Bhutan’s Ministry of Agriculture and Forests has launched an ambitious Community Forest Management plan, aiming to empower 1,200 villages to manage surrounding woodlands independently. The initiative hopes to preserve biodiversity and counter deforestation.
Local communities will receive grants and training to monitor illegal logging, plant native species, and promote sustainable tourism. Bhutanese officials say the plan could increase the country’s forest cover from 71% to 75% by 2030.
India’s Sikkim and Nepal’s Gandaki Province are reportedly reviewing Bhutan’s policy for replication. Environmentalists in Bangladesh’s Chattogram Hill Tracts have also expressed interest in community-led reforestation.