Bhutan

Poverty Eradication and Internationally Agreed Development Goals, including the MDGs

Poverty is a reality in contemporary Bhutan. The Poverty Analysis Report 2007 indicates that about 23.2 % of the country's population is poor and that poverty in Bhutan is predominantly a rural phenomenon. The Royal Government, however, has always been aware and concerned about the circumstances and conditions of rural population, which, though free from destitution and hunger, is far from comfortable. Accordingly, the Royal Government continues to strategically focus its development efforts towards improving the lives and the well being of its people and eradicating poverty in all its dimensions in Bhutan.  Poverty reduction has been identified as the core development theme in the Royal Government's Tenth Five Year Plan (2008-2013) with poverty to be mainstreamed into all development initiatives along with the implementation of targeted sustainable livelihoods interventions.  In view of the fact that most remote mountainous communities remain as pockets of poverty, theTenth Five Year Plan points out the need for more targeted approach to poverty reduction.  The Royal Government is committed to reducing national poverty to below 15% by the end of the 2013.

The current UNDP assistance for poverty reduction in Bhutan provides support in the following areas:

• Implementing results based policy, plans and programmes geared towards poverty reduction and the attainment of the MDGs and other national priorities;
• Creating enabling environment for private sector growth, particularly of cottage and small rural enterprises;
• Addressing environment-poverty nexus in terms of balancing conservation of bio-diversity with rural people's need to access natural resources for sustainable livelihoods; and
• Realising tangible benefits from the integration into the global and regional economy, capacity building for trade negotiations and export promotion.

Ongoing Projects

• Mainstreaming Poverty Environment linkages in National Plans
• UN Support to result based planning and M&E for the MDGs and GNH
• UN Support to Improve Food Security and Income among Small Holder Farmers
• Children and Youth Participation
• Targeted Community Development and Pro-poor Local Governance
• Ensuring Food Security through Improved Home Gardens
• Strengthening Labour Market Analysis and Employment Generation
• Promotion of Culture-Based Creative Industry
• UN Support to the Formulation of Policy Framework and Development