UNCCD 2nd Scientific Conference

1. Strategies & options to address land
degradation due to landslides in the
context of Bhutan
UNCCD 2nd Scientific Conference,
9th – 12th April 2013
Bonn, Germany
Karma Dema Dorji
National Soil Services Centre
Ministry of Agriculture & Forests

2. Overview
Introduction
Landslides related concerns
Landslides mitigation initiatives
Lessons learned from the
initiatives
Conclusion
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3. The Country-BHUTAN
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4. Facts & Figures
Land area
% Area by Altitudinal Range
38,394 sq. km
1.1%
19.4% 5.3% Below 600 m
600 - 2,400 m
38.4%
2,400 - 4,200 m
35.8%
4,200 - 6,000 m
Above 6,000 m Population
≈ 720,679
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5. Facts & Figures (contd.)
Physiographic zones → 3 (GH, IH, SH)
Climatic zones → 4 (alpine, sub-alpine,
temperate & subtropical)
Country agrarian ≈ 69% population
depend on agriculture
Farming ≈ largely subsistence based on
traditional knowledge with low farm
inputs.
Average land holding ≈ < a hectare.
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6. The Land cover (%)
80
70.46
70
60
50
Total Area %
40
30
20
10.43
7.44
10 4.10 3.20
2.93
0.16 0.01 0.72 0.01 0.54
0
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7. Land degradation information
Land degradation in Bhutan is not well
documented
Information on the cause, extent trend &
other issues e.g. economic & social
implications of LD is scarce & localised
Information put together indicates that
different types of land degradation occur
in Bhutan
4/10/2013 National Soil Services Centre 7

8. Causes of landslides
Steep and rugged terrain of the Bhutan Himalayas
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9. % land under different slope
angles
0 to 8
2%
8 to 30
20%
> 30
78%
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10. Land formation
Widest valley Arable land on steep slopes
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11. Causes of landslide (contd.)
Fragile/Unstable geological settings
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12. Anthropogenic/Direct factors of
LD
1) Forest fires
2) Excessive use of forest resources
3) Overgrazing
4) Construction of infrastructure without proper
environmental assessments & measures
5) Industrial development
6) Unsustainable Mining
7) Solid waste
8) Urbanization
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13. Indirect Factors of LD
a. Population Growth and Structure
Population growing @ 1.3% p.a.
Total Fertility Rate is high at 3/woman
while Contraceptive Prevalence Rate is
low at 31%
Geographically skewed population
distribution
Young age structure of the population with
51% under 25 years
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14. b. Poverty
23% of the Bhutanese live below
National Poverty (NP) line of Nu.
1,100/p/m ($ 20-22)
31% live below the NP line in rural
areas
1.7% live below the NP line in
urban areas
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15. c. 69% depend on Agriculture
Small land holding size limits
the scope for SLM interventions
Unsustainable agricultural
practices
 Cultivation on marginal land
 Imbalanced used of inorganic fertilizers
Poor irrigation system magt.
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16. d. Social Norms
Land fragmentation due to split inheritance
among families
 Results in unsustainable intensification of both
land & land based resources
Farm labour shortage due to rural-urban
migration
 Results in poor mgt. & maintenance of vast areas
of land left fallow
 Labour intensive SLM activities are not
implemented
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17. e. Climate Change
Extreme climate cause increased forest
fires, glacial retreat and GLOFs, flashfloods
and landslides
There are 677 glaciers & 2,674 glacial
lakes in Bhutan.
 Of these, a total of 25 glacial lakes pose
potentially high risk for GLOFs
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18. f. Policy & Institutional Issues
Lack of cross-sectoral policy on national
land use & mgt.
Weak focus on LM (esp. farm land) in
environmental laws & regulations
Lacuna in institutional setting for national
land use & mgt.
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19. Main concerns due to LD include:
Loss of land physically due to landslides &
downstream siltation leading to reduction
in usable land sizes;
Decline in land producitvity leading to food
insufficiency & insecurity
Increasing river sediment loads leading to
escalation in hydropower maintenance
costs
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20. • GDP share - 22% (2011)
• Power generated by 4 mega Plant
is about 7,308.8 MU (2011)
Hydropower • Total export of power to
neighboring countries is about
5,624.3 (2011)
• GDP share – 16% (2011)
Agriculture • 69% of the total population depend
on Agriculture for their livelihoods
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21. Experiences from:
1.Implementing
SLM Programs
& Projects
2. Conducting
LM
campaigns
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22. Initiatives to prevent/mitigate LD
Developed NAP to guide different sectors
to combat LD
Supported policy development to
strengthen the overall policy support for
SLM
Strengthened human & institutional
capacities in anticipating & combating LD
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23. Initiatives to prevent/mitigate LD
Developed village level SLM planning
methodology to enable site & problem
specific SLM interventions
Promoted best SLM technologies e.g.
terracing, contour bunding, hedgerows
check dams, etc.
Develop site and problem specific SLM
technical manual
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24. Initiatives to prevent/mitigate LD
Erosion plots establishment to generate
soil erosion rate information
Development of Dynamic Information
Framework (DIF) to help simulate LD
related scenarios
School curriculum on LD & SLM
development
4/10/2013 National Soil Services Centre 24

25. Initiatives to prevent /mitigate LD
Others such as:
 Promotion of organic farming
 Protection of wetland including irrigated land
 Promotion of private & community forests
 Banning “Tseri” (slash & burn) practice
 Swapping marginal land with govt. reserve
forests
 Resettling from marginal to better land owned
by Govt.
 Allotting land to landless group
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26. Lessons learned
Focus village approach in identifying
LD problems, planning & implementing
 Addresses farm labour shortage problem
 Enables wider adoption of SLM initiatives
 Enables development of common facilities
like group saving schemes, establish
seedling nurseries, community halls,
 Enables a greater visual impact of SLM
interventions
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27. Lessons learned
Participatory SLM planning methods
 Enables the participation of everyone in decision the
making
 Enables site and problem specific planning &
budgeting of SLM activities
 Enables timely implementation of planned activities
 Enables greater ownership & sustainability of SLM
Communication on landslide risks & impacts
 Enables wider awareness & greater interests in SLM
especially in the remote corners of Bhutan
 Communication before & after the implementation of
technologies effective
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28. Lessons learned
Mitigation of landslides (precusors)
 Implementing low cost bio-engineering measures
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29. Conclusions
Many threats are posed by different forms
(e.g. Landslide) of land degradation;
 It causes both on & off-site impacts often extending
beyond the political boundaries
 Addressing precursors of landslides are more effective
than trying to address the actual landslide areas
 On-site practical demonstration of technologies is more
effective than awareness through media
Policy support necessary for SLM
 Cause & effect, extent of impact, social & economical
implications of LD is very important
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30. Thank you!!!
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