be seen from Table 2, almost half of the area is under natural forest and about 5% is cultivated or inhabited, pasture or shrub account for a little over 4%. Forests constitute the major natural resource of the country with about two thirds of the forest cover comprising quick growing broad leaved varieties mainly in the southern tropical deciduous forests. The inner valleys consist of oak and other deciduous trees giving way to conifers with increasing altitude. Broad leaved tropical hard woods, dominate up to an altitude of 1,000 m and beyond these, up to 3,000 m, are found temperate forests of pine and oak; the latter is concentrated mainly on the southern slopes which receive most of the monsoon rains. Beyond 3,000 m and up to about 4,000 m which is the tree line, valuable reserves of pine, spruce and fir are found. The survey also indicated that the forest cover is relatively evenly spread with 63% of the surveyed area in the north-west under forests and 81% in the south. An examination of the dispersal of the two main categories of forests indicate that 54% of broad leaved species and 8% of conifers are found in the south while in the north, 50% of the forests constitute conifers and only 11% of broad leaved Varieties. Table 2 SURVEY OF LAND USE Percent of Area Percent of Total Land Square Kilometres Surveyed Area* Natural Forest 21,593 74.0 46.4 Cultivated or Inhabited 2,492 8.5 5.4 to Alpine Pasture or 1,924 6.6 4.2 Shrub Barren Land 2,702 9.3 5.8 Under Snow Cover 198 0.7 0.4 Lakes and Water Spreads 150 0.5 0.3 Area under Cloud Cover 117 0.4 0.2 Total 29,176 100.0 *Assuming total land area of 46,500 sq. kms. 1.09. The exploitation of forests at present, however, is low mainly due to lack of accessibility. of the net allowable cut, only about 20% is currently being harvested, a large portion of it to meet household fuel needs. Exploitation is uneven: the relatively accessible forests of the south and those near roads, have been heavily worked while the rest of the cover is more or less intact and overage trees in these areas decay. The Government, however, realises the importance of scientific exploitationto preserve the fragile Himalayan environment which is vital to Bhutan. 1.10. Bhutan also has rich and varied wildlife and is the main home of many rare species. In the south are found elephants, buffalo, tiger, deer and golden langur--a rare species of monkey. Above altitudes of 3,500 m is the home of the snow leopard, musk deer and the blue sheep. 1.11.Although agricultural land comprises about 5% of the total land area, the per capita availability of land is about two hectares. However, given the climate in most parts of the country and the terrain, agricultural productivity is low, but there is considerable potential for the development of horticulture in the inner valleys as well as increasing the productivity of cereals by increasing cropping intensity, specially in the southern regions with increased tapping of the large irrigation potential, coupled with modern inputs. The temperate climate and clear mountain air of the inner valleys is particularly conducive to the development of a significant foundation seed industry. 1.12. Another major resource endowment in Bhutan is the enormous hydro power potential arising out of the steep southern watershed of the Himalayan range. Although no systematic survey has been carried out, the actual potential at the present stage of exploitation is largely academic. If appropriately exploited, power could become the predominant cheap energy source in and could over time, replace the present high dependance on firewood. 1.13. The exploitation of Bhutan's mineral resources which are considerable, is still in its infancy and exploration is both expensive and time consuming due to the terrain and the tectonically disturbed geology of the area. Preliminary investigations carried out, with the assistance of the Geological Survey of India, indicate deposits of limestone, dolomite, coal, gypsum, graphite, copper, lead-zinc, marble, slate and talc. Limestone and dolomite are currently the main minerals being exploited and some quantities are being exported in various forms to India. Limestone is already being processed into cement in a 300 t.p.d.

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