Thimphu, 14-17 March 2016
The national stakeholder meeting gathered representatives from national Government agencies, private sector, NGOs, and the United Nations to discuss the different technical aspects related to the development of the TEEB Bhutan study: “Integrating the Value of Ecosystems and Biodiversity in Hydropower Development Strategies”.
The workshop was organized by Ugyen Wangchuck Institute for Conservation and Environment (UWICE), and participants included representatives from:
- Watershed Management Division, Ministry of Agriculture and Forests
- Forest Resources Management Division, Ministry of Agriculture and Forests
- Department of Renewable Energy, Ministry of Economic Affairs
- Department of Hydropower and Power Systems, Ministry of Economic Affairs
- National Environment Commission
- Hydro Met Services Division, Department of Energy
- National Statistics Bureau
- Druk Green Power Corporation
- WWF
- KnowlEdge Srl
- UNEP TEEB Office
“The workshop was engaging for everyone”, said Kavita Sharma, Technical Expert for National Studies at UNEP TEEB, “and will certainly help us get to a comprehensive analysis of hydropower development in Bhutan, not only focused on environmental dimensions of hydropower development, but also socioeconomic ones. Moreover, what is great in Bhutan – and the credit goes to UWICE for making this possible – is that we have been able to bring together people from very different agencies, so that our work is both cross-sectoral and relevant for policymakers.”
Host Ministry:
Ministry of Agriculture and Forests
Research institution:
Ugyen Wangchuck Institute for Conservation and Environment (UWICE)
This study is supported by the European Commission as part of the “Reflecting the Value of Ecosystems and Biodiversity in Policy-Making” project.