The Kingdom of Bhutan (druk gyal khap)is a landlocked country in Asia, and it is the smallest state located entirely within the Himalaya mountain range. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it is bordered by China to the north and by Indian territories of Assam and West Bengal to the south and east, and Sikkim to the west.

INRAA has visited Bhutan three times in past five years. In our most recent visit we observed the weather was obviously warmer, development of urban buildings has increased, and there are also more individually owned vehicles. Under the wave of modernization, locals will not only face soil and water conservation challenges induced by express way development; but also water resource management/ distribution, management of increased waste, and low food self-sufficiency and so on. These calamities are not far, but are much closer to us than we know. These are not isolated issues but happening globally in many of our communities.

We, as members of society, have a responsibility to contemplate and take action to gain balance between our needs/desires and Mother Nature while benefiting from modernization.

Right now, INRAA is visiting the farmlands of the students who recently completed our 2nd ecological education course, in the hope to gain a deeper understanding of the real needs, so as to provide the most appropriate support for future educational programs.

Here we want to dedicate our special thanks to Ms. Chukie-Om Dorji. Due to her warm help, young farmers in Bhutan were able to participate in our ecological education course, held on Nov 2016 in Songtsen Library, Dehradun, India.