Bhutan

Publications

Bhutan Living Standard Survey 2007 Report

This report presents the highlight of the result of the Bhutan Living Standard Survey (BLSS) 2007,the second round of a nation-wide survey of households that gathered data from 9,798 households regarding their consumption expenditure and related information affecting their living standards. Full report (902K).

Impact Assessment of Rural development in Bhutan

The Rapid Impact Assessment of Rural Development was carried out in 2007 by the GNH Commission with technical and financial support from the UNDP Bhutan. The Report presents finding of the assessment with regard to the impact of development services in rural areas and also the effectiveness of the present planning process on poverty alleviation.

Three indicators, namely food sufficiency, income and quality of housing have been selected to measure development impacts. Eleven development services to rural areas were assessed based on their accessibility and their impacts on the three indicators. These are health, education, agriculture, livestock, forestry, roads, electricity, water, sanitation, telephone, and income generation activities.

The main tool used was a household survey, covering a total of 1,141 respondents, representing all 20 Dzongkhags and with a mix of villages located far, mid-way, and near the road. This was supplemented by discussions at the central, dzongkhag and focus group discussions at village levels on perception of development impacts and views on the planning process. Full Report (9mb)

What will it take to achieve the MDGs in Bhutan?

The Bhutan MDG Needs Assessment and Costing Report (2006-2015), a joint report of the Royal Government and the United Nations Country Team, provide a detailed assessment of what the country requires in terms of financial, human and institutional resources and policy reforms to meet the MDGs by 2015. It estimates that Bhutan will need to increase public investment by around USD 2.5 billion between 2006 and 2015 if it is to implement prioritized activities identified by Thematic Task Forces for achieving the MDGs and the Tenth Five Year Plan (2008-2013). The social sector (health and education) targets account for the major chunk of the investment at 46.3% of the total estimated outlay of the needs assessment.

The needs assessment and costing exercise was conducted almost in tandem with the preparation of the Tenth Plan, thereby helping to mainstream the MDGs into the Tenth Plan. The MDG NA and Costing Report is one of the key background documents of the Royal Government for the Tenth Plan Round Table Meeting being held on the 17- 18 of February 2008.

Bhutan is one of the first countries in Asia to undertake a MDGs Needs Assessment and costing exercise with support from UN agencies in the country and from the region to make the country’s development plans more MDG based. Full report (3mb)

Macroeconomics of Poverty Reduction: The Case Study of Bhutan

The recently published “Macroeconomics of Poverty Reduction: The Case Study of Bhutan”, the first comprehensive work on analysis of the progress in poverty reduction through macroeconomic assessment in Bhutan highlights the excellent progress that Bhutan has made in terms of human development in the recent past and the achievements made in meeting Millennium development Goals (MDGs). According to the study, Bhutan’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has grown at an average of 7 percent per annum in the quarter-century leading up to 2004. The driving force of the economy has been hydroelectricity and related activities, such as construction and some energy-intensive industries. The study reveals that the macroeconomic environment of Bhutan is solid in the conventional sense as Bhutan has a low budget deficit, low and stable inflation, a highly open trade regime and a current account surplus (including grants from abroad) in its external transactions. In addition, it discusses a number of weaknesses of the economy which should be overcome to improve the living standard of the Bhutanese people. * Download the full report in PDF format (2mb)

Case Study: Gender Considerations in Environmental Projects of UNDP

Nestled in the eastern part of the Himalayan range, the kingdom of Bhutan has an area of 38,394 km2 populated with about 635,000 people. About seventy per cent of the population lives in rural areas subsisting on a farming system, which integrates crop agriculture, livestock rearing and use of natural resources for a wide range of products and services. Majority of the population live in the mountains and valleys of the central belt and in the foothills along the southern frontier. Population in the northern part is very sparse and scattered. People in Bhutan live in harmony with nature in a symbiotic relationship that goes back to untold centuries. The rural community's relationship with environment is reflected in the abundant use of various kinds of plants for medicine, essential and vegetable oil, traditional paper, natural vegetable dyes, etc. Domesticated ornamental plants are also widely known to Bhutan's rural folk.

United Nations Development Assistance Frameworkfor the Kingdom of Bhutan 2008-2012

The United Nations Development Assistance Framework for Bhutan (2008-2012) provides a collective, coherent and integrated UN response to national needs and priorities and is consistent with Bhutan’s overall development vision articulated by Gross National Happiness. The UNDAF formulated through a highly consultative and participatory process with the RGoB and other stakeholders embodies a rights based and results driven development approach aimed at poverty reduction and pursuit of the MDGs.
The implementation of the UNDAF comes at a critical period in Bhutan’s history with the adoption of the Constitution in 2008.

Earlier Reports and Publications

Annual Report 2006 UNDP Bhutan

Democracy, Good Governance and Happiness, Some views from the Kingdom of Bhutan

Annual Report 2004 UNDP Bhutan

Human Development Report

Human Development Report 2006

Bhutan ’s second NHD Report, November 2005.

National Human Development Report 2005

National Human Development Report 2000

Poverty Reduction

Bhutan’s second MDG Report, 2005

Poverty Outcome Evaluation Report, November 2005

Bhutan’s Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) (Royal Government of Bhutan, 2004)

International market for select Bhutanese handicrafts (1.68MB)

Cottage and Small Enterprise Developmnt in Bhutan ( 245kb)

Poverty Analysis Report, October 2004 (1.83MB)

Discussion paper: Monitoring Poverty in Bhutan, UNDP October 2002 (57kb)

Poverty Monitoring Newsletter, Vol.1, Issue 1, 28th May 2003 (269kb)

Poverty Monitoring Newsletter, Vol.2, Issue 1, 20th Oct 2003 (302kb)

Discussion paper: Rural Enterprise Development, October 2002 (53kb)

Energy and Environment

Energy & Environment Outcome Evaluation Report, 2004

Biodiversity Action Plan 2002, Ministry of Agriculture, Royal Govt. of Bhutan, 1998 (4.6mb)

First greenhouse Gas Inventory, National Environment Commission, Royal Govt. of Bhutan, September 2000 (3.06mb)

Digging Deeper into the Poverty-Environment Nexus

Good Governance

Decentralisation Outcome Evaluation Report, 2006

Bhutan Decentralisation Support Programme, January 2006

Decentralisation Outcome Evaluation Report, 2005

Discussion paper: Decentralisation: Bringing governance closer to the people, UNDP, 2002 (54kb)

Governance Newsletter, Vol. 1, Issue 1, May 2004 (1.1mb)

Discussion paper: Implications of fiscal decentralization for Bhutan, UNDP (59kb)

Information Technology

Discussion paper: Bridging the Digital Divide, UNDP 2002 (52kb)

UN Volunteers support ICT Capacity Building in Bhutan (210kb)

ICT for Development Newsletter Bhutan, November 2004 (1.35mb)

HIV/AIDS

Discussion paper: Accelerating Threat of HIV/AIDS in Bhutan, January 2003 (45kb)