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THE CLIMATE SHIFTS. BHUTAN RESPONDS.

By United Nations Development Programme

September 8^th, 2016

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“If you want to action great ideas, you need to apply the strength of a Himalayan mountain.” - Bhutanese Proverb

Tiger’s Nest Monastery, Bhutan (>3000m above mean sea-level)

A changing environment

Perched in the Himalayas at an average elevation of 2,220 m, Bhutan (the fourth-highest country in the world), is particularly vulnerable to health risks posed by changes in its climate. Dengue fever, never detected in Bhutan until 2004, is now endemic during the monsoon period. Diarrhoeal diseases are responsible for as much as 15% of Bhutan’s annual morbidity. Glacial lake outburst floods have claimed scores of lives and destroyed multiple villages since the 1950s.

Working on the UNDP-supported project: Reducing Climate Change-induced Risks from Glacial Lake Outbur

Monitoring work to reduce impacts of glacial lake outburst floods is done near Lunana, village in Gasa District by the foot of the glacier.

High altitude ecosystems, such as Bhutan’s, face special climate change-related hazards. A growing body of evidence suggests that elevation amplifies the rate of warming, with serious consequences for health: shrinking glaciers and water reservoirs; expansions to the range of mosquitoes and sandflies, and attendant increases in diseases such as malaria, dengue, and visceral leishmaniasis; more frequent flash floods and landslides; and a higher incidence of water-borne illnesses.

Adapting to protect public health

Despite the susceptibility of Bhutan’s public health to climate change, the country has worked hard to strengthen its capacity to adapt to climate change. An important innovation of the Bhutanese initiative is linking climate data with epidemiological surveillance.

Early Warning Systems in Wangdue, Punakha and Gasa

At six combined health/meteorological centres throughout Bhutan, cases of diarrhoea, acute respiratory infections, malaria, dengue, visceral leishmaniasis, and Japanese encephalitis are monitored and recorded, and linked with climate data and insect counts. The result is a national health system with more data on the relationship between meteorological variables and public health, greater resilience to climate change, and more advance warning for climate sensitive diseases.

The result is a national health system with more data on the relationship between meteorological variables and public health, greater resilience to climate change, and more advance warning for climate sensitive diseases.

Change is in the water

The data initiative is complemented with water projects employing sustainable techniques. Through Bhutan’s Public Health Engineering Division, more than 100 composting toilets have been constructed and installed. These toilets require no water to operate, reducing demand on dwindling water supplies. They also serve to prevent human waste from making its way into water supplies, reducing diarrhoeal diseases by more than a third – significant in a country where nearly 20,000 children under five with diarrhoeal illnesses are treated annually

Water Quality Monitoring in Project Area

Public Health Early Warning Systems in Action

Other sustainable water practices include efforts to harvest and store rainfall more effectively; revive spring sources through water catchment development; and implement the practice of greywater management – showing the confluence of sustainable development, climate change adaptation, and public health.

Driving climate change issues to the foreground

“The wind never stops blowing and the river never rests.” - Bhutanese Proverb

Bhutan’s government, with support from WHO and UNDP, is endeavouring to harness the lessons learned in order to mainstream climate change issues into government policies, strategies, and plans, and to develop action plans for climate change adaptation.

For example, Bhutan’s response to climate change included the development of a Water Safety Plan (WSP) - a comprehensive approach to risk assessment and management that includes all steps in the water supply from catchment to consumer. The WSP is being implemented nationwide and is expected to improve the safety of drinking water supplies in the country.

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Bhutan is one of seven pilot countries in the “Piloting Climate Change Adaptation to Protect Public Health” initiative, jointly implemented by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNDP-Global Environment Facility (GEF).

The initiative, financed by the GEF’s Special Climate Change Fund, works to identify and share solutions to address health risks caused and exacerbated by climate change.

The seven countries – Barbados, Bhutan, China, Fiji, Jordan, Kenya and Uzbekistan – represent four distinctly vulnerable environments (Highlands, Small Islands, Arid Countries and Urban environments) and their related health risks.

All seven countries in this global health project are working to enhance systems of early warning and early action, increase capacity, reduce health risks, and to share lessons learned.

For more information on the global project, please visit: www.who.int/globalchange/projects/adaptation

For details on the Bhutan work, visit UNDP Bhutan projects: http://www.undp.org/content/bhutan/en/home/operations/projects/crisis_prevention_and_recovery/

Bhutanese proverbs from The Bhutanese Guide to Happiness: 365 Proverbs from the World’s Happiest Nation by Gyonpo Tshering

This story was adapted and edited from an earlier version.

Footnotes

Photos and text by Andrea Egan and David Angelson (Public Health Advisor), WHO Bhutan Country Office, UNDP Bhutan, and Government of Bhutan.

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FootNotes

Photos and text by Andrea Egan and David Angelson (Public Health Advisor), WHO Bhutan Country Office, UNDP Bhutan, and Government of Bhutan.

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THE CLIMATE SHIFTS. BHUTAN RESPONDS.

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