Environment/Green/Pedestrian Day

Druk Wangyel Lhakhang and beautiful environment of Dochula

Our country is the birth place of Gross National Happiness (GNH). GNH states Four Pillars and Nine Domains. One of the important pillars is ‘Conservation of Environment’. We celebrate Social Forestry Day on 2^nd June, every year coinciding with Our Fourth Dragon King, His Majesty Jigme Singye Wangchuck’s coronation Day, which is also one of the steps that we are taking forward to conserve our pristine environment.

Well, we all are living in the midst of the ENVIRONMENT, but do we know what environment really means? According to the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, the environment is, “the air, water and land in or on which people, animals and plants live”. To my point of view, the environment is fresh and clean nature in and around us where we lived in ever since we are born. The environment gives life to us.

Our pristine vicinity in and around us are gorgeous and tremendously inexpressible in black and white. Owing to pleasant environment around us, we the people of Bhutan and the world as a whole, get fresh air to breath, moderate place to live and so on. Our country today has approximately 70.46 percent forested areas, which is our ENVIRONMENT. We all know that we are born in beautifully landscaped country in the world. This is how our ENVIRONMENT is significant for the people in the world.

Our environment which is tremendously overwhelming and fastidious to see it is visited by thousands and lakhs of tourists from around the world. We get foreign aids which help or insisting to protect our attractive environment. From environment, we the people of world get fresh air and clean place to live in. Therefore, we are solely responsible to heed our environment for the future of younger generations. 

Our country is filled with trees and shrubs, swift flowing rivers and streams, fresh and clean air, many species of animals and birds due to beautiful environment around. As a result of swift flowing rivers, our hydro power projects are generating huge amount of money and many are coming up soon. There are many protected areas, where numbers of species of plants and shrubs are preserved, many endangered animals and birds, and many more are conserved.

Snow fall in high altitude

To conserve environment and to mark World Environment Day, our country celebrate Pedestrian Day. No movement of vehicle for a day, which will minimize unwanted air or gases that are produced from engines of the vehicles, which impairs environment a lot.

On the World Environment Day, I commit myself not to harm environment by cutting down trees and plants, etc. I will preserve it for the younger generations and beauty of the country. I will conserve environment to fulfill one of the four pillars of the Gross National Happiness (GNH).

Happy Environment or Green Day!

Happy Birthday Your Majesty, Gyeltshuen

On the joyous occasion of 24^th Birthday, I wish Your Majesty a very Happy Birthday. Your Majesty’s love and care for the people of Bhutan will always be our inspirational ways that will always be cherished. We the people of Bhutan, always pray for LONG LIVE of Your Majesty. Happy Birthday, Gyeltshuen.

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE SOCIAL FORESTRY DAY, 2nd JUNE

His Majesty the 4th King

 The celebration of the Social Forestry Day has significant importance in our country. We celebrate the day to mark Our Beloved King His Majesty Jigme Singye Wangchuck’s Golden Reign. It is an occasion to offer our heartfelt gratitude to our visionary monarch under whose benevolent leadership; our country is enjoying unprecedented socio-economic developments. We the people of Bhutan live healthier, happier and more fulfilled lives.

His Majesty being a nature conservationist declared early in his reign that Bhutan must maintain 70 percent forest coverage for all time to come. The National Assembly members later endorsed this policy and it is now enshrined in our constitution. It will continue as the guiding principles for all future development in our country. Today, the forest covered area is about 70.46 percent. Hereafter too, we should work hand in hand and maintain forest covered areas more than that of today.

The people’s participation in such social works should be highly appreciated. The people’s participation would help conserving forested areas henceforth. To recognize the people’s participation is the key conservation and development of the forest resources. In 1979, a Royal Decree was issued to involve local people in planting trees on their own or communal land, which would help conserve forest. This marked a paradigm shift in forest management from the tree oriented approach to people-centered forest resources management. The existing law not only enables citizens to take part in planting but also guarantees them ownership of the trees they plant. This would directly or indirectly help conserve forest areas in the country.

Today, our forest areas are under great pressures from various aspects such as forest fires, human-induced environment impacts, urbanization, soil erosion and many more. These give tremendous pressures on forested areas and shrubs. The forest covered areas are lost in previous years due to infrastructural developments, forest fires and other related threats in past few years.

Recently, thousands of acres of forest areas are lost to forest fires in eastern Bhutan including number of houses. The numerous forest fire incidences are reported with report of lost of several acres of forested areas. When thousands of forested areas are destroyed by forest fires, soil erosion, and other direct and indirect threats will lead to ‘Climate Change’. Today, climate change is one of the much debated issues in the world and in our country.

Officials planting trees during Social Forestry Day

Since year 1985, His Majesty the King Jime Singye Wangchuck’s Coronation Anniversary has been observed as Social Forestry Day. The essence of celebrating Social Forestry Day is to remind us how important forests are to our economic and ecological well being. We all have a sacred responsibility to ensure that this gift of nature is passed on intact to our generations. The Social Forestry Day also aims to foster and inculcate love for plant and nature by human beings (us). It is indeed very important that we become environmentally conscious citizens.

The Social Forestry Day is marked on 2^nd June every year to plant trees and remind us with importance of forest and His Majesty’s benevolent reign for more than three decades. With this people of Bhutan including various officials, students and local communities, etc. will jointly plant trees for social benefit and to enhance forest cover all over the country. It is also the day to mark coronation of our Fourth Dragon King, Jigme Singye Wangchuck.

Therefore, on the very auspicious day (the Coronation of Fourth Dragon King and Social Forestry Day), I on behalf of the citizen of our country and on my own behalf would like to wish His Majesty the Happy coronation day and offer communal prayers for LONG LIVE OF FOURTH DRAGON KING. I also urge one and all to be mindful of our sacred responsibility and to take active part in the tree planting program as we observe the Social Forestry Day. I wish successful Social Forestry Day. May it increases in you, the appreciation and love for our life long giving forests.

Long Live Our Fourth Dragon King and Happy Planting Trees!

Tobacco should be strictly prohibited

Tobacco is injurious to health

The tobacco is one of the most dangerous substances that contain nicotine which cause death in the world. The nicotine directly and indirectly is responsible for deaths about 440,000. It is tallied to almost $75 billion and some millions in our country annually for direct medical costs. 

For instance, in a piece of cigarette, it contains over 4000 chemicals which reach the brain of person who smoke. The nicotine contains in cigarette reaches the brain approximately in eight seconds, research found. It is considered as most addictive drugs in our country. It is lawfully banned but still smokers smoke as and when they wish to. 

The smoking, chewing and many more are has no positive effects but rather has negative effects which we cannot avoid it once person is already addicted. We human being never thinks of good cause and bad cause. If they judge it through various points of views – the religious point of view and health point of view, it would be good for our life. 

The tobacco is intolerable in the society and religiously strictly prohibited. In the religious texts, available in the monasteries, temples and private homes are well written and prescribed that smoking and chewing tobacco are not good task. The awareness programs are organized by religious personalities in public places or gatherings not to smoke and chew tobacco.

It is harm for the society as people smoke in the society, the smoke will directly to the atmosphere where it reaches to the realms of god and goddesses within very short while. The smoke of such is intolerable for god and goddesses and finally, the society is flooded with evil signs where we have to spend huge amount of our hard-earned incomes in making good offerings to god and goddesses. 

The people who chew tobacco spit on the ground where the spit reaches the goddesses of the earth. In return they will cause negative impacts on human life. To ensure life to be good, the offerings to the goddesses of earth should be made to stop harming our life. In these way, our income will go down, even though our harm is healed. 

So, smoking is not good and intolerable in the society. 

From health point of view, the smoking is strictly prohibited. The smokers one day become dependent on tobacco. The dependency is defined as reliance for a substance that you can’t live without. The smokers have a physical and physiological reliance for tobacco, and constantly crave cigarettes. Smoking starts a cycle of craving which is stopped temporarily by nicotine. In addition, withdrawal symptoms occur if one stops smoking, which is a major factor in people continuing to smoke. Withdrawal symptoms include physiological distress, such as irritability, anxiety, and anger; difficulty concentrating -continually thinking about cigarettes; and excessive eating -smokers weigh on average seven pounds less than non-smokers. 

Smokers with a history of depression have more severe withdrawal symptoms and are also less likely to quit smoking. Smokers who are more dependent have higher rates of depression. Tobacco use is so deadly that it kills more people each year then all deaths from HIV, illegal drug use, alcohol use, suicides, and murders combined. Common reasons for death related to smoking include over eight forms of cancer, respiratory diseases and cardiovascular diseases. For instance, in United States a most developed country in the world, approximately 124,000 people dies from lung cancer caused by smoking each year. In our country too, the people are died every year due to smoking as health ministry reported.

There are many diseases that cause cancer and other diseases. There are different forms of diseases such laryngeal cancer, oral cancer, esophageal cancer, pancreatic cancer, kidney cancer, and cancer of the urinary bladder. Lung cancer arises in the country every year due to smoking. 

To cure these diseases, the government and individuals spend huge amount of money. The money spent on medical problems for smokers should be used to pay for more important things in our society such as schools, libraries, childcare, infrastructure development, etc. it would help our country and its people to come up with better living standard and many more.

So, do not smoke, if you are non-smoker, quit it, if you are smoker, do not make life of passive smoker danger than that of yours.