Staff Reporter

The Gross National Happiness Commission (GNHC) and UNDP signed a project for which USD 25.3 million through the Green Climate Fund (GCF) on January 10 at GNHC office.

The project ‘Supporting Climate Resilience and Transformational Changes in the Agriculture Sector in Bhutan’ is expected to help Bhutan prepare and adapt to climate change.

The Chief of the Development Corporation Division of the GNHC, Wangchuk Namgay, said the project will help bridge the resource gap of the 12th Plan. It will also help address climate change adaptation challenges facing the country, particularly in the agriculture sector. 

The project will focus on enhancing the climate resilience of the rural population by supporting climate-resilient irrigation, sustainable land management practices, stabilisation of critical landslide-prone areas and providing climate information to the farmers to help enable better planning of farming activities.

“With a long history of strong partnership with the GNHC, both at the policy and community levels, UNDP is pleased to support this project and contribute to the government’s top priority and Sustainable Development Goals,” UNDP Resident Representative Azusa Kubota said.

“With this project, there is a huge responsibility to shoulder in order to showcase Bhutan’s efforts in climate action and elevate the fruits of our efforts on a global level,” she said.

The GNHC and UNDP will provide strategic and oversight roles to the project while the Local Governments will implement the project with technical support from the National Centre for Hydrology and Meteorology, Department of Agriculture, and Department of Roads.