BHUTAN THE MOST IMPORTANT CONSERVATION STORY YOU’VE NEVER HEARD

Bhutan has a constitutional mandate to maintain 60% forest cover and manages a connected network of 10 protected areas covering 5 million acres. However, this system faces threats from poaching, illegal logging, human-wildlife conflict, and a declining workforce as youth migrate to cities. Additionally, the region is highly vulnerable to climate change, experiencing melting glaciers and intense rainstorms. To address these challenges and a decrease in foreign aid, WWF and the Bhutanese government have launched 'Bhutan for Life', a project finance model seeking $35 million to $45 million to fund enforcement, wildlife monitoring, and community support over 15 years until the system becomes self-sustaining.

• Bhutan's constitution legally mandates that 60% of the country's land must remain under forest cover permanently.
• The country maintains an intact network of 10 protected areas covering 5 million acres, making it the only country where all protected areas are connected to allow free wildlife movement.
• Bhutan's forests provide global climate benefits by sequestering more than 6.3 million tons of carbon dioxide.
• Conservation efforts are threatened by demographic shifts, as over 60% of the population is under 34 and increasingly migrating to cities for skilled labor, leaving fewer stewards in rural protected areas.
• External pressures include increased poaching and illegal logging that exceed current enforcement capacities, as well as rising human-wildlife conflicts.
• The Eastern Himalayas region faces severe climate change impacts, specifically alarming rates of glacial melt and intense rainstorms causing floods and landslides.
• The 'Bhutan for Life' initiative is a project finance model seeking a fundraising goal of $35 million to $45 million to support conservation over 15 years until the government can fully assume costs.

APA

Roberts, C. (2015). BHUTAN THE MOST IMPORTANT CONSERVATION STORY YOU’VE NEVER HEARD. WWF International. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/659/nerggylwj_Bhutan_storybook.pdf

Chicago

Roberts, Carter. BHUTAN THE MOST IMPORTANT CONSERVATION STORY YOU’VE NEVER HEARD. WWF International, 2015. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/659/nerggylwj_Bhutan_storybook.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Roberts |first1=Carter |title=BHUTAN THE MOST IMPORTANT CONSERVATION STORY YOU’VE NEVER HEARD |publisher=WWF International |date=2015 |url=https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/659/nerggylwj_Bhutan_storybook.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{roberts2015bhutan, author = {Roberts, Carter}, title = {{BHUTAN THE MOST IMPORTANT CONSERVATION STORY YOU’VE NEVER HEARD}}, institution = {WWF International}, year = {2015}, url = {https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/659/nerggylwj_Bhutan_storybook.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }