Climate Change Reporting: Impact of Climate on Rural Communities in Bhutan Climate Change Reporting: Impact of Climate on Rural Communities in Bhutan Climate Change Reporting: Impact of Climate on Rural Communities in Bhutan | 1 | Contents Haaps fear extinction of yak herding practice 24 Conserving water resources with PES, an example from Yakpugang 33 Trading White Gold 36 Background Selected grantees with the mentors for A fungus, A Community and 05 Climate Change Reporting Grant Features its Culture 39 Water shortage a national The lost mandarin growers concern 07 of Bhutan 44 Pangtse shing benefits rural communities but faces threat 11 from deforestation Containing our glacier-lake 15 ticking time bombs Danger of wrathful waters 21 in Lhuentse ᭴་讐་蝴ན་བ讟ན་གནས་ཐབས་轴་ སྤྱོད་འ䍴ས་ལམ་轴གས་ག筲་བ杴གས། | 2 | Climate Change Reporting: Climate Change Reporting: | 3 | Impact of Climate on Rural Communities in Bhutan ༢༩ Impact of Climate on Rural Communities in Bhutan Background >> Selected grantees with the mentors for Climate Change Reporting Grant Bhutan Media Foundation (BMF) completed its first round of Climate Change Reporting (CCR) Grant within the period of four months from August to November, 2020. The main objective of CCR Grant is to produce well-researched, in-depth stories on the impact of climate change on vulnerable rural communities of Bhutan. The grant has sent the eight reporters across the length and breadth of the country pursuing various climate change stories. Travelling across rural Bhutan is always challenging. This year, it was made worse by travel restrictions due to COVID-19. Yet, the reporters persevered and the result is a critical mass of stories climate change stories. The stories were also possible due to the guidance of three mentors who sharpened the focus, improved the structure, and added depth to the stories. In the second round of the grant, the same grantees will link their climate change stories with the public policies of the country, thus completing the narrative. A total of eight stories, including two documentaries, were produced and published/ aired across the Bhutanese media. The Climate Change Reporting Grant is funded by Earth Journalism Network under the project titled ‘Linking Climate Change BHUTAN MEDIA FOUNDATION | 2020 | Reporting with Public Policy’. Climate Change Reporting: Climate Change Reporting: | 4 | Impact of Climate on Rural Communities in Bhutan Impact of Climate on Rural Communities in Bhutan | 5 | The lost mandarin growers of Bhutan Sonam Penjor, Reporter Bhutan Times | 15 November 2020 range is no longer colorful Because of the perennial drop in now. production pattern, which almost seems irreparable and the constant efforts put in Farmers growing by the government to help people adapt mandarin around the to better practices through advocacy, countryO are lost like never before facing locals generally attribute the reason to an uncertainty about growing the once global warming. Lhawang Dorji says reliable source of cash income. For more global warming has resulted in erratic than a decade now, the fruit has been rainfall, which has mainly triggered the attracting new diseases and the trees have decrease in production as well as the started beating altitudes and the yield has falling quality of the yields. >> Selected grantees with the mentors for Climate Change Reporting Grant been going down making no economic sense to continue growing the once Almost sentimental, a mandarin famed cash crop. grower from Tashiding Gewog in Dagana, Samdrup Dorji, 56, reminisces how his Despite efforts made by the 300 plant-orchard used to bring enough government, mandarin growers don’t cash to last his family of five for a whole know how to adapt. year. Production soon fell and the yield became inconsistent. He also lost some The Chairperson of Dagana parts of the orchard to citrus greening in Dzongkhag Tshogdu, Lhawang Dorji, 2015 by when he realized that he could recalls explicitly how most of the not continue growing mandarin. mandarin growers used to hire “trucks” to take the fruit to Phuentsholing in the Following a government advocacy to past. “Now most growers only hire Bolero focus on cardamom, he converted his pickup trucks,” he lamented and added, orchard to growing cardamom together “and for many growers, it is a challenge to with his neighbors who made the same even fill up one Bolero truck.” decision. “We also started to grow litchi, avocado and mangoes,” he said. This year, Climate Change Reporting: Climate Change Reporting: | 6 | Impact of Climate on Rural Communities in Bhutan Impact of Climate on Rural Communities in Bhutan | 7 | he is worried nonetheless because his emotional reasons as the fruit trees had few pockets where the fruit is still giving a cardamom yield has also started dying. been the legacy of their family for more reason of hope to growers. “We are really doomed,” he said. than one hundred years.” With few exceptions, Over the hillocks of Dorokha in Hundreds of kilometres eastwards to most mandarin In Mendrelgang in Tsirang, Sangay Samste, a young and robust mandarin Shumar in Pemagatshel, Thinpay Sherab, Lethro, 45, still grows about 100 grower, Khesar Dhakal, 27, recounted 68, converted his 4-acre mandarin growers are looking for mandarin trees but says he is very that a few years ago many growers fell orchard a decade back to grow fruits alternatives as they are doubtful that the yield would bring in down the old trees when they realized like avocado, pomegranate, mango, and cash income. He attributes the main that it was not bearing fruit and replaced pineapple. Once a proud mandarin plagued by decreasing reason to erratic rain- fall and admits that it with new saplings most of which grower, he said the mandarin trees started the growing mandarin is not as profitable has come of age to bear fruit. “I expect dying for no reason. “I still don’t know production, emergence as in the past. bountiful produce from this year for every the reason but I doubt global warming,” of multiple diseases, resident of Dorokha,” an optimist Khesar he says. In Tsirang, the annual mandarin said. trees dying for unknown production in 2019 was 3,388 MT, which His orchard had about 1,000 was a decrease from the previous year that An effective way to improve mandarin trees and it fetched him an reasons and many more. saw 4,300 MT. Some major challenges in productivity is by providing balanced average of about Nu 200,000 more than growing mandarin in Tsirang dzongkhag manure and timely fertilization because a decade ago, which made him financially include deteriorating soil condition, old productivity is directly linked with comfortable. It all ended abruptly. village under Martshalla Gewog in age of trees, poor management and pests orchard soil fertility level, said the Thinpay Sherab noticed that mandarin Samdrup Jongkhar, a university graduate, and diseases, said the District Agriculture Program Director for Agriculture trees were beating altitudes and growing Ugyen Dorji, 42, wonders how mandarin Officer, Dorji Gyeltshen. Research and Development Centre, in much colder areas where it never grew cultivation has literally died down in his Bajo, Pema Chofil. He attributed the in the past “and it started dying in our village and also neighbouring villages in The Gup of Tashiding Gewog in declining mandarin yield in Bhutan to areas which was historically al- ways ideal the gewog. “More than two decades ago, Dagana, Namgay Pelden, said that people “improper and inadequate manuring place to grow mandarin.” everyone in the gewog grew mandarin are giving up mandarin cultivation and and fertilization under rain-fed farming and it was the most reliable source of cash moving on to grow other fruits. She said aggravated by pests and diseases.” He said With farm roads connecting Shumar income,” He recollects, “today, only few that growers could still produce good mandarin performs best in sandy loam only in 2012, Thinpay Sherab fondly growers remain and everyone has moved yield if all advices of agriculture experts soils with pH ranging from 5.5 to 6.5. recollects his entire life story of growing on to cultivating ginger,” and emotionally are followed. Generally, soils with low nutrient content the fruit, carrying it personally and on adds, “Mandarin business is dead.” Ugyen will have high response to fertilizer Even district agriculture offices horse backs to the nearest road point and Dorji says that villagers could no longer application than soil with high nutrient are constrained to offer effective then transporting it to Samdrup Jongkhar hold on to cultivating mandarin as the content. interventions to growers. The District to auction it for export. crop had become unreliable to fetch cash Agriculture Officer of Dagana, D C income. “Production drastically dropped, As early as 2004, an executive order of “I often fantasize how we would have Bhandari said that District offices often a range of diseases crept in, quality the agriculture ministry establishing the conducted our mandarin business today lack the capacity to carry out detailed became inferior, trees started dying and National Citrus Program acknowledged with the roads connecting our village. research for declining production. started growing at much higher altitudes, that mandarin has been grown in the It would have been such a lucrative country for more than a 100 years and and it made no sense to continue growing While most mandarin growers all business,” he shrugs. notes that the production is low and the fruit,” he said, “those who continue across the southern parts of the country singles out two primary reasons – poor Going further east to Kakpadung growing mandarin do so because of face the similar predicament, there are Climate Change Reporting: Climate Change Reporting: | 8 | Impact of Climate on Rural Communities in Bhutan Impact of Climate on Rural Communities in Bhutan | 9 | orchard management and diseases.