Yangyel Lhaden

For the first time, stakeholders and representatives from all ministries convened to harmonise land use for sectors requiring additional land to prevent potential conflicts in land use during the implementation of the 13th Plan.

The three-day coordination meeting, organised by the National Land Commission Secretariat (NLCS), ended yesterday.

The sectors presented the amount of land they required, currently hold, and have used, seeking consolidation from the agencies concerned.

The country has a land-use conflict amounting to over 435,000 acres identified through National Land Use Zoning Baseline Report 2023 (NLUZ 2023), produced by NLCS, which was developed with the collaboration of 12 agencies using geo-spatial data.

NLCS aims to resolve the land use conflicts by 2025.

Land conflict – what is it, really?

A land conflict is a disagreement over the ownership, use, or control of land or natural resources. It often involves competing claims to land, boundaries, or resources and requires resolution through legal, regulatory, or negotiation processes.

“It would be challenging to implement the 13th Plan if agencies do not resolve land use among themselves and it is better to resolve land use conflicts before implementing activities on the ground,” a NLCS official said. “The meeting’s sole purpose is to harmonise land use with proper ordinances and negotiations.”

He said that implementing land use zoning was not to limit releasing land use for activities but also to address land use conflicts and enhance NLUZ efforts. “This is crucial for spatial planning and land harmonisation.”

The absence of proper land use plans could cost a country the equivalent of nine percent of its Gross Domestic Product annually, according to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification  (2018).

To implement the 13th Plan every agency needs land, some requiring additional land.

The reality is the country has limited land. How do we make best use of land available?

The country has a total of 664,000 acres of arable land, of which about 500,000 acres are utilised and registered as freehold land and the remaining balance of arable land is about 164,000 acres.

In addition, about 8,344 acres of State land has been leased out for activities like mining, commercial, business, and pasture development, according to NLUZ 2023.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MoAL) requires an additional 985 acres of land to construct seven commercial agriculture farms and between five and 10 acres of land for the Agri Eco Hub for the 13th Plan. The ministry plan to acquire the State land for these projects.

However, the land use conflicts arise as the MoAL seeks to clear forestland.

The Department of Geology and Mines has identified prospective mineral zones across the country for the 13th Plan. Their plans are met with land use conflicts involving various sectors.

These conflicts include the Department of Forests and Park Services (DoFPS), where some land falls within protected areas and the MoAL, where some zones are on protected wetlands, and the Ministry of Culture, where some mineral sites overlap with religious and cultural heritage sites, among others.

The energy sectors will have to install 16,211-megawatt (MW) of hydropower projects and 5,026 MW solar projects by 2040 that requires about 50,000 acres of land for hydropower and 18,314.5 acres of land for solar power respectively

An official from Druk Green Power Corporation said that most suitable land conflicts with protected areas, biological corridors, and Tsamdros, impacting targets.

“With 52 percent of the country designated as protected area and biological corridor, implementing 16,211 MW of hydropower and 5,026 MW of projects will inevitably affect these areas,” she said. “We request the DoFPS to consider us when the Head Race Tunnel (HRT) falls under these protected areas.”

An HRT is a passage that carries water from a river or reservoir to a hydropower turbine for generating electricity.

Similarly, all stakeholders sought mitigation measures and collaboration to solve land use conflicts. A DoFPS official said that while they must adhere to constitutional requirements, they were open to negotiating with relevant agencies for land in the nation’s best interest and to maintain forest coverage.

An NLCS official said that the coordination meeting was just the beginning and would continue through negotiation until land use zoning and conflicts are resolved.