Bhutan a country of about 750,000 people in population has set some very impressive

environmental benchmarks. Often overlooked by the international community, the small nation
which lies deep within the Himalayas between China and India, two of the most populated
countries in the world, is hailed as one of the greenest countries on Earth.
Bhutan has been hailed as one of the greenest countries on Earth. Currently, the countrys carbon
emissions rate is a negligible 0.8 metric tons per capita, according to the World Bank. Not only is
Bhutan carbon neutral, it's also a carbon sink making it one of the few countries in the world to
have negative carbon emissions.

"According to recent figures, the country emits around 1.5 million tonnes of carbon annually,
while its forests absorb over 6 million tonnes," says Proudly Carbon Neutral. Despite this, it still
wants to go even further to zero net greenhouse gas emissions by 2020, while also going 100
percent organic by 2020 and zero-waste by 2030.

In 2011, the government launched the National Organic Program in order to help the country
meet its goal of 100 percent organic by 2020.
By teaching farmers good organic farming practices and how to earn more money by growing
organic produce, and by providing financial support, Bhutan hopes to reduce waste, decrease the
countrys dependence on imported food, and ensure it remains climate-neutral, producing no
more climate-changing emissions each year than its forests absorb.
Already praised by environmentalists for its low carbon emissions and heavy use of hydropower,
Bhutan hopes to become even greener by showing that environmentally friendly farming can
also make money.
The government is offering free training programs in organic farming to turn Bhutan's
subsistence farmers barely eking out a living into successful entrepreneurs. The switch
to organic is also helping this Himalayan mountain kingdom achieve its zero waste goal, as well.
Hurdles remain, however. The country is still highly dependent on imported food. "According to
a 2014 study on food security by the Royal Bhutan College of Thimphu, less than four percent of
Bhutans total land is under food cultivation, which is why almost 50 percent of the countrys
rice is imported from India and Thailand,". One farmer complains that the government needs to
help widen the market for organic produce. Many people still opt for imported foods over local
ones because they are cheaper.
Still, Bhutan is light years ahead of most countries. The country has an entire section of its
constitution devoted to the environment that opens with:
Every Bhutanese is a trustee of the Kingdoms natural resources and environment for the benefit
of the present and future generations and it is the fundamental duty of every citizen to contribute
to the protection of the natural environment, conservation of the rich biodiversity of Bhutan and
prevention of all forms of ecological degradation including noise, visual and physical pollution
through the adoption and support of environment friendly practices and policies.
Bhutan is currently 72 percent forested and the constitution requires that no less than 60 percent
of the country remains forested. The Buddhist nation also refuses to judge its success on Gross
Domestic Product, instead using an index that measures Gross National Happiness.
Though Bhutan is not powered by 100 percent renewable energy, it aims to be in the near future.
It has an abundant supply of hydroelectricityso much that it exports 75 percent of its power
to India. Its current renewable energy share is 60 percent. And a partnership announced last year
with Nissan could help ensure that the country doesn't increase its fossil fuel use or its carbon
emissions. Nissan partnered with the Bhutanese government to provide hundreds of electric cars
to the countrywith the promise of thousands soon after. Bhutan's Prime Minister Tshering
Tobgay wants to eventually convert all of Bhutans vehicles to electric power.

But more than a year after the launch, only about 50 electric Nissan vehicles were on the roads,
though at least 22 more had been ordered as of June. That's about a tenth of a percent of the total
cars on the road in Bhutan. CEO of Thunder Motors (the local partner of Nissan) told the
report, purchases of electric vehicles are underwhelming because of a lack of government
support for "developing more charging infrastructure and land for building charging stations."
The prime minister announced that Bhutan would lead by example, even if such a small country
might not appear to make much of a difference in reducing global emissions. As one of the
countrys most vulnerable to climate change, Bhutan is aware of the fragility of the environment
and the need to be proactive, and while it is a developing country, activities considered harmful
to the environment would be controlled, even if they were to represent opportunities to better the
economy of the country. Waiting for a global agreement in order to take action was not in the
best interests of a country with such a delicate environment, and, as the agriculture and forestry
minister stated, the impact of climate change was not going to wait until global decisions were
made and agreed.