July 2014 Table of Contents
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- Background
- Implementation of CC-Activities on the Ground
IntroductionBhutan has secured an assistance package from the European Union (EU) supported Global Climate Change Alliance (GCCA) programme for response, readiness and resilience to the effects of climate change (CC). The support is for the Climate Change Adaptation Program (CCAP), for the Renewable Natural Resources (RNR) sector, which is implemented by Council for RNR research of Bhutan (CoRRB) Secretariat in a sector-support model. Through this assistance the RNR sector will enhance resilience of rural households in the critical watershed (Kurichu River Basin to start with) and ensure readiness to effects of climate change. In order to be prepared for the effect of climate change, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forests (MoAF) has developed the RNR Sector Adaptation Plan of Action (SAPA) which will be the key strategic document for mainstreaming climate change into the RNR sector 11th Five Year Plan (FYP) and to guide implementation of CC adaptation initiatives at local level. As per the Financing Agreement (FA) between the Royal Government of Bhutan (RGoB) and the EU, signed in November 2012, the flow of assistance (disbursement of fixed & variable tranches), will be based on the following conditions. i. Bhutan will maintain a credible and relevant stability oriented macro economic framework; ii Satisfactory progress in the implementation of the public financial management reform plan; and iii Satisfactory progress towards making the RNR Sector climate change resilient: Mainstreaming climate change adaptation into the RNR Sector and implementation of climate change adaptation measures in the sector.
The RNR SAPA serves as the strategic plan for mainstreaming CC adaptation actions into the RNR 11th FYP and also concurs with the objectives of the Bhutan National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA) 2012. The SAPA emphasises the need for developing an efficient Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) and RNR statistical system to allow reliable data collection and processing. Currently, basic data to assess impacts of CC on agriculture, food security, water resources, forests and biodiversity are poorly documented and inadequate to draw conclusions for CC analysis and developing proper adaptation measures. The national capacity in terms of institutional, infrastructure, human, and technical capacity in dealing with CC and its effects on forest and biological diversity, food security and water resources is under development. However, in general terms, we know very little on impacts of CC on the RNR sector at all levels making it difficult to enhance reliable awareness campaigns and education on impacts of CC. The specific areas of capacity that need to be addressed include research and assessment, monitoring, extension and training, and policy development. Concerted efforts must be made into educating the people on the impacts of CC on agriculture and food security, water resources, forest and biodiversity. Subject to the outcome of several studies, baselines surveys and the impact assessments that CoRRB-S has included in the work-plan; subsequent recommendation will highlight specific areas to tackle in terms of CC readiness and actions thereof.
The selection criteria, for a pilot water-basin, are based on level of poverty, status of community resilience and need for climate change adaptation initiative in the dzongkhags across all major watersheds of Bhutan. Kurichu River Basin (KRB) has been identified for implementing the CCAP support; and consequently Pemagatshel, Mongar, Lhuentse and Zhemgang Dzongkhags, which fall within the KRB , will be the immediate project beneficiary Dzongkhags. Figure : Map showing CCAP covered Kurichu River-Basin with poverty % legend The level of poverty ( as in the legend for Figure 1) is based on the Poverty Assessment Report (PAR-2012); which has been measured using the parameters like literacy rate, health conditions, medical facilities, water & sanitation, road infrastructure & bridges, commerce, transport & communication and water supply, in addition to consumption and availability of food. The PAR 2012 established the total poverty line at Nu. 1,704.84 per person per month. Poverty in rural areas (16.7%) is significantly higher than urban areas (1.8%). Accordingly poverty rates are observed to be high in Dagana, Samtse, Lhuentse, Pema Gatshel, Zhemgang and remoter parts of Monger Dzongkhags.
The CCAP is a sector support program. Its interventions go to four Dzongkhags to support climate change adaptation activities implemented through Gewogs. The interventions are direct sub-sectoral activities (in agriculture, livestock and forestry sub-sectors), and support services, handled by the departments and non-department agencies at the centre. The budgetary resources therefore are routed through the departments, who finance the activities to be implemented in dzongkhags / gewogs as deposit work. Its main implementing partners are the four departments, which are Department of Agriculture, Department of Livestock, Department of Forests and Park Services and Department of Agricultural Marketing & Cooperatives; and six non departmental organizations like Council for RNR Research of Bhutan – Secretariat, Bhutan Agriculture and Food Regulatory Authority, Information & Communication Services, National Biodiversity Centre, Policy & Planning Division and Rural Development Training Centre. These implementing partners are the focal institutions (FI). Each of these FIs has nominated focal persons (FP) for implementations of the CCAP activities. The Program Coordination Unit (PCU) housed at the CoRRB Secretariat is the coordinating agency for climate change initiatives, and will spearhead to coordinate with all stakeholders to facilitate the implementation of the RNR SAPA. While the sector specific actions under the RNR SAPA will be implemented by the relevant departments/agencies, relevant cross sectoral actions like for instance awareness campaigns will be implemented by the CoRRB Secretariat. The role of Dzongkhags will be the coordination of implementation of adaptation activities for their respective Dzongkhags and to ensure that implementation is strictly within the purview of the work plans; and also to ensure timely progress reporting to the Programme Coordination Unit (PCU) through their allied central agencies. The role of ten implementation partners or stakeholders at the centre is to coordinate respective sector plans, to ensure integration of respective sector plan into the national M&E system and timely update of Planning and Monitoring System (PLAMS), to ensure timely implementation of the respective sector plans and to ensure integration of the GCCA allocation into respective 11th FYP. In order to streamline the entire process of integration into 11th Five Year Plan (EFYP) and stakeholder engagement for implementation, more than 40 officials from central agencies, Dzongkhag RNR sector heads and planning officers from the four Dzongkhags attended a four-days planning workshop on the CCAP programme in Mongar from September 9 - 13, 2013. The objective of the participatory meeting was to finalize priority adaptation action areas for the natural resource sectors, identify priority adaptation activities in the project beneficiary dzongkhags, and define resource allocation by sub-sector and dzongkhags. Departments and agencies under the RNR sub-sectors: Forests, livestock and agriculture will implement CC-activities in the selected Kurichu River Basin; and Pemagatshel, Mongar, Lhuentse and Zhemgang will be the direct project beneficiary districts. In this context water, biodiversity and food security are considered as cross-cutting issues that have to be taken into account and mainstreamed in the planning and implementation of all activities. CoRRB will conduct baseline surveys covering livestock, agriculture and forestry in Kurichu River Basin which will be the first set of data for Climate Change Information System (CCIS); and Policy and Planning Division (PPD) will strengthen RNR Policies and Legislations through formulation of a RNR- Disaster Preparedness and Response Strategy. The section 4 below provides the details of major planned activities and expected outputs.
Community Participation (CP), essentially, seeks to engage local communities in development projects. In Bhutan, ever-since the introduction of Dzongkhag Yargay Tshogdue (District Development Committee or DYT) in 1981 and Gewog Yargay Tshogchung (Gewog Development Committee or GYT) in 1991, community participation in development has taken a variety of forms as an important part of the "basic needs approach" to development. Most manifestations of CP seek “to give the poor a part in initiatives designed for their benefit” in the hopes that development projects will be more sustainable and successful if local populations are engaged in the development process. The work planning workshop which was held in Mongar in September 2013, finalized the activities to be undertaken in the program and implemented in the farmers field over the four years period. Sub-sectoral activities that were presented and finalized by the workshop have actually emerged from the consultation with the farmers or the communities themselves. The GYT comprises of Tshogpas (development representative of one or cluster of villages). These Tshogpas were advised by the sub-sectoral extension officers of the particular Gewog. After getting the consulted list of activities from the Tshogpas, these were further validated by the extension officers for their technical feasibilities and absorptive capacity of beneficiaries themselves. The activity list was further consolidated at the District Officers’ level before it was presented to the workshop. Thus the beneficiary participation in the planning process has been there for the efficiency of implementation, cost sharing and program sustainability. In general all planning processes have the mandate and moral obligation to "listen to the people," both to understand their needs and to assess how their lives are actually being affected by programs and policies. Participatory development is the most important approach towards enabling communities to help themselves and sustain efforts in development work. In CCAP communities are no longer seen as recipients of development program; rather, they have become critical stakeholders that have an important role to play in the management of program in their areas. The most important aspect is the training and exposure trips to beneficiaries in different aspects of adaptation methodologies and technologies. A separate resource chunk is maintained at the PCU to meet some of the crucial needs of the capacity building. This is the first step towards building their capacities to effectively participate in identifying and responding to community issues and problems in the program. As envisaged in the program design, and in the Monitoring Framework (MF), the CP is also very crucial during the progress assessment. The Dzongkhags have to submit quarterly progress reports to the FIs at the centre in order for them to consolidate and onward submit the report to PCU. The PCU, will make a field verification and assessment of the development intervention at the field level, during which the beneficiaries will be interviewed and participatory progress assessment will be made.
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