A Profile of Donor Supported Projects in the Renewable Natural Resource (RNR) Sector Policy & Planning Division Ministry of Agriculture & Forests Royal Government of Bhutan 5/22/2015 1 | P a g e A Profile of Donor Supported Projects in the Renewable Natural Resources (RNR) Sector Policy and Planning Division Ministry of Agriculture & Forests Thimphu BHUTAN December 2015 2 | P a g e Fourth edition Produced with support from – EU RNR-SSP Compiled by Ms. Bindu M Tamang Correct citation: PPD 2015: The RNR Sector – Donor Support Project profiles, Policy & Planning Division, Ministry of Agriculture and Forests, Thimphu 3 | P a g e Preface The Ministry of Agriculture and Forests often called as “The RNR Sector” having majority of the population’s (69 percent) livelihood depending on farming continues to be one of the most important sector of the Bhutanese economy for economic growth and poverty reduction. The 11th Five Year Plan (2013-2018), in the awake of the trade deficit and the increase in the global food prices, has placed the sector at the center of the development agenda. The sector has goals to achieve a green economic growth, inclusive social development, poverty alleviation and climate smart sustainable management and utilization of natural resources through the following objectives: Enhance food and nutrition security Enhance sustainable rural livelihood Accelerate RNR sector growth by 4 percent Promote sustainable management and utilization of natural resources Bhutan has been able to meet the current expenditures through domestic revenue however the major developmental agenda as capital investment are still determined by the availability of the external development partners support. Apart from the financial assistance, other elements such as expertise, human resource development, technologies, equipment and other technical assistance are also crucial for the sector to achieve the 11th FYP goals. Therefore, building global partnership and capacity have been very useful and beneficial for our Ministry. Towards achieving the goals and objectives of the 11th FYP the contribution and support from the donor agencies such as International Fund for Agriculture development (IFAD), European Union (EU), Japan, Government of India (GoI), Global Environment Fund (GEF), World Bank (WB), Helvetas Swiss Inter- cooperation, SDC, DANIDA, WWF, BTFEC, FAO, UNDP, BTFEC, Australia, Austria, UNIDO and many others have been very vital and would continue to be so. 4 | P a g e During the 10th Five Year Plan about 61% of the capital budgets have been supported by the Donor agencies. Therefore, in order to allow the decision makers and the planners to prioritize and mobilize the resources in the RNR Sector and also to allow the donors to have a clear picture of how their support is being managed and utilized, the Policy and Planning Division of the Ministry since 2005, has started consolidating all the donor support projects for the RNR Sector. “A Profile of Donor Supported Projects in the Renewable Natural Resource (RNR) Sector 2015” is the fourth of its kind developed with financial support from the European Union (EU- RNR SSP). We hope the information shared through this publication would once again prove useful for our decision makers and the donors on how the support and contribution from the donor agencies are used by the Ministry. Lastly, we would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the continued support of our development partners and look forward for their continued cooperation and commitments in achieving the goals and aspiration of our Ministry. Kencho Thinley Chief Planning Officer Policy & Planning Division 5 | P a g e Table of Contents 1. Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 8 2. Summary of the Projects .................................................................................................... 11 3. Department of Agriculture ......................................................................................... 23 3.1 Adapting Integrated Crop Management technologies .......................................................................... 23 3.2 Commercialization of Vegetable Production ....................................................................................... 26 3.3 Cereal and Vegetable Oil Seed Crop ................................................................................................... 28 3.4 Improvement of Irrigation Infrastructure and Arable Land Development ........................................... 29 4. Department of Livestock ............................................................................................ 32 4.1 Livestock Support Project (SLDI Phase II) .............................................................................................. 32 4.2 Fish Fauna Assessment ............................................................................................................................ 34 4.3 Agriculture and Livestock Support Programme ....................................................................................... 35 4.4 Natural Resource Management in the Highlands ..................................................................................... 38 4.5 Reviving Degraded Rangeland Northern Frontier .................................................................................... 39 4.6 Securing Rangeland soil carbon within the TNP...................................................................................... 41 4.7 Conservation of Endangered Golden Mahseer ......................................................................................... 43 4.8 National Dog Population Management and Rabies Control ..................................................................... 44 4.9 Bhutan Biogas Project Phase II ................................................................................................................ 46 5. Department of Forests and Park Services .................................................................. 49 5.1 Participatory Forest Management Project (PFMP III).............................................................................. 49 5.2 Compensatory afforestration along Mangdechu ....................................................................................... 51 5.3 Conservation and Sustainable Management of Mangdechu Watershed ................................................... 52 5.4 Strengthening the Role of Communities in Climate Change Mitigation .................................................. 54 5.5 Punatsangchu Afforestation Project ......................................................................................................... 56 5.6 National Forest Inventory ......................................................................................................................... 58 5.7 Aquatic Biodiversity Assessment in Mangdechu ..................................................................................... 59 5.8 Community water scarcity and climate change vulnerability in Kurichhu ............................................... 61 5.9 Conservation of the Northern protected area complex (NPAC) in Bhutan .............................................. 62 5.10 Strengthening Resource Monitoring, Patrolling and Service Delivery of JDNP .................................... 64 5.11 Sustainable Management of Resources inside Jigme Dorji National Park ............................................. 67 5.12 Development of sustainable community based eco-tourism in Kheng Dunmang .................................. 70 5.13 Embracing interior zoning paradigm for scientific wildlife management in PNP .................................. 72 5.14 National Tiger Survey ............................................................................................................................ 74 5.15 Revision of Management plan for Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary ............................................................. 76 5.16 Payment for Environment Services and REDD+ ................................................................................... 77 5.17 BC-CAP ................................................................................................................................................. 79 5.18 Regional Wildlife Project ....................................................................................................................... 82 5.19 Strengthening Regional Cooperation for Wildlife Protection in Asia Project ........................................ 83 5.20 Sustainable Financing for Biodiversity Conservation and Natural Resource Management (SFBCNRM) ........................................................................................................................................................................ 87 5.21 Sustaining Ecosystems for Livelihoods: Eco-Life (TRAMCA) ............................................................. 92 5.22 Sustainable Rural Biomass Energy (SRBE) ........................................................................................... 94 6. Department of Agriculture Marketing and Cooperatives .......................................... 98 6.1 Strengthening Agricultural Marketing & Trade ....................................................................................... 98 7. BAFRA .................................................................................................................... 100