Global climate change and loss of biodiversity is severely straining life support systems of our planet. Without concerted and large scale efforts to mitigate climate change and stem the loss of biodiversity, planetary support systems may buckle and crash under current trajectories.

While much of the world is – finally – trying to course correct, and remain in the midst of setting targets to achieve net zero by 2050 and other dates, Bhutan, a small, 38394 km2, kingdom in the eastern Himalayas, continues to remain carbon negative and maintains over 70% of its land area under forests. Bhutan’s GHG emissions estimated at 3,750.563 Gg of CO2e as of 2015 are dwarfed by removals by forests estimated at 9,421.013 Gg of CO2e.

Forests, however, are subject to both anthropogenic pressure and climate change related stress, and remain susceptible to degradation. Current estimates show that degraded forest spread over 1.6 million acres across Bhutan and are found both within Protected Areas and Forest Management Units of Bhutan.

In addition to forests which are degraded, a significant portion of dry arable land also remain fallow. Focused restoration of degraded forest areas and rehabilitation of fallow arable dryland will increase Bhutan’s carbon storage capacity and help keep Bhutan on a carbon negative trajectory.

Over the next 4 years (2022 till 2025) BES in collaboration with the Department of Forest and Park Services, communities and volunteers will plant and nurture over a million high value trees in fallow lands and degraded forests across Bhutan with the support from Bhutan Foundation.