Bhutan is separated from the nearby country of Nepal to the west by the Indian state of Sikkim, and from Bangladesh to the south by the Indian states of Assam and West Bengal.
Bhutan existed as a patchwork of minor warring fiefdoms until the early 17th century, when the area was unified by Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, Sony VAIO VPCZ119L Battery who fled religious persecution in Tibet and cultivated a separate Bhutanese identity. In the early 20th century, Bhutan came into contact with the British Empire, after which Bhutan continued strong bilateral relations with India upon its independence. In 2006, Business Week rated Bhutan the happiest country in Asia and the eighth-happiest in the world, based on a global survey.[9] Sony VAIO VPCZ119R/B Battery Bhutan’s landscape ranges from subtropical plains in the south to the sub-alpine Himalayan heights in the north, with some peaks exceeding 7,000 metres (23,000 ft). The state religion is Vajrayana Buddhism, and the population of 691,141 is predominantly Buddhist, with Hinduism the second-largest religion.[10] Sony VAIO VPCZ119R/S Battery The capital and largest city is Thimphu. In 2007, Bhutan made the transition from absolute monarchy to constitutional monarchy, holding its first general election. Bhutan is a member of the United Nations and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC); it hosted the sixteenth SAARC summit in April 2010. Sony VAIO VPCZ11AFJ BatteryThe total area of the country has been reported as 38,394 square kilometres (14,824 sq mi) since 2002.[1][2] The area had previously been reported as approximately 46,500 km2 (18,000 sq mi) in 1997.
Names similar to Bhutan — including Bottanthis, Bottan, Bottanter — began to appear in Europe around the 1580s. Sony VAIO VPCZ11AGJ Battery Jean-Baptiste Tavernier's 1676 Six Voyages is the first to record the name Boutan. However, in every case, these seem to have been describing not modern Bhutan but the Kingdom of Tibet. The modern distinction between the two did not begin until well into Bogle's 1774 expedition — realizing the differences between the two regions, cultures, and states, Sony VAIO VPCZ11AVJ Battery his final report to the East India Company formally proposed labeling theDruk Desi's kingdom as "Boutan" and the Panchen Lama's as "Tibet". The EIC's surveyor general James Rennellfirst anglicized the French name as Bootan and then popularized the distinction between it and greater Tibet. Sony VAIO VPCZ11CGX/X Battery The precise etymology of Bhutan is unknown, although it quite probably derives from the Tibetan endonym Bod, used for Greater Tibet. It is traditionally taken to be a transcription of the Sanskrit Bhoṭa-anta (भोट-अन्त, "end of Tibet"), in reference to Bhutan's position as the southern extremity of the Tibetan plateau and culture.[13][14] Sony VAIO VPCZ11DGX/SJ Battery Locally, Bhutan has been known by many names. The earliest western records of Bhutan, the 1627 Relacao of the Portuguese Jesuits Estêvão Cacella and João Cabral, records its name variously as Cambirasi (among the Koch Biharis[15]), Potente, and Mon (an endonym for southern Tibet).[12] Sony VAIO VPCZ11FHX/XQ Battery The first time a separate Kingdom of Bhutan did appear on a western map, it did so under its local name as "Broukpa".[12] Others including Lho Mon ("Dark Southland"), Lho Tsendenjong("Southland of the Cypress"), Lhomen Khazhi ("Southland of the Four Approaches") and Lho Men Jong ("Southland of the Herbs). Sony VAIO VPCZ11V9R/B Battery Stone tools, weapons, elephants, and remnants of large stone structures provide evidence that Bhutan was inhabited as early as 2000 BC, although there are no existing records from that time. Historians have theorized that the state of Lhomon (literally, "southern darkness"), or Monyul ("Dark Land", a reference to theMonpa, the aboriginal peoples of Bhutan) may have existed between 500 BC and AD 600. Sony VAIO VPCZ11X9E/B BatteryThe names Lhomon Tsendenjong (Sandalwood Country), and Lhomon Khashi, or Southern Mon (country of four approaches), have been found in ancient Bhutanese and Tibetan chronicles.
Buddhism was first introduced to Bhutan in the 7th century AD. Sony VAIO VPCZ11Z9E/B Battery Tibetan king Songtsän Gampo[20] (reigned 627–49), a convert to Buddhism, ordered the construction of two Buddhist temples, at Bumthang in central Bhutan and at Kyichu (near Paro) in theParo Valley.[21] Buddhism was propagated in earnest[20] in 746[22] under King Sindhu Rāja (also Künjom;[23] Sony VAIO VPCZ125GX/S BatterySendha Gyab; Chakhar Gyalpo), an exiled Indian king who had established a government in Bumthang at Chakhar Gutho Palace.
Buddhist saint Padma Sambhava (also known as Guru Rinpoche) came to Bhutan in in 747. Sony VAIO VPCZ127FC Battery Much of early Bhutanese history is unclear because most of the records were destroyed when fire ravaged the ancient capital, Punakha, in 1827. By the 10th century, Bhutan's political development was heavily influenced by its religious history. Various sub-sects of Buddhism emerged which were patronized by the various Mongol warlords. Sony VAIO VPCZ128GC BatteryAfter the decline of the Yuan Dynasty in the 14th century, these sub-sects vied with each other for supremacy in the political and religious landscape, eventually leading to the ascendancy of the Drukpa sub-sect by the 16th century.
Until the early 17th century, Bhutan existed as a patchwork of minor warring fiefdoms, Sony VAIO VPCZ12M9E/B Battery when the area was unified by the Tibetan lama and military leader Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal who had fled religious persecution in Tibet. To defend the country against intermittent Tibetan forays, Namgyal built a network of impregnable dzong (fortresses), and promulgated the Tsa Yig, a code of law that helped to bring local lords under centralized control. Sony VAIO VPCZ13M9E/B Battery Many such dzong still exist and are active centers of religion and district administration. Portuguese Jesuits Estêvão Cacella and João Cabral were the first recorded Europeans to visit Bhutan, on their way to Tibet. They met Ngawang Namgyal, presented him with firearms,gunpowder and a telescope, and offered him their services in the war against Tibet, but the Shabdrung declined the offer. Sony VAIO VPCZ13V9E/X Battery After a stay of nearly eight months Cacella wrote a long letter from the Chagri Monastery reporting on his travels. This is a rare extant report of the Shabdrung.[28][29] After Ngawang Namgyal's death in 1651, his passing was kept secret for 54 years; after a period of consolidation, Bhutan lapsed into internal conflict. Sony VAIO VPCZ13Z9E/X BatteryIn the year 1711 Bhutan went to war against the Mughal Empire and its Subedars, who restored Koch Bihar in the south. During the chaos that followed, the Tibetans unsuccessfully attacked Bhutan in 1714.[30]
In the 18th century, the Bhutanese invaded and occupied the kingdom of Cooch Behar to the south. Sony VAIO VPCZZZHJ Battery In 1772, Cooch Behar appealed to the British East India Company which assisted them in ousting the Bhutanese and later in attacking Bhutan itself in 1774. A peace treaty was signed in which Bhutan agreed to retreat to its pre-1730 borders. However, the peace was tenuous, and border skirmishes with the British were to continue for the next hundred years. Sony VAIO VPZ117 Battery The skirmishes eventually led to the Duar War (1864–65), a confrontation for control of the Bengal Duars. After Bhutan lost the war, the Treaty of Sinchula was signed between British India and Bhutan. As part of the war reparations, the Duars were ceded to the United Kingdom in exchange for a rent of Rs. 50,000. Sony VAIO VPZ118 BatteryThe treaty ended all hostilities between British India and Bhutan.
During the 1870s, power struggles between the rival valleys of Paro and Tongsa led to civil war in Bhutan, eventually leading to the ascendancy of Ugyen Wangchuck, the ponlop (governor) of Tongsa. Sony VAIO VPZ119 BatteryFrom his power base in central Bhutan, Ugyen Wangchuck defeated his political enemies and united the country following several civil wars and rebellions during 1882–85.[31]
In 1907, an epochal year for the country, Ugyen Wangchuck was unanimously chosen as the hereditary king of the country by an assembly of leading Buddhist monks, Sony VPCM11M1E/B Battery government officials, and heads of important families. The British government promptly recognized the new monarchy, and in 1910 Bhutan signed the Treaty of Punakha, a subsidiary alliance which gave the British control of Bhutan's foreign affairs and meant that Bhutan was treated as an Indian princely state. Sony VPCM11M1E/W Battery This had little real effect, given Bhutan's historical reticence, and also did not appear to affect Bhutan's traditional relations with Tibet. After the new Union of India gained independence from the United Kingdom on 15 August 1947, Bhutan became one of the first countries to recognize India's independence. Sony VPCM12M1E/L BatteryOn 8 August 1949, a treaty similar to that of 1910, in which Britain had gained power over Bhutan's foreign relations, was signed with the newly independent India.[18]
In 1953, King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck established the country's legislature – a 130-member National Assembly – to promote a more democratic form of governance. Sony VPCM12M1E/P Battery In 1965, he set up a Royal Advisory Council, and in 1968 he formed a Cabinet. In 1971, Bhutan was admitted to the United Nations, having held observer status for three years. In July 1972, Jigme Singye Wangchuck ascended to the throne at the age of sixteen after the death of his father, Dorji Wangchuck. Sony VPCM12M1E/W Battery In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the country expelled or forced to leave nearly one fifth of its population in the name of preserving its Tibetan Mahayana Buddhist culture and identity.[32] The Lhotshampas, the ethnic group persecuted by the Bhutanese government, were subject to "harassment, arrests and the burning of ethnic Nepali homes."[33] Sony VPCM13M1E/L Battery The government enacted discriminatory citizenship laws against the Lhotshampas, stripping about one-fifth of its population of citizenship. A harassment campaign escalating in the early 1990s ensued, and afterwards Bhutanese security forces began expelling people after making them renounce claims to their homes and homeland. Sony VPCM13M1E/P Battery A refugee recounted, “The army took all the people from their houses. As we left Bhutan, we were forced to sign the document. They snapped our photos. The man told me to smile, to show my teeth. He wanted to show that I was leaving my country willingly, happily, that I was not forced to leave.”[34] Sony VPCM13M1E/W Battery Due to the violence, Bhutanese of Nepali origin, mainly Hindu, fled their homeland. According to the UNHCR, more than 107,000 Bhutanese refugees living in seven camps in eastern Nepal have been documented as of 2008.[35] After many years in refugee camps, many are now moving to host nations such as Norway, Sony VAIO VPCY115FXBI Battery the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States as refugees. The United States has admitted 30,870 refugees from fiscal years 2008 through 2010.[36] Still, in July 2010, the Bhutanese prime minister, Jigme Y Thinley, called the Bhutanese refugees illegal immigrants.[37] Sony VAIO VPCY118EC BatteryPolitical reform and modernization
King Jigme Singye Wangchuck introduced significant political reforms, transferring most of his administrative powers to the Council of Cabinet Ministers and allowing for impeachment of the King by a two-thirds majority of the National Assembly.[38] Sony VAIO VPCY118GX/BI Battery In 1999, the government lifted a ban on television and the Internet, making Bhutan one of the last countries to introduce television. In his speech, the King said that television was a critical step to the modernisation of Bhutan as well as a major contributor to the country's Gross National Happiness (Bhutan is the only country to measure happiness),Sony VAIO VPCY119FJ/S Batterybut warned that the "misuse" of television could erode traditional Bhutanese values.[40]
A new constitution was presented in early 2005. In December 2005, Jigme Singye Wangchuck announced that he would abdicate the throne in his son's favor in 2008. On 14 December 2006, he announced that he would be abdicating immediately. Sony VAIO VPCY11AFJ BatteryThis was followed by the first national parliamentary elections in December 2007 andMarch 2008.
On November 6, 2008, 28-year old Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, eldest son of King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, was crowned King.[41] Sony VAIO VPCY11AGJ BatteryGovernment and politics
Bhutan's political system has developed from an absolute monarchy into a constitutional monarchy. In 1999, the fourth king of Bhutan created a body called the Lhengye Zhungtshog (Council of Ministers). Sony VAIO VPCY11AHJ BatteryThe Druk Gyalpo (King of Druk Yul) ishead of state. Executive power is exercised by the Lhengye Zhungtshog, the council of ministers. Legislative power was vested in both the government and the former Grand National Assembly.
On the 17th of December 2005, the 4th King, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, Sony VAIO VPCY11AVJ Battery announced to a stunned nation that the first general elections would be held in 2008, and that he would abdicate the throne in favor of his eldest son, the crown prince.[42]King Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck took the throne on December 14, 2006 upon his father's abdication. Sony VAIO VPCY11M1E/S BatteryJigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck was adorned with Bhutan's Raven Crown at an ornate coronation ceremony in Thimphu on Thursday, November 6, 2008, becoming the world's youngest reigning monarch and head of the newest democracy.[43]
The new political system comprises an upper and lower house, the latter based on political party affiliations. Sony VAIO VPCY11S1E Battery Electionsfor the upper house (National Council) were held on December 31, 2007, while elections for the lower house, the 47-seatNational Assembly, were held on March 24, 2008. Two political parties, the People's Democratic Party (PDP) headed bySangay Ngedup, and the Druk Phuensum Tshogpa (DPT) headed by Jigmi Thinley, Sony VAIO VPCY11V9E/S Batterycompeted in the National Assembly election. The Druk Phuensum Tshogpa won the elections taking 45 out of 47 seats in the parliament.[44]
Judicial power is vested in the courts of Bhutan. The Chief Justice is the administrative head of the Judiciary. Sony VAIO VPCY218EC/BI BatteryMilitary and foreign affairs
The Royal Bhutan Army is Bhutan's military service. It includes the Royal Bodyguard and the Royal Bhutan Police. Membership is voluntary, and the minimum age for recruitment is 18. The standing army numbers about 16,000 and is trained by the Indian Army.[45] Sony VAIO VPCY218EC/G BatteryIt has an annual budget of about $13.7 million — 1.8 percent of the GDP. Being a landlocked country, Bhutan has no navy. It also has no air force or army aviation corps. The Army relies on Eastern Air Command of the Indian Air Force for air assistance.
In 2007, Bhutan and India signed a new treaty that clarified that Bhutan was master of its own foreign relations, superseding the treaty signed in 1949. Sony VAIO VPCY218EC/L BatteryThe superseded treaty is still sometimes misinterpreted to mean that India controls Bhutan's foreign affairs, but the government of Bhutan handles all of its own foreign affairs, including the sensitive (to India) border demarcation issue with China.
Bhutan has diplomatic relations with 21 countries, and with the European Union, with missions in India, Bangladesh, Thailand, and Kuwait. Sony VAIO VPCY218EC/P BatteryIt has two UNmissions, one in New York and one in Geneva. Only India and Bangladesh have residential embassies in Bhutan, while Thailand has a consulate office in Bhutan.
By a long standing treaty, Indian and Bhutanese citizens may travel to each other's countries without a passport or visausing their national identity cards instead. Sony VAIO VPCY21S1E/L Battery Bhutanese citizens may also work in India without legal restriction. Bhutan does not have formal diplomatic ties with its northern neighbour, the People's Republic of China, although exchanges of visits at various levels between the two have significantly increased in recent times. Sony VAIO VPCY21S1E/P Battery The first bilateral agreement between China (PRC) and Bhutan was signed in 1998, and Bhutan has also set up honorary consulates in Macau and Hong Kong. Bhutan's border with China is largely not demarcated and thus disputed in some places. Approximately 269 square kilometers remain under discussion between China and Bhutan.[46] Sony VAIO VPCY21S1E/SI Battery On 13 November 2005, Chinese soldiers crossed into the disputed territories between China and Bhutan, and began building roads and bridges.[47] Bhutanese Foreign Minister Khandu Wangchuk took up the matter with Chinese authorities after the issue was raised in the Bhutanese parliament. Sony VAIO VPCZ110 Battery In response, Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang of the People's Republic of China has said that the border remains in dispute and that the two sides are continuing to work for a peaceful and cordial resolution of the dispute.[48] An Indian intelligence officer has said that a Chinese delegation in Bhutan told the Bhutanese that they were "overreacting." Sony VAIO VPCZ110GB/BI BatteryThe Bhutanese newspaper Kuensel has said that China might use the roads to further Chinese claims along the border.[47]
On 8 February 2007, the Indo-Bhutan Friendship Treaty was substantially revised. The Treaty of 1949, Article 2 states: Sony VAIO VPCZ112GD/S Battery "The Government of India undertakes to exercise no interference in the internal administration of Bhutan. On its part the Government of Bhutan agrees to be guided by the advice of the Government of India in regard to its external relations." In the revised treaty it now reads as Sony VAIO VPCZ112GX/S Battery "In keeping with the abiding ties of close friendship and cooperation between Bhutan and India, the Government of the Kingdom of Bhutan and the Government of the Republic of India shall cooperate closely with each other on issues relating to their national interests. Sony VAIO VPCZ114GX/S Battery Neither government shall allow the use of its territory for activities harmful to the national security and interest of the other." The revised treaty also includes this preamble: "Reaffirming their respect for each other's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity", an element that was absent in the earlier version. Sony VAIO VPCZ115 BatteryThe Indo-Bhutan Friendship Treaty of 2007 clarifies Bhutan's status as an independent and sovereign nation.
Bhutan maintains formal diplomatic relations with several Asian and European nations, Canada, and Brazil. Sony VAIO VPCZ115FC/B Battery Other countries, such as the United States and theUnited Kingdom, have no formal diplomatic relations with Bhutan, but maintain informal contact through their respective embassies in New Delhi and Bhutanese honorary consulates in London and Washington, D.C. Sony VAIO VPCZ115FC/S BatteryGeography
Bhutan is located on the southern slopes of the eastern Himalayas, landlocked between theTibet Autonomous Region to the north and the Indian states of Sikkim, West Bengal, Assamand Arunachal Pradesh to the west and south. Sony VAIO VPCZ116 Battery It lies between latitudes 26° and 29°N, and longitudes 88° and 93°E. The land consists mostly of steep and high mountainscrisscrossed by a network of swift rivers, which form deep valleys before draining into the Indian plains. Elevation rises from 200 m (660 ft) in the southern foothills to more than 7,000 m (23,000 ft). Sony VAIO VPCZ116GX/S BatteryThis great geographical diversity combined with equally diverse climate conditions contributes to Bhutan's outstanding range of biodiversity and ecosystems.[2]
The northern region of the country consists of an arc of Eastern Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows reaching up to glaciated mountain peaks with an extremely cold climate at the highest elevations. Sony VAIO VPCZ117 Battery Most peaks in the north are over 7,000 m (23,000 ft) above sea level; the highest point in Bhutan isGangkhar Puensum at 7,570 metres (24,840 ft), which has the distinction of being the highest unclimbed mountain in the world.[3] The lowest point, at 98 m (322 ft), is in the valley of Drangme Chhu, where the river crosses the border with India.[3] Sony VAIO VPCZ117FC/B BatteryWatered by snow-fed rivers, alpine valleys in this region provide pasture for livestock, tended by a sparse population of migratory shepherds.
The Black Mountains in the central region of Bhutan form a watershed between two major river systems: the Mo Chhu and theDrangme Chhu. Sony VAIO VPCZ118 Battery Peaks in the Black Mountains range between 1,500 and 2,700 m (4,900 and 8,900 ft) above sea level, and fast-flowing rivers have carved out deep gorges in the lower mountain areas. The forests of the central Bhutan mountains consist of Eastern Himalayan subalpine conifer forests in higher elevations and Eastern Himalayan broadleaf forests in lower elevations. Sony VAIO VPCZ118GC/B BatteryWoodlands of the central region provide most of Bhutan's forest production. The Torsa, Raidak, Sankosh, and Manasare the main rivers of Bhutan, flowing through this region. Most of the population lives in the central highlands.
In the south, the Shiwalik Hills are covered with dense Himalayan subtropical broadleaf forests, Sony VAIO VPCZ118GX/S Battery alluvial lowland river valleys, and mountains up to around 1,500 m (4,900 ft) above sea level. The foothills descend into the subtropical Duars Plain. Most of the Duars is located in India, although a 10 to 15 km (6.2 to 9.3 mi) wide strip extends into Bhutan. The Bhutan Duars is divided into two parts: the northern and the southern Duars. Sony VAIO VPCZ119 Battery The northern Duars, which abuts the Himalayan foothills, has rugged, sloping terrain and dry, porous soil with dense vegetation and abundant wildlife. The southern Duars has moderately fertile soil, heavy savannah grass, dense, mixed jungle, and freshwater springs. Sony VAIO VPCZ119FJ/S BatteryMountain rivers, fed by either the melting snow or the monsoon rains, empty into the Brahmaputra River in India. Data released by the Ministry of Agriculture showed that the country had a forest cover of 64% as of October 2005.
The climate in Bhutan varies with elevation, from subtropical in the south to temperate in the highlands and polar-type climate, with year-round snow in the north. Sony VAIO VPCW12AVJ Battery Bhutan experiences five distinct seasons: summer, monsoon, autumn, winter and spring. Western Bhutan has the heavier monsoon rains; southern Bhutan has hot humid summers and cool winters; central and eastern Bhutan is temperate and drier than the west with warm summers and cool winters. Sony VAIO VPCW12S1E/P Battery More than 770 species of bird and 5,400 species of plants are known to occur throughout the kingdom. Bhutan has a rich primate life with rare species such as the golden langur.[52][53] Recently, a variant Assamese macaque, which is also regarded by some authorities as a new species, Macaca munzala has also been recorded.[54] Sony VAIO VPCW12S1E/T Battery The Bengal tiger, Greater One-horned Rhinoceros, clouded leopard, hispid hare and the sloth bear live in the lush tropical lowland and hardwood forests in the south. In the temperate zone, grey langur, tiger, Indian leopard, goral and serow are found in mixed conifer, broadleaf and pine forests. Sony VAIO VPCW12S1E/W Battery Fruit bearing trees and bamboo provide habitat for the Himalayan black bear, red panda, squirrel, sambar, wild pig and barking deer. The alpine habitats of the great Himalayan range in the north are home to the snow leopard, blue sheep, marmot, Tibetan wolf, antelope, Himalayan musk deer and the takin, Bhutan'snational animal. Sony VAIO VPCW213AG/L BatteryThe endangered Wild Water Buffalo occurs in southern Bhutan although in small numbers.[55]
Among birds, the globally endangered White-winged Wood Duck has been added recently to the list of Bhutan's avifauna.[56] Sony VAIO VPCW213AG/P BatteryConservation significance
The Eastern Himalayas have been identified as a global biodiversity hotspot and counted among the 234 globally outstanding ecoregions of the world in a comprehensive analysis of global biodiversity undertaken by WWF between 1995 and 1997. Sony VAIO VPCW213AG/T Battery Bhutan is seen as a model for proactive conservation initiatives. The Kingdom has received international acclaim for its commitment to the maintenance of its biodiversity. This is reflected in the decision to maintain at least sixty percent of the land area under forest cover, to designate more than 40% of its territory as national parks, Sony VAIO VPCW213AG/W Battery reserves and other protected areas, and most recently to identify a further nine percent of land area as biodiversity corridors linking the protected areas. Environmental conservation has been placed at the core of the nation's development strategy, the middle path. It is not treated as a sector but rather as a set of concerns that must be mainstreamed in Bhutan's overall approach to development planning and to be buttressed by the force of law. Sony VAIO VPCW215AG/L BatteryConservation issues
Although Bhutan's natural heritage is still largely intact, the Government has said that it cannot be taken for granted and that conservation of the natural environment must be considered one of the challenges that will need to be addressed in the years ahead. Sony VAIO VPCW217JC Battery Pressures on the natural environment are already evident and will be fuelled by a complex array of forces. They include population pressures, agricultural modernisation, poaching, hydro-power development, mineral extraction, industrialisation, urbanisation, sewage and waste disposal, tourism, Sony VAIO VPCW217JC/L Batterycompetition for available land road construction and the provision of other physical infrastructure associated with social and economic development.
Policy implementation needs to be continually improved. Sustainable rural livelihoods that do not rely solely upon natural resource use need to be developed and supported, Sony VAIO VPCW217JC/P Batteryand there needs to be far wider understanding of the environmental threats that come hand in hand with development, to ensure the future of Bhutan's rich and diverse environment.
In practice, the overlap of these extensive protected lands with populated areas has led to mutual habitat encroachment. Sony VAIO VPCW217JC/T Battery Protected wildlife has entered agricultural areas, trampling crops and killing livestock. In response, Bhutan has implemented an insurance scheme, begun constructing solar powered alarm fences, watch towers, and search lights, and has provided fodder and salt licks outside human settlement areas to encourage animals to stay away.[59] Sony VAIO VPCW217JC/W BatteryEconomy
The ngultrum is the currency of Bhutan and its value is fixed to the Indian rupee. The rupee is also accepted as legal tenderin the country.
Though Bhutan's economy is one of the world's smallest, it has grown rapidly in recent years, by eight percent in 2005 and 14 percent in 2006. Sony VAIO VPCW218JC Battery In 2007, Bhutan had the second fastest growing economy in the world, with an annual economic growth rate of 22.4 percent. This was mainly due to the commissioning of the gigantic Tala Hydroelectricity project. As of March 2006, Bhutan's per capita income was US$1,321. Sony VAIO VPCW218JC/L Battery Bhutan's economy is based on agriculture, forestry, tourism and the sale of hydroelectric power to India. Agriculture provides the main livelihood for more than 80 percent of the population. Agrarian practices consist largely of subsistence farming and animal husbandry. Sony VAIO VPCW218JC/P Battery Handicrafts, particularly weaving and the manufacture of religious art for home altars, are a small cottage industry. A landscape that varies from hilly to ruggedly mountainous has made the building of roads and otherinfrastructure difficult and expensive. This, and a lack of access to the sea, Sony VAIO VPCW218JC/T Battery has meant that Bhutan has not been able to benefit from significant trading of its produce. Bhutan does not have any railways, though Indian Railways plans to link southern Bhutan to its vast network under an agreement signed in January 2005.[60] Bhutan and India signed a 'free trade' accord in 2008, Sony VAIO VPCW218JC/W Batterywhich additionally allowed Bhutanese imports and exports from third markets to transit India withouttariffs.[61] Bhutan had trade relations with the Tibet region until 1960, when it closed its border with China after an influx of refugees.[62]
The industrial sector is in a nascent stage, and though most production comes from cottage industry, Sony VAIO VPCW219AJ/L Battery larger industries are being encouraged and some industries such as cement, steel, and ferroalloy have been set up. Most development projects, such as road construction, rely on Indian contract labour. Agricultural produce includes rice, chilies, dairy (some yak, mostly cow) products, buckwheat, barley, root crops, apples, and citrus and maize at lower elevations. Sony VAIO VPCW219AJ/P BatteryIndustries include cement,wood products, processed fruits, alcoholic beverages and calcium carbide.
Incomes of over Nu 100,000 per annum are taxed, but very few wage and salary earners qualify. Bhutan's inflation rate was estimated at about three percent in 2003. Sony VAIO VPCW219AJ/W Battery Bhutan has a Gross Domestic Product of around USD 2.913 billion (adjusted to Purchasing Power Parity), making it the 162nd largest economy in the world. Per capita income is around $1,400,[3] ranked 124th. Government revenues total $272 million, though expenditures amount to $350 million. Sony VAIO VPCW21AAJ Battery 60 percent of the budget expenditure, however, is financed by India's Ministry of External Affairs.[note 1][63] Bhutan's exports, principally electricity, cardamom, gypsum, timber, handicrafts, cement, fruit, precious stones and spices, total €128 million (2000 est.). Imports, however, amount to €164 million, leading to a trade deficit. Sony VAIO VPCW21AKJ Battery Main items imported include fuel and lubricants, grain, machinery, vehicles, fabrics and rice. Bhutan's main export partner is India, accounting for 58.6 percent of its export goods. Hong Kong (30.1 percent) and Bangladesh (7.3 percent) are the other two top export partners.[3] As its border with Tibet is closed, trade between Bhutan and China is now almost non-existent. Sony VAIO VPCW21AVJ BatteryBhutan's import partners include India (74.5 percent), Japan (7.4 percent) and Sweden (3.2 percent).
Administrative divisions
Bhutan is divided into twenty dzongkhags (districts), administered by a body called the Dzongkhag Tshogdu. Sony VAIO VPCY115FGS BatteryIn certain thromdes (urban municipalities), a further municipal administration is directly subordinate to the Dzongkhag administration. In the vast majority of constituencies, rural gewogs (village blocks) are administered by bodies called the Gewog Tshogde.[64]
Thromdes (municipalities) elect Thrompons to lead administration, who in turn represent the Thromde in the Dzongkhag Tshogdu. Sony VAIO VPCY115FX/BI Battery Likewise, gewogs elect headmen called gups, vice-headmen called mangmis, who also sit on the Dzongkhag Thshogdu, as well as other members of the Gewog Tshogde. The basis of electoral constituencies in Bhutan is the chiwog, a subdivision of gewogs delineated by the Election Commission. Sony VAIO VPCW111XX/P Battery Bhutanese people primarily consist of the Ngalops and Sharchops, called the Western Bhutanese and Eastern Bhutanese respectively. The Lhotshampa, meaning "southerners," are a heterogeneous group of mostly Nepalese descent. The Ngalops primarily consist of Bhutanese living in the western part of the country. Sony VAIO VPCW111XX/PC Battery Their culture is closely related to that of Tibet. Much the same could be said of the Sharchops, the dominant group, who traditionally follow the Nyingmapa rather than the official Drukpa Kagyu form of Tibetan Buddhism. Sony VAIO VPCW111XX/T Battery In modern times, with improved transportation infrastructure, there has been much intermarriage between these groups. In the early 1970s, intermarriage between the Lhotshampas and mainstream Bhutanese society was encouraged by the government, but after the late 1980s, the Bhutanese government forced about 108,000 Lhotshampas from their homes, seized their land, and expelled them to refugee camps.[33] Sony VAIO VPCW111XX/W Battery The literacy rate in Bhutan is 59.5 percent.[66] The country has a median age of 24.8 years.[67] Bhutan has a life expectancyof 62.2 years (61 for males and 64.5 for females) according to the latest data from the World Bank. There are 1,070 males to every 1,000 females in the country. Sony VAIO VPCW111XXP Battery It is estimated that between two thirds and three quarters of the Bhutanese population follow Vajrayana Buddhism, which is also the state religion. About one quarter to one third are followers of Hinduism. Other religions account for less than 1% of the population.[68] The current legal framework, Sony VAIO VPCW111XXT Batteryin principle guarantees freedom of religion;proselytism, however, is forbidden by a royal government decision[68] and by judicial interpretation of theConstitution.[69]
Buddhism was introduced to Bhutan in the 7th century AD. Tibetan king Songtsän Gampo (reigned 627–49), Sony VAIO VPCW111XXW Batterya convert to Buddhism, ordered the construction of two Buddhist temples, at Bumthang in central Bhutan and at Kyichu (near Paro) in theParo Valley.[21]
Languages
The national language is Bhutanese, or Dzongkha, one of 53 languages in theTibetan language family. Sony VAIO VPCW115XG Battery The script, here called Chhokey ("Dharma Language"), is identical to classical Tibetan. In the schools English is the medium of instruction and Dzongkha is taught as the national language. Ethnologue lists 24 languages currently spoken in Bhutan, all of them in the Tibeto-Burmanfamily, except Nepali, an Indo-Aryan language. Sony VAIO VPCW115XGP Battery Until the 1980s, the government sponsored the teaching of Nepali in schools in Southern Bhutan. However, after the armed uprising in the south, Nepali was dropped from the curriculum. The languages of Bhutan are still not well-characterized, and several have yet to be recorded in an in-depth academic grammar. Sony VAIO VPCW115XW/P Battery Before the 1980s, the Lhotshampa(Nepali-speaking community), mainly based in southern Bhutan, constituted approximately 30% of the population.[70] However, during the 1980s, after the Bhutanese government instituted a policy of one language and one culture, these Lhotshampas were forced to wear the national costume of Bhutan, Sony VAIO VPCW115XW/T Battery which is not well-suited to the high temperatures of the southern region.[70] This cultural discrimination led to protests which eventually resulted in the eviction of more than 100,000 Lhotshampas throughout the 1990s.[35] These Lhotshampas took refuge in Nepal via India. Sony VAIO VPCW115XW/W BatteryBecause the bilateral talks between Nepal and Bhutan to repatriate Bhutanese refugees (Lhotshampas) have been proven futile, the UNHCR is now helping the refugees to settle in various developed countries such as Norway, USA, Canada and many others.[32][35]
Dzongkha is partially intelligible with Sikkimese and spoken natively by 25% of the population. Sony VAIO VPCW117XC/P Battery Tshangla, the language of the Sharchop and the principal pre-Tibetan language of Bhutan, is spoken by a greater number of people. It is not easily classified and may constitute an independent branch of Tibeto-Burman.Nepali speakers constituted some 40% of the population as of 2006. Sony VAIO VPCW117XC/T BatteryThe larger minority languages are Dzala (11%), Limbu (10%, immigrant), and Kheng (8%). There are no reliable sources for the ethnic or linguistic composition of Bhutan, so these numbers do not add up to 100%.
Culture
Bhutan has a rich and unique cultural heritage that has largely remained intact because of its isolation from the rest of the world until the early 1960s. Sony VAIO VPCW117XC/W Battery One of the main attractions for tourists is the country's culture and traditions. Bhutanese tradition is deeply steeped in its Buddhist heritage.[71][72]Hinduism is the second dominant religion in Bhutan, being most prevalent in the southern regions.[73] The government is increasingly making efforts to preserve and sustain the current culture and traditions of the country. Sony VAIO VPCW119XJ BatteryBecause of its largely unspoiled natural environment and cultural heritage, Bhutan has been referred to as The Last Shangri-la.[74]
While Bhutanese citizens are free to travel abroad, Bhutan is viewed as inaccessible by many foreigners. Sony VAIO VPCW119XJ/P Battery Another reason for it being an unpopular destination is the cost, which is high for tourists on tighter budgets. Entry is free for citizens of India and Bangladesh, but all other foreigners are required to sign up with a Bhutanese tour operator and pay around US$250 per day that they stay in the country.[75] Sony VAIO VPCW119XJ/W Battery The national dress for Bhutanese men is the gho, a knee-length robe tied at the waist by a cloth belt known as the kera. Women wear an ankle-length dress, the kira, which is clipped at one shoulder and tied at the waist. An accompaniment to the kira is a long-sleeved blouse, the toego, which is worn underneath the outer layer. Sony VAIO VPCW11AXJ Battery Social status and class determine the texture, colours, and decorations that embellish the garments. Differently coloured scarves and shawls are important indicators of social standing, as Bhutan has traditionally been a feudal society. Jewellery is mostly worn by women, especially during religious festivals (tsechus) and public gatherings. Sony VAIO VPCW11S1E/P BatteryTo strengthen Bhutan's identity as an independent country, Bhutanese law requires all Bhutanese citizens to wear the national dress in public areas and as formal wear.
Rice, buckwheat, and increasingly maize, are the staples of Bhutanese cuisine. The local diet also includes pork, beef, yakmeat, chicken, and mutton. Sony VAIO VPCW11S1E/T Battery Soups and stews of meat and dried vegetables spiced with chillies and cheese are prepared. Ema datshi, made very spicy with cheese and chilies, might be called the national dish for its ubiquity and the pride that Bhutanese have for it. Dairy foods, particularly butter and cheese from yaks and cows, are also popular, and indeed almost all milk is turned to butter and cheese. Sony VAIO VPCW11S1E/W BatteryPopular beverages include butter tea, tea, locally brewed ara (rice wine) and beer. Bhutan is the first country in the world to have banned the sale of tobacco under its Tobacco Act of 2010.[28]
Bhutanese architecture remains distinctively traditional, Sony VAIO VPCW121AX Battery employing rammed earth and wattle and daub construction methods, stone masonry, and intricate woodwork around windows and roofs. Traditional architecture uses no nails or iron bars in construction.Characteristic of the region is a type of castle fortress known as the dzong. Sony VAIO VPCW126AG Battery Since ancient times, the dzongs have served as the religious and secular administration centres for their respective districts.[78] The University of Texas at El Paso in the United States has adopted Bhutanese architecture for its buildings on campus, as have the nearby Hilton Garden Inn and other buildings in the city of El Paso.[79] Sony VAIO VPCW127JC/P Battery Bhutan has numerous public holidays, most of which centre around traditional seasonal, secular and religious festivals. They include the winter solstice (around January 1, depending on the lunar calendar), the lunar New Year (February or March), the King's birthday and the anniversary of his coronation, Sony VAIO VPCW127JC/T Batterythe official end of monsoon season (September 22), National Day (December 17), and various Buddhist and Hindu celebrations.
Masked dances and dance dramas are common traditional features at festivals, usually accompanied by traditional music. Sony VAIO VPCW127JC/W Battery Energetic dancers, wearing colourful wooden or composition face masks and stylized costumes, depict heroes, demons, dæmons, death heads, animals, gods, and caricatures of common people. The dancers enjoy royal patronage, and preserve ancient folk and religious customs and perpetuate the ancient lore and art of mask-making. Sony VAIO VPCW127JC/WZ Battery The music of Bhutan can generally be divided into traditional and modern varieties; traditional music comprises religious and folk genres, the latter includingzhungdra and boedra.[80] The modern rigsar is played on a mix of traditional instruments and electronic keyboards, and dates back to the early 1990s; Sony VAIO VPCW12AAJ Batteryit shows the influence of Indian popular music, a hybrid form of traditional and Western popular influences.[81][82]
In Bhutanese families, inheritance generally passes through the female rather than the male line. Daughters will inherit their parents' house. Sony VAIO VPCW12AKJ Battery A man is expected to make his own way in the world and often moves to his wife's home. Love marriages are common in urban areas, but the tradition of arranged marriages is still common in the villages. Although uncommon, polygamy is accepted, often being a device to keep property in a contained family unit rather than dispersing it.Sony VAIO VPCP11S1E/G BatteryThe previous king, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, who abdicated in 2006, had four queens, all of whom are sisters. The current king, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, wed Jetsun Pema, 21, a commoner and daughter of a pilot, on 13 October 2011.
Sports
Bhutan's national sport is archery, and competitions are held regularly in most villages. Sony VAIO VPC-P11S1E/G Battery It differs from Olympicstandards in technical details such as the placement of the targets and atmosphere. There are two targets placed over 100 meters apart and teams shoot from one end of the field to the other. Each member of the team shoots two arrows per round. Sony VAIO VPCP11S1E/P Battery Traditional Bhutanese archery is a social event and competitions are organized between villages, towns, and amateur teams. There are usually plenty of food and drink complete with singing and dancing. Attempts to distract an opponent include standing around the target and making fun of the shooter's ability. Sony VAIO VPCP11S1E/W BatteryDarts (khuru) is an equally popular outdoor team sport, in which heavy wooden darts pointed with a 10 cm nail are thrown at a paperback-sized target 10 to 20 meters away.
Another traditional sport is the Digor, which resembles the shot put and horseshoe throwing. Sony VAIO VPC-P11S1E/W Battery Cricket has gained popularity in Bhutan, particularly since the introduction of television channels from India. The Bhutan national cricket team is one of the more successful affiliate nations in the region. Football is also an increasingly popular sport. In 2002, Bhutan's national football team played Montserrat, in what was billed as The Other Final; Sony VAIO VPCP11Z9E/B Battery the match took place on the same day Brazil played Germany in the World Cup final, but at the time Bhutan and Montserrat were the world's two lowest ranked teams. The match was held in Thimphu's Changlimithang National Stadium, and Bhutan won 4–0. A documentary of the match was made by the Dutch filmmaker Johan Kramer. Sony VAIO VPCS111FM/S Battery The economy of Bhutan, one of the world's smallest and least developed, is based on agriculture and forestry, which provide the main livelihood for more than 60% of the population. Agriculture consists largely of subsistence farming and animal husbandry. Sony VAIO VPCS115EC Battery Rugged mountains dominate the terrain and make the building of roads and other infrastructure difficult and expensive. The economy is closely aligned with India's through strong trade and monetary links and dependence on India's financial assistance. The industrial sector is technologically backward, with most production of the cottage industry type. Sony VAIO VPCS115FG Battery Most development projects, such as road construction, rely on Indian migrant labor. Model education, social, and environment programs are underway with support from multilateral development organizations. Each economic program takes into account the government's desire to protect the country's environment and cultural traditions. Sony VAIO VPCS117GG Battery For example, the government, in its cautious expansion of the tourist sector, encourages visits by upscale, environmentally conscientious tourists. Detailed controls and uncertain policies in areas such as industrial licensing, trade, labor, and finance continue to hamper foreign investment. Sony VAIO VPCS117GGB BatteryHydropower exports to India have boosted Bhutan's overall growth, even though GDP fell in 2008 as a result of a slowdown in India, its predominant export market.
Bhutan's hydropower potential and its attraction for tourists are key resources. Sony VAIO VPCS118EC Battery The Bhutanese Government has made some progress in expanding the nation's productive base and improving social welfare. Model education, social, and environment programs in Bhutan are underway with support from multilateral development organizations. Sony VAIO VPCS119FJ/B Battery Each economic program takes into account the government's desire to protect the country's environment and cultural traditions. For example, the government, in its cautious expansion of the tourist sector, encourages visits by upscale, environmentally conscientious tourists. Sony VAIO VPCS119GC BatteryDetailed controls and uncertain policies in such areas as industrial licensing, trade, labor, and finance continue to hamper foreign investment.
In 2004, Bhutan became the first country in the world to ban smoking and the selling of tobacco. Sony VAIO VPCS11AFJ Battery The Government of Bhutan is a constitutional monarchy; between 1907 and the 1950s however, Bhutan was an absolute monarchy. The peaceful march to democracy has been a steady one.[1] The King of Bhutan is head of state. Executive poweris exercised by the Lhengye Zhungtshog, or council of ministers, headed by the Prime Minister. Sony VAIO VPCS11AGJ Battery Legislative power is vested in the bicameral Parliament, both the upper National Council and the lower National Assembly. A royal edict issued on April 22, 2007 lifted the previous ban on political parties, ordering that they be created, in anticipation of National Assembly elections to be held the following year. Sony VAIO VPCS11AHJ BatteryIn 2008, Bhutan adopted its first modern Constitution, codifying the institutions of government and the legal framework for a democratic multi-party system.
Sovereignty
The Bhutanese people have historically never had doubts about their nation's sovereignty. Bhutan in fact has never been colonized. Sony VAIO VPCS11AVJ Battery However, to the outside world, namely India and before that the British Raj, Bhutan was viewed as less than sovereign for their own geopolitical interests. Bhutan was treated as a suzerainty by the British Raj, during which time the present monarchy was established. Sony VAIO VPCS11J7E/B Battery Foreign and defence policy was to be decided by the British according to the 1910Treaty of Punakha. This did not mean so much to the Bhutanese however due to their policy of self-imposed isolation. In 1949, after Indian independence, Bhutan and India agreed to a ten-article, perpetual treaty which effectively continued the relationship, Sony VAIO VPCS11M1E/W Battery but with India taking the place of the United Kingdom. That is, India agreed not to interfere in Bhutan's internal relations, while Bhutan agreed "to be guided by the advice of the Government of India in regard to its external relations" (Article 2). The treaty also established free trade and full extradition between the two countries.[3] Sony VAIO VPCS11V9E BatteryWhile Bhutan sees its destiny as being closely linked with that of India, for which reason it strives to promote excellent relations with it, it has also quietly striven to assert its sovereignty at the same time.
Article 2 of the 1949 treaty has mostly been ignored by both countries as Bhutan confidently handles all of its foreign affairs, Sony VAIO VPCS11V9E/B Batteryincluding the sensitive border demarcation talks with China.
In February 2007, the Indo-Bhutan Friendship Treaty was substantially revised with all references to phrases such as "will be guided" deleted, thus eliminating the last lingering doubts about the sovereign and independent status of Bhutan.[4] Sony VAIO VPCS11X9E/B BatteryBranches of government
The Constitution of Bhutan provides for a government consisting of three main branches – executive, legislative, and judicial – plus the officially apoliticalDratshang Lhentshog (Monastic Affairs Commission) of the Drukpa Kagyu state religion. Sony VAIO VPCS123FGB BatteryThe secular and religious branches of government are unified in the person of the Druk Gyalpo (King of Bhutan).[5]
The trichotomy of secular government is not absolute. There are many independent commissions, agencies, and institutions that operate outside this general framework, such as the Royal Monetary Authority and Election Commission. Sony VAIO VPCS125EC Battery There are also agencies whose members are drawn from more than one branch of government, such as the Judicial Commission. In addition, there are several ministries within the cabinet executive branch, such as the Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs, which in turn delegate powers to subsidiary departments according to legislation by the legislative branch. Sony VAIO VPCS128EC BatteryThe legislative branch itself oversees devolved local governments.[6]
Executive branch
Bhutan's head of state is the Druk Gyalpo ("Dragon King"). Although his title is hereditary, he must retire by age 65, and he can be removed by a two-thirds majority vote by the parliament followed by a national referendum, which must pass by a simple majority in all twenty districts of the country. Sony VAIO VPCS129GC BatteryPrior to 2008, a similar abdication process existed under which the unicameral National Assembly, or Tshogdu could force the king to abdicate.
The Je Khenpo is the highest religious official of Bhutan and head of the Dratshang Lhentshog (Monastic Affairs Commission). Sony VAIO VPCS12C7E/B BatteryHe is typically viewed as the closest and most powerful advisor to the King of Bhutan. The 71st and present Je Khenpo is Trulku Jigme Chhoeda.
Bhutan's head of government is its Prime Minister. The Prime Minister is nominated by the party that wins the most seats in the National Assembly and heads the executive cabinet, called the Lhengye Zhungtshog (Council of Ministers). Sony VAIO VPCS12L9E/B Battery In 1998, the monarch's executive powers were transferred to the Council of Ministers, or Lhengye Zhungtshog (cabinet). Candidates for the Council of Ministers are elected by the National Assembly for a fixed five-year term and must be a part of the legislative assembly. The cabinet is headed by the Prime Minister, who is the head of government. Sony VAIO VPCS12V9E/B Battery The post of Prime Minister rotates each year between the five candidates who secures the highest number of votes. The 2005 draftConstitution of Bhutan included provision for a two-party democratic system that was unveiled after four years of preparation.[7] Previously, the candidates to the cabinet Council of Ministers (Lhengye Zhungtshog) were nominated by the monarch, elected by the National Assembly. Sony VAIO VPCW111XX/P BatteryThe members served fixed, five-year terms. There was also a Royal Advisory Council (Lodoi Tsokde), members nominated by the monarch.
Legislative branch
Bhutan elects its legislative branch through universal suffrage under the Constitution of 2008. Sony VAIO VPCW111XX/PC BatteryThe Bhutanese parliament is bicameral, consisting of a National Council (upper house) and a National Assembly (lower house).
Prior to 2008, the legislative branch was the unicameral Tshogdu. The Tshogdu had 150 members, Sony VAIO VPCW111XX/T Battery106 members elected at various dates for a three year term in single-seat constituencies, 34 appointed members and 10 representatives of the monastic body.Suffrage in Bhutan at that time was unique in that each family unit, rather than individual, had one vote.
Political parties and elections
In Bhutan, political parties, elections, and referenda are overseen by the Election Commission, an independent government regulatory agency. Sony VAIO VPCW111XX/W Battery Candidates for most elections and appointments in Bhutan must be non-partisan, however political parties may slate candidates for seats in the National Assembly. The party that wins the most seats nominates the Prime Minister.[5] The first and current Prime Minister, Lyonchen Jigme Thinley, is a member of theBhutan Peace and Prosperity Party. Sony VAIO VPCW111XXP BatteryPolitical pressure groups include the Buddhist clergy; ethnic Nepalese organizations leading militant anti-government campaign; Indian merchant community and the exiled United Front for Democracy.
Judicial branch
Bhutan's legal system is based on codes established by Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal in 17th century and influenced by Anglo-Indian common law. Sony VAIO VPCW111XXT Battery Under theConstitution of 2008, the Judicial branch consists of the Supreme Court, the High Court, and twenty Dzongkhag Courts. For thirteen dungkhag jurisdictions in sixDzongkhags, Dungkhag Courts are the courts of first instance. In all jurisdictions outside dungkhags, the Dzongkhag Courts are the civil and criminal courts of first instance. Sony VAIO VPC-P114KX/P Battery The High Court is the first court of appeal, and the Supreme Court is the court of final appeal. The Supreme Court also has original jurisdiction over Constitutional questions and matters of national importance referred by the King. Judges of the Supreme and High courts are appointed by the King.[5] Sony VAIO VPC-P114KX/W Battery Before 2008 in the Bhutanese judicial system, the monarch was the final court of appeal (the "Supreme Court of Appeal"), and local government officials adjudicated minor crimes.[9] The Royal High Court of Bhutan was the highest court in the country and had original jurisdiction over the twenty districts of the nation. Sony VAIO VPCP115JC BatteryJudicial appointments were made by the monarch, and could be recalled by him at any time.
Legal system
The criminal justice system is based on trial before a panel of judges, and therefore resembles more the Napoleonic than the British or American adversarial systems. Sony VAIO VPCP115JC/B Battery The prosecutor, a government employee, seeks to obtain an acknowledgement of culpability from the accused. If this happens quickly, the sentencing may be lenient. If culpability is obvious but the accused refuses to admit to it, the sentence may be correspondingly severe. Sony VAIO VPCP115JC/D BatteryJudges may dismiss the case for lack of proof at any time. Recent legislation defines required proof of guilt more closely, providing increased protection against trivial or mistaken charges. Minor criminal offences may be tried by the dzongkhag Drangpon (District Judge).
Bhutan has not accepted compulsory International Court of Justice jurisdiction. Sony VAIO VPCP115JC/G Battery The codification of Bhutanese culture traces its roots directly back to Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyel, the Tibetan lama and military leader who unified Bhutan as a nation state in the 17th century. The Shabdrung sought to unify the country not only politically but culturally as well. He established the Driglam Namzha, Sony VAIO VPCP115JC/P Batteryguidelines for architecture, festivals, and public dress and behavior. These guidelines were intentionally codified to encourage the emergence of a distinctive Bhutanese identity.
During the six 5-year plans for Bhutan's planned developing starting from the 1960s, authorities seemed to take the survival for Bhutan's tradition and culture for granted. Sony VAIO VPCP115JC/W Battery During that period of rapid development a significant part of Bhutan's population, principally the youth, were exposed overnight to outside ideas, cultures, and influences. This period also saw a marked increase in immigrants from Nepal and India, most of whom settled in the south among the Lhotshampa. Sony VAIO VPCP115KG Battery By the 1980s, the government felt it necessary to safeguard the dominant Ngalop culture. In 1989 the government elevated the status of the Driglam Namzha dress code from recommended to mandatory. Afterward, all citizens were required to observe the dress code (the gho and kira) in public during business hours.Sony VAIO VPCP116KG Battery This decree was resented by the Hindu Lhotshampa in the southern lowlands who voiced complaints about being forced to wear the clothing of the Ngalop.[10][11] This was accompanied by regulations restricting employment and educational opportunities for residents who were not of full Bhutanese descent. Sony VAIO VPC-P116KX/B Battery However, the government finds it difficult to relent because it perceives a threat to tradition demographically and culturally. As a result of ethnic tensions, there were an estimated 107,000[12] refugees and asylum seekers, mostly Lhotshampa, in refugee camps in Nepal in 2008. By January 2010, an estimated 90,078[13]remained persons of concern. Sony VAIO VPC-P116KX/D Battery There are a number of environmental issues in Bhutan. Among Bhutan's most pressing issues are traditional firewood collection, crop and flock protection, and waste disposal, as well as modern concerns such as industrial pollution, wildlife conservation, and climate change that threatens Bhutan's population andbiodiversity. Sony VAIO VPC-P116KX/G Battery Land and water use have also become matters of environmental concern in both rural and urban settings. In addition to these general issues, others such as landfill availability and air and noise pollution are particularly prevalent in relatively urbanized and industrialized areas of Bhutan. Sony VAIO VPC-P116KX/P BatteryIn many cases, the least financially and politically empowered find themselves the most affected by environmental issues.[1]
Through 2011, Bhutan experienced accelerated economic activities pressured natural resources such as land, air, and water. Sony VAIO VPC-P116KX/W Battery Development activities increased urbanization, industrialization, mining and quarrying, agriculture, and solid waste management projects. Land degradation, biodiversity and habitat loss, high fuel-wood consumption, and human-wildlife conflicts are some of Bhutan's environmental challenges. Sony VAIO VPCP118JC BatteryNotwithstanding these problems, Bhutan remains overallcarbon-neutral, and a net sink for greenhouse gases.[1][2]
Within the Bhutanese government, the independent National Environment Commission (NEC)[3] and Bhutan Trust Fund, Sony VAIO VPCP118JC/B Battery as well as the executive Ministries of Health (for chemical and radioactive waste),[6] Economic Affairs,[7] and Agriculture and Forests (Department of Forestry Services)[8] are tasked with addressing environmental issues. Waste disposal issues often fall to local governments, Bhutan's dzongkhags and thromdes. Sony VAIO VPCP118JC/P BatteryNon-governmental agencies active in addressing environmental issues in Bhutan are the Royal Society for the Protection of Nature (RSPN), the only domestic environmental NGO, and the World Wildlife Fund(WWF).
National issues
To address environmental issues, the government of Bhutan has banned certain practices with varying success. Sony VAIO VPCP118JC/W Battery Tsheri agriculture, especially prevalent amongSharchops and Lhotshampa, is a practice by which land is cleared and farmed intensively until it becomes unproductive and is thereafter let fallow. Because it is particularly environmentally harmful, the practice has been banned by the government since 1969,[9][10] however it continues today. Sony VAIO VPC-P118KX/B Battery In the mid-1980s, it accounted for 32 percent of the agricultural land use and about 3 percent of the total land use.[9] In the early 1990s, Bhutan imposed a ban on timber exports, though domestic timber harvesting remains heavily regulated under a network of foresters and road checkpoints. Sony VAIO VPC-P118KX/D BatteryIn April 1999, Bhutan also prohibited plastic bags nationwide.[12] The ban on plastic bags, however, has proven a daunting challenge in implementation and enforcement because of the practicality of lightweight airtight storage and a lack of feasible alternatives.
Besides tsheri agriculture, other traditional practices have drawn concern for the environment. Sony VAIO VPC-P118KX/G Battery Throughout Bhutan, dependence on firewood as a fuel source has been historically prevalent. Before hydroelectric power and other modern energy sources became available, the source of fuel for heating, cooking, and lighting was nearly exclusively firewood. The provision of electricity, Sony VAIO VPC-P118KX/P Battery as well as better regulation of fuelwood collectors and more aggressive reforestation projects, was seen in the 1980s as a key factor in forest conservation. Because affordable electricity was not available throughout the country, the government established fuelwood plantations near villages to accommodate daily needs and to promote forest conservation. Sony VAIO VPC-P118KX/W Battery Firewood harvesting and management remains one of Bhutan's leading environmental challenges; the kingdom is one of the world's leaders in firewood consumption at a rate of 2.8 cubic metres (99 cu ft) per annum and accounts for 80 percent of the kingdom's energy consumption.[11] Sony VAIO VPCP119JC Battery Across Bhutan, traditional farmers and grazers have continued to face human-wildlife conflicts such as crop and livestock depredation.[11] These conflicts are complicated by problems of overgrazing and wildlife protection. Protected wildlife have entered agricultural areas, trampling crops and killing livestock. Sony VAIO VPCP119JC/BI Battery In response, the government has implemented an insurance scheme, begun constructing solar powered alarm fences, watch towers, search lights, and has providedfodder and salt licks outside human settlement areas to encourage animals to stay away.[17] Some local farmers have begun planting crops of molasses grass in an effort to repel primates naturally. Sony VAIO VPCP11S1E/B BatteryBhutan has also sought assistance from the United Nations Development Programme in combatting crop and livestock losses.[19]
Industrialization in particular has been cited as an environmental hurdle and foil to Gross National Happiness, the guiding principle of the government andConstitution of Bhutan. Sony VAIO VPC-P11S1E/B Battery As Bhutan industrializes, ordinary citizens have faced increased competition for essential resources and amenities – from water to roads – with the industries that benefit from Bhutan's nearby development projects. While residents express frustration at the diminution in health and lifestyle, Sony VAIO VPCP11S1E/D Batteryindustrial operators point out that in Bhutan the provision of health benefits is the role of the government.[20]
Pasakha, in Phuentsholing, is a major industrial center and has been the focus of many industry-related environmental issues brought since Bhutan began its development programs in the 1960s. Sony VAIO VPC-P11S1E/D Battery Bhutan has planned an industrial waste repository in Pasakha, Phuentsholing, to receive slag, microsilica powder, and gases emitted by steel, ferroalloy and carbide industries. The repository at Bhutan's largest industrial site was initially slated for completion in July 2011. Sony VAIO VPCF137HG/BI BatteryAir pollution
Since 2006, significant air pollution, largely attributed to external sources in India, has manifested in a brown haze in the atmosphere above Bhutan. This air pollution resulted in decreased crop output and increased concerns about public health. Sony VAIO VPC-P111KX/B Battery Bhutan's four cement plants have been cited as some of the most prevalent causes of domestic air pollution, with three out of four running without modern emission controls. Semiannual NEC site visits check for compliance with existing regulation and may impose relatively trivial fines, however living conditions remained poor due to dust. Sony VAIO VPC-P111KX/D BatteryEnforcement has been portrayed as lax in Bhutanese media, and complaints by some residents around the Pasakha industrial center went unaddressed.[21]
Through 2011, many thromdes and smaller villages in Bhutan had pits or areas for burning refuse due to a lack of designated landfills or disposal sites. Sony VAIO VPC-P111KX/G BatteryThe practice increases ambient air pollution as well as air and ground toxicity.[26][27]
In 2011, the NEC began setting up stations to monitor air quality in Thimphu, Kanglung, Pasakha and Rinchending.[28]
Biodiversity
Biodiversity, a hallmark of Bhutan, is threatened by human activity and climate change. Sony VAIO VPC-P111KX/P Battery To address these problems, the Royal Government began setting asideprotected areas in the 1960s. Since 1992, protected areas of Bhutan have been managed by the Bhutan Trust Fund for Environmental Conservation under the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry Services Division. Sony VAIO VPC-P111KX/W Battery In 1993, the Fund revised and reduced its extensive parks system for better ecological representation and management. Through 2008, however, protected areas expanded significantly with the establishment of Wangchuck Centennial Park, spanning a 4,914 square kilometres (1,897 sq mi) swath in northern Bhutan. Sony VAIO VPC-P112KX/B Battery The parks and sanctuaries are all connected either directly or by "biological corridors." As of 2011, the Fund had recruited 189 field staff, had trained 24 post-graduate specialists, and had provided over 300 short scientific courses. The Fund alone manages a total protected area of 16,396.43 square kilometres (6,330.70 sq mi) –Sony VAIO VPC-P112KX/D Battery nearly the size of Swaziland and more than 42 percent of Bhutan's total 38,394 square kilometres (14,824 sq mi). With the exception of Phibsoo Wildlife Sanctuary and Torsa Strict Nature Reserve, these protected areas are inhabited or are located within populated areas. Sony VAIO VPC-P112KX/G BatteryBy 2011, human development and illegal activities such as habitat destruction and poaching threaten to wipe out endangered species, including the white bellied heron, one of the country's rarest birds.[30]
Poaching in Bhutan is an environmental issue both within the kingdom and at its borders. Sony VAIO VPC-P112KX/P Battery Many species are poached for their alleged medicinal properties. Though protected within Bhutan, wildlife products including rhinoceros horn, tiger bones, musk, and cordyceps sinensis command high prices outside the kingdom.[11]Although porous borders are blamed for trafficking in poached wildlife, Sony VAIO VPC-P112KX/W Batterysome protected species such as cordyceps have their own markets within Bhutan.
Climate change
Bhutan has faced ongoing and immediate climate change since the late twentieth century. Tangible climate change has resulted in the warming and recession of many of Bhutan's glaciers, increasing the frequency and severity of glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs). Sony VAIO VPCP113KX/B BatteryBhutan has also seen a shift in agriculture patterns due to climate change, prompting concern over the stability of agriculture in Bhutan.
Glacier retreat and GLOFs
Where glacial movement temporary blocks riverflows, downstream areas may be threatened by GLOFs. Sony VAIO VPC-P113KX/B Battery Although GLOFs are not a new phenomenon in Bhutan, their frequency has risen in the past three decades.Significant GLOFs occurred in 1957, 1960, 1968 and 1994, devastating lives and property downstream.[39]According to the Bhutan Department of Energy however, Sony VAIO VPCP113KX/D Batterythe majority of rivers in Bhutan are more susceptible to fluctuation with changing rainfall patterns than to flooding directly attributable to glacier or snow melt.[40]
Because the state of glaciers in Bhutan involves questions of climate change, the topic is somewhat controversial. Sony VAIO VPC-P113KX/D Battery A 2008 United Nations report suggested that due to rising temperatures, glaciers in Bhutan were retreating at a rate of 30–40 meters per year, poised to make many lakes burst their banks and send millions of gallons of floodwater downstream. Sony VAIO VPCP113KX/G Battery This among many other climate-related issues identified in the report prompted the regional association of government ministers to establish the Southeast Asia Regional Health Emergency Fund in Thimphu in September 2007.Similarly, the member nations of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) adopted bilateral agreements including measures on climate change and glaciers at its summit in April 2010.[41] Sony VAIO VPC-P113KX/G Battery The 2008 UN report also indicated Himalayan glaciers would melt within 25 years,[42] however Prime Minister Jigme Thinley expressed a more dim outlook in a press conference in late March 2010, stating, "Our glaciers are withdrawing very fast and we have reasons to worry that they may in fact disappear not in 2035, but even earlier." Sony VAIO VPCP113KX/P Battery Further studies in 2009 indicated the rate of glacial melt in Bhutan was three times the world average, and that over the previous three decades regional temperatures had risen by 2.7 °C (36.9 °F). Satellite imaging also confirmed changes in glaciers and snow peaks, indicating increased runoff and decreased coverage. Sony VAIO VPC-P113KX/P Battery However, opinions varied on the effect of global warming in the Himalaya.[43] According to US geological survey report, 66 glaciers in Bhutan have decreased by 8.1 percent in the last 30 years.[44] On the other hand, a study whose results were published in 2011 indicated glacial melt depended on several factors including debris cover, and that more than half of the glaciers in the Himalaya were stable or were in fact growing. Sony VAIO VPCP113KX/W Battery Debris cover, such as rocks and mud, set apart the relatively stable glaciers of the Himalaya from the pristine glaciers of the Tibetan Plateau, currently in fast retreat. The study, conducted by the Universities of California and Potsdam and published in the journal Nature Geoscience, Sony VAIO VPC-P113KX/W Battery was based on 286 glaciers along the Himalaya and Hindu Kush from Bhutan to the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. Another preliminary survey conducted by a team of Japanese and Bhutanese scientists, including a glacio-microbiologist, glacio-ecologist and geologist, indicated that the presence of a peculiar microorganism on the surfaces of glaciers could accelerate glacial melting and eventually lead to a glacial outburst.Sony VAIO VPC-P114KX/B BatteryAgriculture
In the early 21st century, Bhutanese farmers first experienced agricultural fluctuations due to climate change, including higher temperatures, prolonged seasons, and increased erosion due to retreating glaciers in Bhutan. Sony VAIO VPC-P114KX/D Battery Double harvests in late autumn prevent production of a single mature crop and raise the specter of reduced yields in the following summer. Similar patterns in neighboring Indian regions project yield losses between 10 and 40 percent due to these changes. Some Bhutanese had changed crops as a result of these environmental changes. Sony VAIO VPC-P114KX/G BatteryForestry
Through the late 20th century, Bhutan's low population and the general absence of overdevelopment contributed to its forest preservation. Because of terrain, more accessible forests had been overcut whereas remote forests remained largely in their natural state through the early 1990s. Sony VAIO VPCEE20 Battery A progressive government-sponsored forestry conservation policy strove to balance revenue needs with ecological considerations, water management, and soil preservation. Success in managing its forest resources had long been critical to the local environment and economy and also affected downstream floodplains in India and Bangladesh. Sony VAIO VPCEF20 BatteryThe Department of Forestry was established in 1952 to oversee conservation and exploitation of the country's significant forestry resources.[16]
Forestry resource exploitation increased with the start of the First Development Plan in 1961. Sony VAIO VPCF112FX/B Battery Uncontrolled felling of trees in the 1970s by private companies in logging areas and by rural populations along roads and in main valleys stripped hillsides and caused serious erosion. Tsheri cultivation, forest fires, and overgrazing also contributed to the degradation of Bhutan's forestry resource. Sony VAIO VPCF115FG/B Battery In 1981 some 3.3 million hectares, or between 70 and 74 percent of the land, were forested, but in 1991 foreign estimates indicated a shrinking forest of only 60 to 64 percent of the land. Even more conservative estimates indicated that closer to 50 percent of Bhutan's territory still was forested in the late 1980s, and about 15 percent of GDP was produced through the nation's important forest industry. Sony VAIO VPCF116FGBI Battery Recognizing the potential value of its forestry resource, Bhutan became increasingly conscientious about forestry management in the 1970s. Starting in 1977, the World Wildlife Fund began supporting Bhutan's forest management through organizing forest ranger training programs, supplying funds for forest boundary demarcation, building guard posts, Sony VAIO VPCF117FJ/W Battery and constructing a patrol road for what was later to be designated the Royal Manas National Park. Bhutan rejected World Bank aid to build a major dam on the Manas Chhu in 1986 that would have flooded this major conservation area on the southern Bhutan-India border. By 1989 Bhutan had developed nine other forest and wildlife preserves, Sony VAIO VPCF117HG/BI Battery also mostly along the southern border with India. In the face of increasing denuded hillsides, private logging was banned, and strict standards for public-sector logging operations were established in 1979. Farmers were warned against burning off forests to clear land for tsheri cultivation, Sony VAIO VPCF118FJ/W Battery and Forest Guards were trained in increasing numbers to help preserve the valuable resources. Surveying, demarcation, conservation, and management plans for harvesting forest products were part of the Fifth Development Plan's focus on forestry preservation. Wildlife sanctuaries also were developed. Sony VAIO VPCF119FC Battery One of the immediate results of forestry sector regulation, however, was a sharp decrease in revenues since the late 1970s. In 1991 the government, with assistance from UNDP and the World Wildlife Fund, established a trust fund for environmental conservation. Initially in the amount of US$20 million, Sony VAIO VPCF119FC/BI Battery the UNDP-administered fund was aimed at producing up to US$1 million per year for training in forestry and ecology, surveying forests, reviewing and implementing management plans for protected areas, and supporting government environmental offices, public awareness programs, and integrated conservation and development programs. Sony VAIO VPCF119FJ/BI BatteryModernly, domestic timber harvesting remains legal though subject to strict regulation and inspection.[11]
Urban environments
Bhutan faces challenges in its urban environments due to increased urbanization, industrialization, and economic development. Sony VAIO VPCF11AFJ BatteryThrough 2011, many relatively urban areas lacked designated landfills and effective waste disposal systems, prompting residents to burn garbage, dump it, or simply throw it off a cliff.[26][47]
Though passed in 2009, regulation under the Waste Prevention and Management Act was finalized in 2011. Sony VAIO VPCF11AGJ Battery The regulations aimed to cover refuse segregation, including industrial, chemical, radioactive, and electronic waste, which theretofore were mixed with general refuse. The 2011 regulation also prohibitedlandfills and dumping within national parks, protected areas, biological corridors, and human settlements.[ Sony VAIO VPCF11AHJ BatteryWith its relatively high population and powerful local government, the urban thromde of Thimphu has often been at the forefront of urban environmental issues in Bhutan.
Urban waste
As of 2011, Thimphu alone produced some 51 tonnes (8,000 st) of waste daily, at an average household output of 0.96 kilograms (2.1 lb); Sony VAIO VPCF11JFX/B Battery this represented a nearly threefold increase over the three prior years.[49] Thimphu thromde authorities estimated 49 percent of Thimphu's total refuse was biodegradable organic waste; 25.3 percent was paper; 13.7 percent was plastics; and 3.6 percent was glass. Sony VAIO VPCF11M1E Battery The capital's only designated dumping site, Memelakha Landfill,[27]met its capacity in 2002, leading to overflowing[22] and illegal dumping there and at other sites around Thimphu. Through 2009, the government reaction was a "polluters pay" policy that failed to achieve its desired results. Sony VAIO VPCF11M1E/H Battery To more effectively approach refuse issues and to address different varieties of waste,Thimphu began a subsidized pilot project for sorting between biodegradable and non-biodegradable refuse.[50][51] Thimphu municipal authorities also addressed the ubiquitous plastic in its refuse with a shredder for PET bottles to facilitate transport to recycling in India. Sony VAIO VPCF11MFX/B BatteryStill, compliance with proper waste disposal remained a challenge within all segments, from street vendors[52] to ordinary citizens.[15]
In the late 2000s, Thimphu experienced steady growth despite water shortages.[53] Areas downstream from Thimphu along the Wangchu River deteriorated significantly because of human waste and refuse. Sony VAIO VPCF11S1E BatteryIn a November 2011 effort to combat downstream degradation, waste outlets were converted into collection chambers, and refuse collection programs were instituted in the area.[54]
In some areas with designated dumping sites, the distance to landfills makes them less practical than illegally dumping by the wayside or into rivers. Sony VAIO VPCF11S1E/B Battery As a result, communities outside urban areas suffer consequences of discarding refuse into the common water supply, increasing the demand for alternative water sources.[47] Villages near designated open air landfills and burning sites likewise report pollution and toxicity from runoff, as well as excess scavengeractivity, posing health hazards.[55] Sony VAIO VPCF11Z1E BatteryNoise pollution
With the advent of loudspeakers, headphones, and rumbling engines, noise pollution has been identified in Bhutanese media as an environmental concern, citing negative potentials ranging from distraction to deafness.[ Sony VAIO VPCF11Z1E/BI BatteryWater use
Competition for water use between residents and industry,as well as drying water sources,are actual and imminent environmental issues facing residents in Bhutan. Water shortages have become a widespread phenomenon in rural settlements, Sony VAIO VPCF11ZHJ Battery and as internal resettlement produces new villages, many there also face water shortages. In addition, urbanization and shifts in land ownership, including land pooling, have complicated matters of water access inThimphu. Sony VAIO VPCF127HGBI Battery In smaller settlements, infrastructure including water and waste management remained underdeveloped through 2011. Sony VAIO VPCEB1RGX/BI Battery,Sony VAIO VPCEB20 Battery,Sony VAIO VPCEC20 Battery
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