environment

Vol. 11 No. 1 2004
natural resources has become a real challenge. The
livelihood of the rural population has improved
significantly during the past 20 years; most villages
have improved access to health, educational and
agricultural extension services but some 30 percent of
rural households may remain vulnerable, with
consumption levels close to the poverty line.
Rural-urban migration is a serious problem. A majority
of Bhutanese live in rural areas but about 20 percent of
the population now lives in urban areas. Centres like
Thimphu, the capital with a population of almost 50,000,
and Phuentsholing, the most important border post for
goods flowing to/from Bhutan, have been growing very
fast recently.
Economic development through rural access
One of the keys to economic development of the country
is the provision of an efficient and cost-effective
transport system for freight and passengers. This is
particularly important in the context of Bhutan's difficult
physical environment. The country is land-locked and
almost entirely located in the various mountain ranges
of the Himalayas (see figure 1), which makes it highly
dependent on transport for its international trade, and
makes the provision of domestic road transport links
difficult, especially in the north of the country.
Because of the mountainous terrain, with altitudes
between 200 to 7500 meter, the area of land suitable for
agriculture is very limited and the population is
distributed in remote scattered settlements. The above
factors make the construction and maintenance of roads
and the delivery of health and education services
extremely difficult and costly.
The Royal Government of Bhutan's (RGoB) series of
Five Year Plans (FYP) have since 1961 therefore placed
strong emphasis on improving the country's transport
infrastructure, and one of the most important results is
a road network that has now been extended to cover all
of the main towns and valleys.
Bhutan has about 3,800 km of road network at present,
but many rural communities are still cut off from the
road network and depend on animal and head-load
transport. In about one-third of all Geogs (Blocks), no
part of the Geog is connected to feeder roads, and in
another one-third only few parts are connected to them.
In this situation, farmers remain dependent on
subsistence agriculture, with no access to markets or to
the education and health care services that have been
provided, and there is a need to expand the national
road network to enhance their lives.
At the same time, travel on the National Highways
remains slow and costly, and existing roads may have
to be upgraded or improved. Maintenance of the existing
infrastructure is an equally important component of the
development and management of the road system.
Priorities for the next 20 years therefore include both
the further development of the national trunk roads and
of the network of district and feeder roads, and the
expansion of access to rural areas and to vulnerable
groups through power tiller and farm roads.
The Middle Path
Bhutan has realized the possible problems that could
be caused by uncontrolled economic development. It
has also recognized the importance of sustainable
development with its fragile mountain ecosystem and
extremely rich bio-diversity. Accordingly, Bhutan has
chosen the "middle path" where economic development
should not take place at the expense of natural resources.
The Environment Assessment Act, 2002 approved by
the National Assembly, ensures that environment
assessments are conducted for all development
activities that have potentially significant environmental
impact.
Road projects are one of the largest land users in the
country. Inadequate road construction techniques have
a significant impact on the environment and on
sustainability. Road projects can therefore only
commence upon receipt of an environmental clearance
from National Environment Commission. The
implementation of the recommendations of the
Environment Assessment are monitored at site and
penalties imposed wherever lapses have been noted.
The Ninth Plan therefore also states that all road
construction activities will be required to adopt
environmentally sound techniques and conform to the
Environmental Code of Practice for Highways and
Roads.
The EFRC Support Project
In the end of 1999 SNV Bhutan started its support to
the Department of Roads for the implementation of a
World Bank credit for the construction of 122 km of
feeder roads. Since environmental friendly road
construction (EFRC) techniques were still absent in the
country the project focussed on the development of
such techniques and on creating an enabling
environment for EFRC. In 2002 SNV Bhutan, with
support from the Sustainable Development Secretariat
(bi-lateral funding from The Netherlands), decided to
continue it's support to further develop and introduce
the EFRC concept and to further strengthen the
capacity of the Department of Roads and other actors
involved. For this purpose the EFRC Support Project
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