Thimphu — Impressive economic and human development gains that
contribute to Bhutan's Gross National Happiness are threatened
by changing climate conditions with the country's poorest people
likely to suffer the worst impact, according to the third
National Human Development Report released today in Thimphu.
Building resilience is key to the livelihoods of the one quarter
of Bhutan's population who live in poverty and depend on
subsistence farming and local natural resources which are
vulnerable to changing weather patterns and melting glaciers,
says the report titled "Sustaining Progress: Rising to the
Climate Challenge." "Alternative development pathways, such as
Gross National Happiness (GNH) that we are promulgating will
influence the capacity of communities...to adapt to climate
change," said Pema Gyamtsho, Minister of Agriculture and
Forests, at the report's launch. As part of its efforts to
realize its wide-ranging GNH philosophy of life, Bhutan has
prioritized conservation of the environment, includin