Bhutan

Japan-UNDP Partnership Fund to Support Poverty Reduction

40 households of the five remote minority communities of Lawa, Lamgang, Metakha, Thaphu and Samthang in Athang gewog of Wangdiphodrang dzongkhag will benefit from the delivery of a comprehensive package of development services. These services identified by the communities themselves, through an inclusive planning process will enable their empowerment so that they can achieve sustainable socio-economic security. This is being made possible through a two year project on “Targeted Community Development and Pro-poor Local Governance Initiatives for Poverty Reduction,” signed today by the Royal Government of Bhutan, UNDP, JICA and the Tarayana Foundation.

The five communities, located a day’s (8 hours) walk from the nearest road head are amongst the most economically challenged and vulnerable communities in Bhutan in terms of access to road, market, education and health facilities.

Jointly implemented by the Gross National Happiness Commission and the Tarayana Foundation, the project will assist in the formation of voluntary groups from amongst the communities to help themselves in providing skills development courses, agricultural extension works, management of community learning centers among others which will enhance sustainability and replicability of the community development activities. The project will support these vulnerable communities to achieve socio-economic security through the improvement of access to education; artisan skills, and other services related to the promotion of income generation activities. It will also assist the Tarayana Foundation in delivering financial services in these communities thereby addressing the demand for broader and more effective outreach of micro-finance schemes.

In addition, the project will also support capacity development of dzongkhag and gewog based government staff including village functionaries so as to improve local planning processes to make it more pro-poor and also ensure ownership of development activities. The project will also support the review of completed pro-poor decentralization projects, namely the Decentralization Support Project assisted by UNDP and the Local Governance and Decentralization Project supported by JICA, to draw lessons for future community development activities to effectively promote decentralization and local governance programmes.

The project with a total budget outlay of USD 315,650.00, out of which more than 50% will be allocated to Tarayana Foundation for the delivery of development services, and the remaining to the Gross National Happiness Commission for capacity building initiatives, is funded by the Japan-UNDP Partnership Fund. The Partnership Fund was established by the Government of Japan in November 2003 to enable both UNDP and Japan to respond to changing development needs more rapidly. Till date, the Government of Japan has contributed the sum equivalent to approximately USD153 million to the Partnership Fund.

Mr. Nicholas Rosellini, Resident Representative, UNDP; Mr. Tetsuo Yabe, Resident Representative, JICA; Mr. Karma Tshiteem, Secretary, Gross National Happiness Commission; and Aum Chime P Wangdi, Secretary General, Tarayana Foundation signed the project document.