COUNTRY BACKGROUND - Gross National Happiness Commission

Renewable Natural Resources
Table 17.2 Changes in Land Use from 1958-1989
17.6 These figures indicate the following significant changes:
· agricultural area has increased at the same rate as population growth
· degraded forest and other open areas have increased at a more modest rate than increases in
agricultural land, but have risen to almost the same total area
· the area of confirous forest has remained stable
· broadleaved forest area is the most rapidly decreasing category
· the main shift in land use has been from broadleaved forests to arable production and grazing
· estimated decrease in forest cover is 16.7% of the 1958 area and 34.3% over hundreds of years.
17.7 Zonal surveys also indicated that permanently cultivated land is fairly constant by region, and it is
generally considered that all accessible and moderately sloped land is being utilised. The MPFD study found that
the degraded forests are mainly in southern Bhutan, with a large part clustered round human settlements, and
affecting mostly the tropical and sub tropical hardwoods and temperate hardwoods.
Crop ProductionCrop Production
17.8 Bhutan has extremely diverse agricultural conditions due to major differences in altitude and climate as well
as slope and soil characteristics. The country has been divided into 5 agro-ecological zones to group together areas
with similar temperature and rainfall: Temperate, Warm Temperate, Dry Sub Tropical, Humid Sub Tropical and Wet
Sub tropical. (MAP) A wide range of crops are grown depending on cropping conditions and food self sufficiency
requirements. Rice and maize are the principal cereals grown in all zones, on 77% of all cultivable land. Maize
covers the largest crop area, but is relatively more important in sub tropical area of the south.In the Temperate zone
the major crops produced are wheat, buckwheat, potatoes, mustard seed and barley. Rice is the principal wet land
crop in the monsoon season. and where irrigation water is available wetland winter crops include wheat, mustard
seed and potatoes. Dryland crops in the warm temperate zone include wheat, potatoes, mustard. Land is usually
terraced for rice production, while rainfed crop land is not, nor are most orchards. Oranges, cardamom and other
tropical fruits production is concentrated in the south, apples are produced mainly in the temperate area and
potatoes are produced in the mid elevation areas. Substantial areas of dryland have been converted to orchard crops
in response to the higher profits obtained from horticultural crops. Rice is the preferred food crop and many
farmers would wish to convert dry land to wet land to produce more rice.
Livestock ProductionLivestock Production
17.9 Cattle are owned by 95% of households, with average ownership 6-10, varying from 1-30, 3 draft animals,
3 milk animals, 2 horses or mules, 3 pigs and 3 poultry. Mithun is a local name for species Bos frontalis. From land
use point of view reliable livestock figures not available, particularly as migratory herds are not adequately covered
in CSO figures.
Forest Resource UtilisationForest Resource Utilisation
17.10 The forests of Bhutan form an integral part of the farming system, with forest products being used for
fuelwood, fodder, manure and construction materials. The total value of fuelwood taking into account energy value
2
Class ('000 ha) PIS (1958) MPFD (1989)
Agriculture
Broadleaved Forest
Coniferous Forest
Degraded and Other
299
1485
1011
1245
TOTAL 4040 4042
Source: Master Plan for Forestry Development (Draft 1991)
554
1056
1006
1426