Environmental research

The project supported three (3) Community Primary Schools in Gasa. Since the establishment of these schools, they were taking active participation in conservation and management related to the environment. The Schools are also affiliated to the Royal Society for Protection of Nature (RSPN) a renouned environmental conservation NGO of Bhutan. The schools are located within the Jigme Dorji National Park (JDNP). This Damji Community School has the capacity to conduct lots of activities in terms of creating awareness and sensitizing the local area about a healthy environment. The school has hosted the`Red Panda Festival` annually about labeling of water on the trail, management of waste on the trail, environment campaigns and many other environmental conservation related activities. The school is also established in 1997 by the Jigme Dorji National Park. The School has WFP support and provide meals to the students, using traditional open oven which consume a lot of firewood. Laya Community School is located at an altitude of 3,800 m where there is scarcity of firewood. Owing to the high altitude, the firewood needs to be transported from downhill, which is a tedious job and transportation is often a problem. The parents contribute firewood to the school on a monthly basis leading to deforestation. The Lunana Community Primary School also established by JDNP in 1997 also faces similar situation as the Laya Community Primary School. All these schools have the WFP facilities. The main objective of the project was to take up measures on how to live sustainably in a green world, so that the affected communities are benefitted as well as the biodiversity of the local forest is protected which would help in a little way on the conservation of the global environment. The project completed the activities as the following: 1. Installed 3 numbers of improved stoves each in the schools` kitchens; 2. The Red Panda Festival - The Damji Community Primary School conducted the fourth Red Panda Festival in collaboration iwth the sister schools i.e. the Gasa Lower Secondary School and the Goenshari Community Primary School of Punakha. Although the outcome of the festival is immeasurable, there was a lot of sensitization and educating the illiterates on the overall environmental conservation benefits highlighting the importance of eco-system through exhibitions, inquiries, dramatization, deliveries, environmental campaigns to create awareness on the whole theme of biodiversity conservation and protection of biodiversity - its flora and fauna. 3. In order to create awareness on the waste management, reduction of open-air defecation, and to control the pollution along the trails, cleaning campaign was conducted. 4. The students were exposed through study tours and were taken to Nature Club Schools.

Bhutan