How a community and its people at present are the products
of the past. It is perhaps a blessing for the people of Bhutan to have His
Majesty Jigme Singye Wangchuck as a king of unparalled wisdom, benevolence and
vision. Right from his coronation address till last abdication, His Majesty
devoted everything to serve the nation, reaching out the nook and corner of the
kingdom. Fourth Druk Gyalpo believed
that the ultimate goal of the nation was the contentment of the people and that
we should not compromise our environment, culture and tradition for the sake of
socio-economic development. For that Gross National Happiness (GNH) was
envisioned as a development philosophy right after his enthronement. His
Majesty realized and declared that development paradigm-Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
did not consider the ultimate goal of the every human being and concluded that
GDP is neither an equitable nor a meaningful measurement for the human happiness.
Thus, the philosophy of Gross National Happiness was born.
Photo
credit: Google.
As Bhutan break the cocoon of isolation and observed
modernization in last few decades, Gross National Happiness remains largely an
intuitive insight and guiding light. It reminds government and people that
material progress was not only contributor to the wellbeing. Farsighted
philosophy had not been there, like in many countries, Bhutan would have failed
to distinguish between activities that increase a nation’s wealth and those
that deplete its natural resources. If the forest of Bhutan were logged for profit
and minerals are extracted, GDP would have increased but if the GNH principle
were not applied and environmental consideration are not taken into account, the country today would have
affected with several massive challenges like degradation of tropical rainforest,landslide,flood and
,many other havoc. Amidst in the time of challenges and opportunity,
temptations and restraints, His Majesty has a clear and profound environmental
vision that of which we enjoy today and commit to pass on to coming
generations.
Of all the insurmountable tasks and insuperable achievements
of His Majesty is one of the pillars of Gross National Happiness to conserve
environment for all times to come. Even as the world witness the alarming
environmental hazards, deforestation and desertification. Bhutan is fortunate
to have vast proportions of its natural forest intact. Under farsighted
leadership, series of law and policies that have a positive impact on conservation
and environment sustainability are established. The most notable is the
Bhutan’s commitment to maintain sixty percent of country’s total lands under
forest cover for all times.
His Majesty’s great ideas of nature conservation against
rapid economic development have sown the seeds of future wellbeing and have
shaped the vision of Bhutan’s environment stewardship. His Majesty innovative
environmental conservation laws and policies and our environment status have
gained global recognition. Today the world acknowledges Bhutan as a Last
Shangri-Lha of the world.
Written by Yeshi Dorji
Bachelor of science in Environment and Climate Studies (1st
Year, 1stBatch)
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