The WWF is run at a local level by the following offices...
- WWF Global
- Adria
- Argentina
- Armenia
- AsiaPacific
- Australia
- Austria
- Azerbaijan
- Belgium
- Bhutan
- Bolivia
- Borneo
- Brazil
- Bulgaria
- Cambodia
- Cameroon
- Canada
- Caucasus
- Central African Republic
- Central America
- Central Asia
- Chile
- China
- Colombia
- Croatia
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Denmark
- Ecuador
- European Policy Office
- Finland
Our News
Building the resilience of local communities against the impact of climate change
WWF-Bhutan working with the Department of Forests and Park Services and local government in Jigme Dorji National Park and Jomotsangkha Wildlife Sanctuary to help communities address the climate change impacts through Climate Crowd project.
Draagchhukha village in Goenshari gewog, Punakha wears the best look of the year with furrows of golden terraces filled with ready to harvest paddy fields in Autumn. The glory of a bountiful harvest season could also be felt in the warm and hospitality of the locals here. However, the harvest season comes with sleepless nights until they collect all their grains and rice for the year. The farmers in Draagchukha will have to be awake at night for months, guarding their crops against wild animals. Draagchukha village in Punakha is one of the many settlements located inside the Jigme Dorji National Park, one of the 10 protected areas in the country. The struggle to afford a bowl of rice on the table is real.
“We live inside the core areas of the park where wild animals roam freely, including the majestic species such as tigers. Wildlife attack on crops and livestock is the biggest concern for the community here. We could manage to harvest only about 60 percent of the total harvest in a year.”
~ Tshering Zangmo, Tshogopa, Draagchukha chiwog
According to a key informant survey conducted as part of the project at the Jigme Dorji National Park, which includes respondent from Draagchukha chiwog, decrease in abundance of wild food, decrease in water availability, reduced crop yields, increase in prevalence of pests and human wildlife conflicts were major challenges facing the people living inside the park. WWF-Bhutan in collaboration with the Department of Forests and Park Services will develop an intervention aimed at reducing the impact of climate change such as increasing human wildlife conflict, triggered by decreasing food and water sources in the wild and work towards securing the livelihood and income of the people in Draagchukha chiwog.
In Langchenphu and Samrang gewogs in Samdrupjongkhar, decreased freshwater availability, decrease in crop yields, increasing risk of floods and landslide, drought, and hotter summer causing more diseases are some of the major challenges facing the communities living in the two geowgs. Climate Crowd project in collaboration with the gewog administration and Jomotsangkha Wildlife Sanctuary will work towards providing a reliable water supply in two gewogs by securing water sources and develop a reliable water supply system that would help build the resilience of the communities in the face of worsening climate change impacts.
Local government officials say that it is important for the local people and decision makers on ground to understand the impact of climate change. This would help people and communities us adapt to changing weather patterns affecting the livelihoods.
“There used to be abundant water sources but all these sources are dried up now. People face the difficulty in growing crops and vegetables. This was mainly because we couldn’t protect the water sources. Securing water is our main priority now. If the current water sources dry-up, there will be a huge drinking and irrigation water problems.”
~ Guman Singh, Gup, Langchenphu gewog.
Yak rearing and ferrying the goods of guests and tourists visiting Jigme Dorji National Park is the main source of income for the small herder community in Soe gewog, Thimphu. The highland community also depend on collection of non-wood forests products such as incense for living. However, with climate change affecting the the pastureland and the availability of natural resources, affording a decent living is becoming challenging every year. A survey conducted as part of the Climate Crowd project with the community reported that the community there were less wild food, especially cordyceps and medicinal herbs and other natural resources that the locals depend for living.
The project team also consulted with the herder community in Yaksa village. The community faced similar impacts from the changing climate and weather patterns, making them more vulnerable to diseases, lack os pastures and drying up of water sources. The project will strengthen the facilities of the local NWFP group- Ngomoen tshogpa by providing them machines and packaging training. This would help the community package incense products and sell it for better prices. Supporting Gonor Tshogpa Fund and providing modified tents during summer grazing camp were also discussed with the communities.
“Providing the group with required machines and training support would benefit the local people here and also the future generations.”
Nima, Soe
The officials from WWF-Bhutan and the Department of Forests and Park Services met with the communities in Draagchukha, Soe, Yaksa under the Jigme Dorji National Park and local people from Langchenphu and Samrang gewogs under Jomotsangkha Wildlife Sanctuary in October 2024.
By Nima, WWF-Bhutan