Archives
Category: Summer Edition
Summer Edition ,
June 28th, 2017
By The Druk Journal
The potential of the concept of Gross National Happiness (GNH) as an inspiration for “development with values” has drawn attention around the world. Since 1979, when His Majesty The Fourth Druk Gyalpo first coined the term, GNH has been studied by journalists, scholars, NGOs, and development experts. In 2011...
Summer Edition ,
June 28th, 2017
By The 2030- Agenda
Sustainable Development Goals 1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere 2. End hunger, achieve food security and adequate nutrition for all, and promote sustainable agriculture 3. Attain healthy life for all at all ages 4. Provide equitable and inclusive quality education and life-long learning opportunities for all 5....
Summer Edition ,
June 28th, 2017
By Pio Smith
“The adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development… is an important sign of hope. Solemn commitments, however, are not enough… Our world demands of all government leaders a will which is effective, practical and constant, concrete steps and immediate measures for preserving and improving the natural environment and...
Summer Edition ,
June 28th, 2017
By Tshering Lhamo, Lhaba Tshering
Sustainable Development Goals and National Development Agenda Bhutan joined the international community and over 150 world leaders during the 70th UN General Assembly (UNGA), 25th September 2015, in adopting the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the SDGs. The 17 goals, 169 targets, and 231 indicators of the SDGs...
Summer Edition ,
June 28th, 2017
By Ambassador David Donoghue
The 17 Sustainable Development Goals, with their accompanying 169 targets, are a blueprint for the future development of mankind and of the planet. Never before has the world come together on an agenda of this kind. Breathtaking in its scope and ambition, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is...
Summer Edition ,
June 28th, 2017
By Dorji Penjore
Are there commonalities between the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Gross National Happiness (GNH)? Let me go straight to the point. They are compatible in the sense that the former is only a subset of GNH, just as democracy is a subset of GNH. They are incompatible in how...
Summer Edition ,
June 28th, 2017
By Dr Ritu Verma
Introduction Gross National Happiness (GNH) is a living example of a development alternative, a unique voice against the backdrop of a GDP-centric, climate negative and globalised world. Upheld as holistic development with values, its moral concept, conceptual framework and index of measurement offer an innovative path for conceptualising, shaping...
Summer Edition ,
June 28th, 2017
By Tashi Pem
Not If or When or Why, but How? The roles of Local Government (LG) is intertwined with national development. In that sense, the question is no longer whether we believe that Local Government is ready or not to take on more responsibilities and authority – although there are voices...
Summer Edition ,
June 28th, 2017
By Lord Jack McConnell
I watched the United Nations General Assembly agree on the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in September 2015, I was thinking about the Philippines. The Philippines is not one of the poorest nor least stable places in the world, but gross inequalities leave many living in poverty and squalor;...
Summer Edition ,
June 28th, 2017
By Alonso Ortiz, Dr Claire Melamed
Introduction On September 2015 world leaders adopted the Agenda 2030, the most comprehensive and ambitious global framework for sustainable development. The agenda’s most visible components are its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and its 169 associated targets. Attracting much less attention, the United Nations Statistical Commission agreed on March...
Summer Edition ,
June 28th, 2017
By Tshering Palden
“Worrying where our next meal will come from… not having someone to care for me when I am sick… asking my neighbours to look after and feed my three-year old daughter and my mother when I go to work… yes poverty is real…” A single mother of three, Dorji...
Summer Edition ,
June 28th, 2017
By Chencho Norbu
This paper presents a rationale behind the prioritisation of the Sustainable Development Goals in Bhutan. Bhutan, being a mountainous country, is highly vulnerable to the impact of climate change, according to a series of reports produced by the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The prioritised Sustainable Development Goals...
Summer Edition ,
June 28th, 2017
By Pem Lama
“The situation the Earth is in today has been created by unmindful production and unmindful consumption. We consume to forget our worries and our anxieties. Tranquilising ourselves with over-consumption is not the way” – Thich Nhat Hanh Goal 12 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations...
Summer Edition ,
June 28th, 2017
By Dasho Chhewang Rinzin
1. Background Hydropower is viewed as the cornerstone of the Bhutanese economy, contributing to 14 percent of GDP and 26 percent of the annual revenue. India is Bhutan’s major partner in developing its hydropower resources, and co-operation in this sector symbolises the mutually beneficial nature of Bhutan-India relations. Electricity...
Summer Edition ,
June 28th, 2017
By Adrian von Bernstorff, Farmer Sangay
The Situation On 17 December, 2016, during the celebration of Bhutan’s National Day, His Majesty The King gave a path-breaking speech on the priorities for the development of the country. The central part of the speech outlined the importance of reviving and developing agriculture as the traditional local economy...
Summer Edition ,
June 28th, 2017
By Dr Sangay Thinley, Jayendra Sharma, Kinzang Wangmo
Existing Health System The Bhutanese health system is predominantly government driven, both in financing as well as provision, and follows the principles of Universal Health Coverage. Service delivery, based on Primary Health Care, focuses on the promotive, preventive, curative and rehabilitative approach. The integration of traditional and allopathic medicines...
Summer Edition ,
June 28th, 2017
By Sangay Jamtsho
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) represent a set of global aspirations to transform the world by 2030. It consists of 17 goals and 169 targets. Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4) aims to “Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all”. As a signatory committed...
Summer Edition ,
June 28th, 2017
By Tashi Dema
It is spring – a time of hope and optimism. The flowers are in bloom, dry grasses are turning green, trees are sprouting new leaves, fresh vegetables and fruit are coming into season, winter is behind us. Our spirits are high. There is something else enhancing these colours this...
Summer Edition ,
September 16th, 2016
By Mark Mancall
Words, words, words. Words define our understanding of the world. Words structure our relationships with the world and with each other. Words make the past present to us and project us into the future. Words expose us to reality and enable us to hide from it. Words are the...
Summer Edition ,
September 16th, 2016
By Kinley Dorji
Decisions have shaped human history, established the current global scenarios, and will influence the future of mankind. Decisions have created the world’s systems of government, as well as the legal, economic and social order. As a country and as a society, we have reached where we have reached because...
Summer Edition ,
September 16th, 2016
By Stephan Sonnenberg
The small group of elected village leaders—or Tshogpas—sat in the courtyard of a Gewog center (local administration office) in the Paro valley. To the left, the Paro Dzong presided majestically over a patchwork of green rice paddies. To the right, the upper reaches of the Paro valley stretched to...
Summer Edition ,
September 16th, 2016
By P. Ramakrishna
What is e-Governance? The UNESCO definition is: “e-Governance is the public sector’s use of information and communication technologies with the aim of improving information and service delivery, encouraging citizen participation in the decision-making process and making government more accountable, transparent and effective.”1 e-Governance involves new styles of leadership, new...
Summer Edition ,
September 16th, 2016
By Siok Sian Pek-Dorji
Introduction Just out of college, 22-year old Meera Ghalley stands before a room full of Tshogpas (elected local officials), town council members, representatives from nearby villages, the police force and the business sector. She presents a waste management plan, using a powerpoint and pictures of the Bondey market in...
Summer Edition ,
September 16th, 2016
By George van Driem
The Magical Secret of Phonology Linguistics is the science of language. Language science describes and analyses language phenomena in order to understand how language works. In England, Sir Isaac Newton described the phenomenon of gravity and the physics of movement with his laws of motion and gravitation. He did...
Summer Edition ,
September 16th, 2016
By Yeshey Dorji
Blogging: The Early Days The “blog” as we know it now, was started as a personal homepage by a Chicago- born student named Justin Hall in January of 1994. Credited to be the world’s first ever blog––Links.net (http://www.links.net)––it is still in existence. During its initial days a blog was...
Summer Edition ,
September 16th, 2016
By Joseph Lo
Introduction History and Current Context of Social Change in Bhutan The genesis of Bhutan’s modernisation can be attributed to the third Druk Gyalpo His Majesty Jigme Dorji Wangchuck (b.1929 – d.1972) who also initiated and instutionalised Bhutan’s Five-Year Plan (FYP) in 1961.1 The modernisation process was intensified by the...
Summer Edition ,
September 16th, 2016
By Kinley Wangmo
A ferocious mask with fangs, punishing eyes, and a crown of skulls fills the canvas. A set of eyes, almost lost behind the mask, peer through the gaping mouth. This painting of a traditional mask, depicting a Buddhist deity, is a modern take on what is traditional. These masks...
Summer Edition ,
September 16th, 2016
By Chholay Dorji
Buddhist values are deeply rooted in our culture. To most Bhutanese, Buddhism and culture are probably inseparable. But times have changed and there is a somewhat obvious discrepancy between the values of Bhutan’s young generation and the values of our forefathers who emphasised devotion to the Buddha, Dharma and...
Summer Edition ,
September 16th, 2016
By Sonam Yangchen, Tashi Tobgay and Bjørn Melgaard
Introduction It can be argued that the modernisation of Bhutan started in 1961 when the first five-year plan was rolled out. However, development of the health system we know today started long before that. The first agents of change that brought western (allopathic) medicine to Bhutan were British medical...
Summer Edition ,
September 16th, 2016
By Tshewang Dendup
In 2014, returning from a tour of the remote gewog of Lauri in Samdrup Jongkhar, I skirted the base of a village and entered a dense forest. As I admired the verdant vegetation, an incongruous sight greeted me: a hand painted notice placed atop a stick. Written in Dzongkha...
Summer Edition ,
September 16th, 2016
By Shenphen Zangpo
Druk Journal (DJ) talks to Lama Shenphen Zangpo (LSZ) on youth-related issues in a society in evolution DJ: Lama, we know that you are helping our youth deal with a number of problems, including drug and alcohol addiction. Would you link these problems to change and modernisation that Bhutan...
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