Environmental and Social Management Plan for Jomotsangkha Wildlife Sanctuary, 2021

The 2021 ESMP for Jomotsangkha Wildlife Sanctuary (JWS) outlines mitigation strategies for five key activities: staff quarter construction, waterhole and salt lick improvement, lowland grassland restoration, river embankment construction, and outpost maintenance. It integrates Bhutanese national law with WWF's Social Safeguards Integrated Policies and Procedures (SIPP), prioritizing the more stringent WWF standards in cases of discrepancy, particularly regarding compensation for non-title land users and community consultation. The plan details specific risks such as increased poaching at improved waterholes, human-wildlife conflict in elephant habitats, and occupational health and safety for workers, providing a structured monitoring framework and a dedicated budget of USD 3,330 for mitigation measures.

• The Jomotsangkha Wildlife Sanctuary (JWS), formerly known as Khaling Wildlife Sanctuary, covers 362.49 sq.km in the Samdrup Jongkhar district of south-eastern Bhutan and is the country's second smallest naturally protected area.
• JWS serves as a habitat for several keystone and flagship species, including tigers, common leopards, elephants, and gaur, as well as critically endangered species such as the Lady Slipper and Chinese Pangolin.
• The project implements a hierarchy of regulations where WWF’s Social Safeguards Integrated Policies and Procedures (SIPP) prevail over Royal Government of Bhutan (RGoB) laws if the WWF requirements are more extensive, specifically regarding the eligibility of non-title land users for compensation and the necessity of community consultations.
• Planned improvements to waterholes and salt licks are identified as a major long-term risk for increasing poaching, as these sites become hotspots for gathering animals.
• Lowland grassland restoration involves the removal of invasive, non-palatable plant species—including Lantana camara, Chromolaena odorata, Pogostemon benghalensis, Ageratina adenophora, and Mekania micrantha—using mechanical removal and controlled burning.
• The construction of a river protection wall along the Jomo River is intended to prevent flooding risks to the Park Range Office and Shiv Mandir, though it is noted as a major long-term risk for the disturbance of natural aquatic habitats.
• The ESMP allocates a specific budget for mitigation measures from the ESS Fund totaling USD 3,330, in addition to the individual activity budgets.
• To prevent poaching, the project explicitly avoids public consultation and disclosure of locations for habitat management works such as salt licks, waterholes, and grasslands, as these sites are deep within the forest.
• Occupational health and safety (OHS) standards for workers include the provision of mandatory safety gear (helmets, gloves, boots, and reflective vests) and strict adherence to COVID-19 prevention protocols.

APA

WWF International (2021). Environmental and Social Management Plan for Jomotsangkha Wildlife Sanctuary, 2021. https://files.worldwildlife.org/wwfcmsprod/files/Publication/file/4vwqidibdi_JWS_ESMP_2021.pdf

Chicago

WWF International. Environmental and Social Management Plan for Jomotsangkha Wildlife Sanctuary, 2021. 2021. https://files.worldwildlife.org/wwfcmsprod/files/Publication/file/4vwqidibdi_JWS_ESMP_2021.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=WWF International |title=Environmental and Social Management Plan for Jomotsangkha Wildlife Sanctuary, 2021 |date=2021 |url=https://files.worldwildlife.org/wwfcmsprod/files/Publication/file/4vwqidibdi_JWS_ESMP_2021.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{wwfinternational2021environmental, author = {{WWF International}}, title = {{Environmental and Social Management Plan for Jomotsangkha Wildlife Sanctuary, 2021}}, institution = {WWF International}, year = {2021}, url = {https://files.worldwildlife.org/wwfcmsprod/files/Publication/file/4vwqidibdi_JWS_ESMP_2021.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }