In the News
08 months ago
Check out Kuensel online later today, Bhutan’s daily newspaper for a story about our meeting.
Conservation Dialogues in Bhutan
08 months ago
Today over 70 monks and nuns from the 20 districts in Bhutan attended Day One of the Compassion and Conservation conference. This includes 10 participants from private monasteries, and all rest from monasteries operating through the government’s Central Monastic Body (Dratshang Lhentshog). The group also includes 8 nuns. The group heard from The Royal Society for the Protection of Nature, The Ministry of Agriculture, Bhutan’s National Environment Commission, the Department of Forest and Park Services, the Watershed Management Division, the Ministry of Health, the Alliance for Religions and Conservation and, last but not least, the Tributary Fund! — A full load of very interesting and data rich presentations on Bhutan’s environmental issues. Tomorrow the group breaks downs into small groups to discuss monastic involvement in environmental issues. I’ll report on their ideas – can’t wait!
Of the hundreds of things I’ve learned today, here’s one fact for the day. Bhutan has a law that does not allow more than 40% forest depletion—ever. Today Bhutan has 80% forest cover. In fact it has a negative carbon depletion, providing benefit to other countries.
Learning from the Masters
08 months ago
After three days in Bhutan and several meetings with scientists, monastic school principals and government officials I have gained immense respect for the care the Bhutanese give to nature, especially during a time of economic development. The 700,000 people clustered in this small landlocked country have the right ethic. We’ve visited several monastic schools to learn about their interest in conservation ecology curriculum and development of model projects at their goembas. Pictured here is Lopen Gaptshering, Principal of the model Lekshed Jugney Shedra in Punaka. Established in 2000, this school is noted for its environmental programs, efficient cook systems, spotless washrooms (cleaned daily my the monks) and lovely vegetated grounds. Selected monks can attend first level of training for five years and some stay on for an additional 5 years of masters work. Others are invited from other countries. It is the only school with monks from all 20 of Bhutan’s districts. All of the monks practice vegetarianism and when not in dharma, ritual, English or computer classes, study solo in a special spot under their own tree on the grounds. Each monk maintains his study area with flowering plants and a little stone walkway. These are an extraordinary group of future monastic leaders.
Today we initiate our two-day workshop with presentations for 70 monks and school principals by Bhutan’s scientists, the Alliance for Religions and Conservation, The Tributary Fund, and the Central Monastic Body. Will keep you posted!
Our Workshop in Bhutan
08 months ago
I just arrived in Thimphu where The Tributary Fund and our partners, The Alliance for Religions and Conservation (Vicky Finlay is here with me), have been invited to offer a Compassion and Conservation workshop for 70 monks on September 5 and 6. While we prepare we have been ever so graciously hosted by the Lopen Tashi Galay and Dasho Karma Penjor of the Monastic Body, and by our wonderful intern Nawang Eden. We’ve visited several monasteries in the region where Nawang conducted interviews last year with monastic school principals. I’ll be briefing you with blogs from Bhutan during the next week. Until then, what a beautiful and peaceful place this is!
Notes from the Past…Reflections as We Prepare
09 months ago
As we prepare for this year’s Environmental Education Exchange – where we will bring three monks and one environmental educator from Mongolia to the US for in depth training on mining – we like to review our previous evaluations. This evaluation was particularly moving…a wonderful reminder of why we do what we do.
We all proudly recall the days we spent in Montana and never lose a chance to share our experience with students, Mongolian conservational NGO collegues, friends, even to taxi drivers.
And everyone who listens to us they wonder with open mouths. After my graduation as an interpreter almost 15 years ago I started my career as a tourist guide. Back then, when the tourists were wondering about the precious nature of Mongolia with tears in their eyes, honestly, I was thinking that these people acted so because their motherland had already lost its wildlife.
Unfortunately, after 10 years I had tears in my eyes looking at our nature. We were the people who lost our wildlife rather than Mongolia’s visitors. The Exchange program let us understand that nature protection is not a restriction of residents’ participation. The most significant places we visited were Yellowstone National Park, Teton Science School (TSS) and the TSS Kelly campus. The rangers at Yellowstone National Park were guides who helped the visitors to be a part of nature, the students at the Kelly campus were researchers who made discoveries, and the educators at the TSS were skillful hands who could turn a simple leaf into a whole unknown world. We have learned so much from the Exchange program including the national park management, rehabilitation methods, community based education and understand we should be more innovative, especially regarding the ecological education.
We will use our knowledge and share it with all until we meet hundred stocks of elk on the road and the city streets covered with grass, and children will study nature in open field not in class rooms.
The 2010 Exchange delegation during place-based learning systems training at Teton Science School in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. (Please note that the monks are in casual attire for the hiking and data collection.)
