Bhutan for Life Environmental and Social Management Plan for Biological Corridor 4

The document outlines the environmental and social safeguards for Biological Corridor 4 (BC 4) in Bhutan, focusing on two primary activities planned for 2024-2025: the enhancement of lowland grassland at Pirchen and the construction of a Range Office at Shingkhar. It establishes a framework for managing occupational health and safety, waste, and community grievances, ensuring compliance with both Royal Government of Bhutan (RGoB) laws and WWF's Social Safeguards Integrated Policies and Procedures (SIPP).

• Biological Corridor 4 (BC 4) is the largest biological corridor in Bhutan, covering 594 sq.km with an elevation range of 228-4570 masl, and supports 94 species of vascular plants, 25 species of mammals, and 150 species of birds.
• The project identifies two specific activities for July 2024 – June 2025: the enhancement of 4 hectares of lowland grassland at Pirchen (budgeted at Nu. 150,000.00) and the construction of a Range Office at Shingkhar on 60 decimal of institutional land (budgeted at Nu. 5,500,000.00).
• Where discrepancies exist between the Royal Government of Bhutan (RGoB) laws and WWF’s Social Safeguards Integrated Policies and Procedures (SIPP), the WWF SIPP prevails, particularly regarding the eligibility of non-title holders for compensation and the requirement for extensive community consultations.
• Potential impacts for the Pirchen grassland activity include occupational health and safety hazards, accidental forest fires during debris burning, and the regrowth of non-palatable species; mitigation includes providing PPE and using controlled burning techniques.
• The construction of the Shingkhar Range Office is expected to generate solid waste, dust, and noise pollution, and present occupational health and safety risks; mitigation measures include restricting operations to 7am – 7pm and installing waste bins.
• A multi-tiered Grievance Redressal Mechanism (GRM) is established, allowing stakeholders to report issues via the BFL-specific mechanism (through gewog or forest offices), the WWF Grievance Mechanism (via a Project Complaints Officer), or the GCF Independent Review Mechanism.

APA

WWF International (2024). Bhutan for Life Environmental and Social Management Plan for Biological Corridor 4. https://files.worldwildlife.org/wwfcmsprod/files/Publication/file/4i4e2rafea_BC4_ESMP_2024.pdf

Chicago

WWF International. Bhutan for Life Environmental and Social Management Plan for Biological Corridor 4. 2024. https://files.worldwildlife.org/wwfcmsprod/files/Publication/file/4i4e2rafea_BC4_ESMP_2024.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=WWF International |title=Bhutan for Life Environmental and Social Management Plan for Biological Corridor 4 |date=2024 |url=https://files.worldwildlife.org/wwfcmsprod/files/Publication/file/4i4e2rafea_BC4_ESMP_2024.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{wwfinternational2024bhutan, author = {{WWF International}}, title = {{Bhutan for Life Environmental and Social Management Plan for Biological Corridor 4}}, institution = {WWF International}, year = {2024}, url = {https://files.worldwildlife.org/wwfcmsprod/files/Publication/file/4i4e2rafea_BC4_ESMP_2024.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }