CONSERVATION THREATS



espite its ecological wealth, Bhutan has one of the poorest economies in the world. Although RGOB recognizes the need to raise the living standards of the Bhutanese people, there is little Bhutan can trade with the outside world to pay for its development efforts, and most development projects are funded with foreign assistance. Paradoxically, the easiest way for Bhutan to close the trade deficit and curb the country's dependence on foreign assistance is to aggressively promote timber and hydropower exports. This would lead to environmental degradation and eventually undermine Bhutan's ability to raise and maintain its standard of living.

In spite of this predicament, RGOB remains committed to conservation and sustainable development, integrating environmental considerations into its Five-Year Development Plans. However, even the most cautious approach to development can have negative environmental side-effects. Better health care and living standards have raised the population growth rate to 3.1 per cent, and the growing population will soon put greater pressure on Bhutan's natural resources. Approximately 90 per cent of the population is engaged in agriculture, although only 16 per cent of the land is permanently cultivable; shifting cultivation and overgrazing have already caused environmental damage, and the per capita rate of fuelwood consumption is one of the highest in the world.

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Copyright 1996, The World Wide Fund For Nature