NATIONAL CONSULTATION WORKSHOP
SG2, AAD
Paro, Bhutan
22 August 2023 to 24 August 2023
Organisers: ICIMOD, Department of Livestock, Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock and the National Land Commission Secretariat, Bhutan
In collaboration with the Department of Livestock, Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock and the National Land Commission Secretariat, Bhutan, we are organising a national consultation workshop to support the Royal Government of Bhutan in improving policies and institutional coordination for integrated, participatory, and inclusive management of rangelands.
Participants of the workshop include representatives from key institutions, including government departments, business sectors, enterprises, local communities, civil society, and research organisations using or managing rangelands, sharing the benefits from rangeland management, or whose activities impact rangeland ecosystems.
Rangelands account for about 60% of the land area in the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH). They are the primary spaces and resources for the over 25–30 million indigenous and culturally diverse people who inhabit and depend directly on the extensive use of rangelands, which is, pastoralism, for livelihoods and subsistence. Rangelands also provide enormous ecosystem services and vital ecological assets of great importance to downstream areas and communities beyond the region. Driven by the climate crisis, unsustainable use, land use changes, and socio-demographic changes, rangelands in the HKH region are undergoing rapid degradation.
Until the not-so-recent past, rangelands were mainly regarded as fodder sources for livestock production. Rangeland management primarily focused on increasing the quality and quantity of fodder for more or better livestock raising. However, this has changed in recent years. People have increasingly recognised the multiple functions of rangelands and their diverse ecosystem services, for instance, forage or fodder production (livestock production), habitat for wildlife (biodiversity conservation), carbon sequestration (climate change mitigation), ecological processes (soil and water), and cultural and aesthetic values (recreation and spiritual sites). The goals and objectives for managing the same rangeland areas have thus become complex and more diverse, sometimes diverging from each other. As a result, there is a significant expansion of rangeland stakeholders in quantity and space.
One common issue related to rangeland management was that rangeland policies were often developed without the active participation of the local pastoral communities, the actual users of the rangelands. Stakeholders for rangelands management were relatively fewer in number and more homogeneous: Local communities on the one hand and the government on the other. The existing policies and institutions often fail to address the complex and interconnected challenges rangeland management poses, which led to policy and institutional gaps in managing rangelands for multiple benefits in the HKH region. Therefore, identifying the policy and institutional gaps is of paramount importance.
The shift in managing rangelands for multiple purposes, and the expansion of stakeholders and interest group space, make management much more complex. It requires policies and governing institutions to take an integrated and coordinated approach (for different functions), be inclusive (of people), ensure stakeholder participation in decision-making (a process of management), ensure equity in cost and benefit sharing, and encourage international cooperation (to address issues of regional or global scale).
Recognising this, ICIMOD launched its Rangeland intervention: Managing rangeland for multiple benefits, under Action Area D (Restoring and Regenerating Landscapes) in its fifth Medium-Term Action Plan (MTAP V). A primary objective of this intervention is to support national partners in developing evidence-based enabling policies and institutions for managing rangelands for multiple benefits.
At the inception workshop held in Kathmandu from 29 May to 1 June 2023, participants from key national partner institutions jointly developed the implementation plan for the intervention at both regional and national levels. Identifying policy and institutional gaps and recommending changes was one of the significant activities relevant and necessary for all the countries.
Among the HKH countries, Bhutan has a vast area under rangelands undergoing unprecedented change under the recently revised Land Act. Following the inception workshop, Bhutan’s National Land Commission Secretariat and Department of Livestock initiated to bring together relevant government agencies and draw their attention to issues surrounding rangelands in Bhutan. Appreciating the proactive engagement in the topic, ICIMOD has chosen Bhutan as the first regional member country to conduct a rapid desk review of the policies and institutions regarding rangeland management. After the review, we are organising a national-level stakeholder consultation workshop in Bhutan. Similar reviews and workshops are planned for Nepal and Pakistan later this year.
All time stamps are in Bhutan Time (BTT).
Time |
Programme |
08:30–09:00 |
Registration Rekha Rasaily, Programme Associate, ICIMOD |
09:00–10:30 |
Opening session Facilitator: Kesang Wangchuk, Biodiversity Specialist, ICIMOD |
09:00–09:05 |
Welcome remarks – Towchu Rabgay, Chief Livestock Officer, Department of Livestock, Bhutan |
09:05–09:15 |
Overview of ICIMOD – Bandana Shakya, Action Area Coordinator, Restoring and regenerating landscapes, ICIMOD |
09:15–09:35 |
Managing rangelands for multiple ecosystem services in the HKH: Implications for policies, governing institutions, and staff capacities (online) – Wu Ning, Professor, and Director General, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences |
09:35–09:50 |
Rangeland and its significance in Bhutan – Jigme Wangdi, Specialist II, Department of Livestock, Bhutan |
09:50–10:05 |
Introduction to intervention: Managing rangeland for multiple benefits and workshop objective and agenda – Yi Shaoliang, Intervention Manager, Managing rangeland for multiple benefits |
10:05–10:15 |
Remarks by Dasho Tshering Gyaltshen Penjor, Secretary, National Land Commission Secretariat, Bhutan |
10:15–10:25 |
Participants introduction |
10:25–10:30 |
Vote of thanks – Kesang Wangchuk, ICIMOD |
10:30–10:45 |
Group photo and tea break |
10:45–12:00 |
Facilitated discussions: Managing rangelands for multiple benefits in Bhutan’s context Bandana Shakya, Yi Shaoliang, Srijana Joshi, Ecosystem Specialist, ICIMOD |
12:00–12:30 |
Tools and approaches that can be used in managing rangelands for multiple functions and services – Srijana Joshi, ICIMOD |
12:30–13:30 |
Lunch break |
13:30–16:00 |
Planning management for ecosystem services: Introduction to a manual to practitioners (Six steps in Planning management for ecosystem services) |
13:30–14:15 |
Step 1–2 (1: Define management area and process; 2: Identify demand for ecosystem services – Yi Shaoliang, ICIMOD |
14:15–15:00 |
Step 3–4 (3: Determine ecosystem services supply; 4: Determine ecosystem functioning for ecosystem services) – Srijana Joshi, ICIMOD |
15:00–15:15 |
Tea/coffee break |
15:15–16:00 |
Step 5–6 (5: Consider ecosystem resilience to drivers of change; 6: Specify management for ecosystem services) – Bandana Shakya, ICIMOD |
16:00–16:45 |
Open discussion: Needs, availability, and accessibility of rangeland management data in Bhutan, including site-level information for Laya District – ICIMOD Team/Bhutan |
16:45–17:30 |
Closing session Closing remarks – Kesang Wangchuk, ICIMOD |
Time |
Programme |
08:30–09:00 |
Registration – Rekha Rasaily, ICIMOD |
09:00–10:30
|
Opening session Facilitator: Kesang Wangchuk, ICIMOD |
09:00–09:10 |
Welcome remarks – Tashi Yangzome Dorji, Director, Department of Livestock, Bhutan |
09:10–09:20 |
Overview of ICIMOD – Bandana Shakya, ICIMOD |
09:20–09:35 |
Managing rangelands for multiple ecosystem services in HKH: Implications for policies, governing institutions, and staff capacities – Yi Shaoliang, ICIMOD |
09:35–09:50 |
Emerging issues and opportunities of Rangeland in Bhutan: Need for multisectoral collaboration in sustainable Rangeland Management – Geley Norbu, Director, Department of Land Administration and Management, Bhutan |
09:50–10:00 |
Workshop objective and agenda – Uttam Babu Shrestha, Consultant, ICIMOD |
10:00–10:15 |
Remarks – Dasho Thinley Namgyal, Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, Bhutan |
10:15–10:20 |
Vote of thanks – Kesang Wangchuk, ICIMOD |
10:20–10:45 |
Group photo and tea break |
10:45–12:00 |
Facilitated group discussion: Exploring multiple benefits of rangeland ecosystems in Bhutan Facilitators: Kesang Wangchuk, Bandana Shakya, Yi Shaoliang, Srijana Joshi, Uttam Babu Shrestha |
12:00–12:30 |
Group presentations |
12:30–13:30 |
Lunch |
13:45–14:45 |
Facilitated group discussion: Emerging opportunities and challenges of managing rangeland ecosystems in Bhutan Facilitators: Kesang Wangchuk, Bandana Shakya, Yi Shaoliang, Srijana Joshi, Uttam Babu Shrestha |
14:45–15:00 |
Group presentations |
15:00–15:15 |
Tea/Coffee break |
15:15–16:45 |
Facilitated group discussion: Policies and programmes for managing rangeland ecosystems in Bhutan Facilitators: Kesang Wangchuk, Bandana Shakya, Yi Shaoliang, Srijana Joshi, Uttam Babu Shrestha |
16:45–17:00 |
Sharing and closing of the day |
Time |
Programme |
09:00–09:15 |
Recap of Day 1 – Uttam Babu Shrestha, ICIMOD |
09:15–10:30 |
Facilitated group discussion: Gaps in rangeland and other sectoral policies in Bhutan Facilitators: Kesang Wangchuk, Yi Shaoliang, Srijana Joshi, Uttam Babu Shrestha |
10:30–10:45 |
Sharing and presentation |
10:45–11:00 |
Tea/Coffee break |
11:00–12:30 |
Facilitated group discussion: Institutions and stakeholders of rangeland management in Bhutan and their interests and demands Facilitators: Kesang Wangchuk, Yi Shaoliang, Srijana Joshi, Uttam Babu Shrestha |
12:30–12:45 |
Sharing and presentation |
12:45–13:45 |
Lunch |
13:45–15:15 |
Facilitated group discussion: Institutional and stakeholder mandates, responsibilities and programmes in/related to rangeland utilisation and management in Bhutan Facilitators: Kesang Wangchuk, Yi Shaoliang, Srijana Joshi, Uttam Babu Shrestha |
15:15–15:30 |
Tea break |
15:30–15:45 |
Sharing and presentation |
15:45–16:30 |
Plenary discussions |
16:30–17:00 |
Workshop synthesis and closing |