Bhutan is a small country sandwiched between India and China, and it not only has a high GDH ( gross domestic happiness) but it is also carbon neutral and carbon negative. This all happened when their 4th king of Bhutan, King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, in 1972 declared, “Gross National Happiness is more important than Gross Domestic Product.” , thus driving the country forward to a sustainable development that balances the development of the country's economy and the development of non-economic aspects of wellbeing.
The virtual tour gives me a good understanding about how Bhutan strives as one of the greenest country of the world:
1.) Bhutan has an initiative government
72 % of Bhutan land is green. Meanwhile the Bhutan constitution demands that minimum 60% of forest land shall remain forest covered forever. What's interesting is unlike other environmental activists' in other parts of the world, the Bhutan people didn’t ask for it. This shows a good governance can really make a difference.
2.) Bhutan don’t cut green trees
It's told that Bhutan people don't cut their green trees, which is the reason Bhutan has successfully preserved their beautiful greeneries. What's more, they not only preserved but also restore as Bhutan will replant trees at fire-destroyed forests.
3.)Bhutan respect all mountain and trees.
Bhutan people believe that all mountain and trees have their own protectors. From here we understand that no wonder those people will refuse to cut down their trees. The value of respecting nature really ought to be implemented within everybody, only then there will be greater initiatives to protect Mother Nature.
4.) A matter of practice.
The Mahayana practice, is not just considered as Buddhism or religion, it is more like life philosophy for the people of Bhutan. The practice include the belief that whatever you do will be the reason of your next time…so people live by thinking about other humans and animals. In my humble opinion, I think this practice really sets Bhutan different form the rest of the world, be it superstitious or primitive, nevertheless this very view have set Bhutan on a successful path towards sustainability.
5.) Respect for animals
The Royal Takin Preserve is set up by the government for the national animal Takin (image above).
Bhutan people believe that humans and animals are pretty alike; or animals could be reincarnation of their families. Due to this they Respect animals greatly and there is No killing of animals. Alternatively, Bhutan import meat from India from their southern borders. In addition, This greatly reduces carbon footprint of the country because there is no need to deforest for rearing livestock meanwhile there is no need to waste natural energy by taking crops to feed livestock too.
So much for a small country indeed, so as an individual, there are many things that I can do to help lift the environmental issue in my home country Malaysia.
1.)Practice Recycle, Reuse, Reduce
My family and I have been long practicing recycling at home, we seldom throw plastics packages from food and papers. instead we collect them in out mini recycling corner behind our house. Once the corner is full we take our recyclable materials to the recycling centers.
We also take metal tiffin out incase to we want to take away. This helps us reduce usage of single use plastic bags and boxes in which those items are usually non-biodegradable but on top of that we don't appreciate storing hot food in them because their chemicals compositions tend to break down in heat.
If we do get plastic bags from purchasing however, we will then keep them and reuse for our needs. There are bunch of them in the cabinet under our sink. Not to mention I really enjoy folding those triangular plastics for storage.
2.)Join voluntary activities
There are many environmental voluntary activities out there which will offer great learning experience.
As we can see, voluntary activities not only serve as an action that benefits the community, but they also benefit participants by helping them realize important things by true experience.
3.)Pass down civic mindset.
Malaysia is wonderful in many aspects, unfortunately it is not the cleanest country. Every day, we see countless of trashes from tissues, plastics, diapers and masks sprawled all over our public areas, even in my school ! These proves that Malaysians lack the basic civic-mindset to take care our our public environment.
We ought to take countries like Japan as a role model, you won't find many rubbish bins at public areas in Japan because Japanese are taught to always dispose their trash at homes or basically deal with them personally. Of course, the Japanese are strictly disciplined since young. Although, I may not teach kids now, but I can certainty influence others through my actions.
My friends often find it odd that I use reusable masks despite the trouble of rewashing them everyday and I will keep the plastic packages from food so I can recycle them at home. Regardless, I truly hope that my actions can influence those around me and help spread the civic mindset around like ripples of water, we can't just say, we must act, only can be leave greater impacts.
Each and every individuals matters, because a collective effort can make a difference.
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