• 1. Introduction
• 2. Legal Framework
• 3. Air Pollution
• 4. Industrial Pollution
• 5. Vehicle Emissions
• 6. Response
• 7. Environmental Information Management System (EIMS)
• 8. Conclusion
• References

Bhutan lies on fragile mountainous ecosystem on the eastern Himalayas and it is vulnerable to any changes in the environment. Thus, conservation of natural resources has always been a priority for the Royal Government. One of the four pillars of the Gross National Happiness is the "environment conservation," further emphasizing the strong commitment of the Royal Government on conservation.

The Environment Assessment (EA) Act was adopted in July 2000 (NEC, 2000a). Subsequently, the Regulation for the Environmental Clearance of Projects and the Regulation for the Strategic Environmental Assessment were adopted in 2002 (NEC, 2002).

Interim air pollution standards for industries have been established (NEC, 1999a). In 2003, the vehicle emission standard for Bhutan was implemented.

Bhutan continues to enjoy relatively better air quality compared to other SASEC countries. However, Bhutan cannot remain complacent, as air pollution is becoming one of the emerging issues. The main sources of air pollution are from combustion of biofuels for supply of domestic energy, combustion of fossil fuels from vehicular emissions, small scale industries and fugitive dusts from the unpaved roads and new construction sites. Another significant source of air pollution, indoor as well as outdoor, in Bhutan is practice of burning of some species of coniferous trees and aromatic shrubs as a part of religious offering. Process of heating of bitumen along road construction sites, wherein the fire is lit in an open space with an open saucer pan to heat the bitumen, also contributes to air pollution. This can be attributed to following reasons:

• Industrial sector in Bhutan has grown by more than 200 % over period of 5 years i.e. from 1997 to 2002. The number of industries has increased from 4,394 to 13,908, most of these industries i.e. more than 70% are of small scale and service industry. The numbers of industries are based on the licences issued by Ministry of Trade & Industry, 2004.

• The number of vehicles is increasing by more than 17% annually (RSTA 2004) on average.

In order to overcome the emerging issues of air pollution, the NEC in collaboration with different organizations and ministries have initiated the following programmes:

Indoor air pollution

• Since early 1990s, the National Woman Association of Bhutan have also initiated smokeless stove throughout the country focusing mainly in the rural areas.

• In 2000, the NEC initiated sawdust bukhari (room heating stove) for high altitude region to reduce air pollution. The sawdust bukharis are more fuel efficient than the traditional bukharis (NEC 1999b).

Outdoor air pollution

• Since end of 2002, the NEC has been periodically measuring the ambient air quality (PM₁₀, NO₂ and SO₂) in Thimphu as well as other major town.

• Ministry of Trade & Industry in collaboration with NEC has been monitoring the industrial air pollution on periodic basis. The monitoring program is fairly a new program and is erratic at this juncture. A proper systemic methods for monitoring industrial air pollution need to be developed

• In 2003, the vehicular emission standards have been established. New data are being collected for further analysis to revise the existing emission standards.

• December 2003, the recommended industrial stack emission standards (NEC:1999b) have been revised.

Transboundary air pollution

• Pursuant to Male' Declaration on Control and Prevention of Air Pollution and Its Likely Transboundary Effects in South Asia, a transboundary air pollution monitoring station has been established at Bhur, Gelephu in 2003.

Due to limited human resources and infrastructure, Bhutan has not been able to advance much in terms of ambient air quality monitoring program. Nonetheless, the NEC has been monitoring the ambient air quality of Thimphu since end of year 2002. Due to lack of permanent monitoring station, no proper sampling has been carried out yet.

In 1999, under the ADB TA, an interim ambient air quality standard was developed for Bhutan. The interim air quality standard was based on WHO, Canadian and some developing countries standards (NEC, 1999a). These standards are being used as a reference point while approving new industrial establishments in Bhutan.

Bhutan at the moment lacks industrial ambient and workplace standards. It is evident from the results (NEC internal report 2003) below that emission of particulate matters from the industrial sources is quite significant. Thus, it would be important that emission standards are set in order to control the emissions from one of the major source points in Bhutan. However, the dataset to derive the aggregates reflected below are small, thus these results can be used only as an indicator of emission level in and around industrial area. The existing dataset is not comprehensive and more systematic and appropriate methods are necessary. At this moment, the main pollutants from industries are CO₂, CO, SO₂, NO_x, and particulate matter are being collected and analyzed.

A total of Nu.3.4 million (approximately US$ 90,000) was budgeted for the implementation of vehicle emission standard for Bhutan (Planning Commission, 2002). The total budget was for the period of January 2000 to December 2003. During this period the following activities has been carried out. Vehicle emission testing equipments were purchased and the data collected throughout the country.

The vehicle emission data was collected over the period of one year. While the analysis was being carried out some problems were identified that are related to vehicle emission levels and requires rectification before the implementation of the emission standards. The problems are

• Poor quality fuel

• standardization of vehicle imports

• Emission level varied due to altitude

• Lack of public awareness

As of December 2003, more than 26,000 vehicles (RSTA 2004) have been registered in Bhutan. The present emission testing system has a number of lacunae owing to which the system is not effective in reducing emission for on-road vehicles. Some of the associated problems with the existing system are:

• The test procedures currently used do not represent typical driving conditions and hence the emission levels measurement cannot be used to generate an emission profile of in-use vehicle,

• The altitude factors - for instance if the same vehicle measures the emission in Thimphu and Phuentsholing stations, the emission levels will differ due to the altitude variation.

• No auditing and quality assurance is carried out at the test centres and as a result the measurements are not reproducible from centre to centre.

The following activities have been initiated so far:

Vehicle emission

• The import of two wheelers with two-stroke engines and second hand vehicles are banned. (RGOB Notification 1998/99)

• By end of 2000, unleaded petrol was imported.

• In 2001, the import taxes/duty for motor vehicle spare parts was waived off.

• As of 9^th June 2004, Bhutan began to import ultra-low sulphur diesel (Kuensel 2004)

• Awareness workshops were conducted through out the country with participants like vehicle owners, automobile garage owners, civil servants and the DYT and GYT members. The awareness workshop mainly focused on impacts and effects of air pollution and it prevention.

Industrial pollution

• Industries have taken initiatives to mitigate environmental impacts using de-dusting equipment's such as bag-filters and electrostatic precipitators.

• EA Act 2000 is enacted, which will lay the base for environmentally sound industrial development.

Indoor pollution

• Promoted the use of efficient electrical appliances by providing electricity access to most high altitude located urban areas.

• Promoted energy-efficient house construc­tions and improvements of insulation in the existing houses. Several studies are being conducted by Ministry of Works and Human settlement on housing improvement.

• Government increased the royalty on fire-wood in urban areas to discourage firewood use; and

• Encouraged use of more energy-efficient stoves such as electrical appliances etc.

In 2002, the NEC hosted the official website ( www.nec.gov.bt ) for the environment sector. The website provides limited information and are general information such as activities and Environment Assessment guidelines.

October 2003, a study was conducted by NEC to develop an environmental information management system (Pradhan 2003). This project is in pipeline. The EMIS will provide some detailed information on air, water and land data. (Pradhan., M. 2003) The EIMS is expected to be implemented during the 9^th FYP or later.

In conclusion, it is evident that the increased population, vehicles, industries and infrastructure is fast becoming one of the major emerging issues for Bhutan particularly the increased pressures in urban areas with respect to air pollution. There are many sectoral acts and regulations and policies that provide framework for the sound management and conservation of the environment in Bhutan. Although, there is a strong environmental conservation law in Bhutan, the implementation is fairly weak particularly in the air quality management due to human resources constraints. Finally, due to lack of appropriate equipment to measure the basic air quality there is no comprehensive data collected in Bhutan (1^st BNG meeting 24 June 2004).

1. Forestry Services Division and NEC, 1999, A project proposal for the establishment of a saw dust bukhari unit in Thimphu, Report to the UNDP.

2. Kundo, T. 2003, Report on Air quality Monitoring in Bhutan, Senior Volunteer, JOCV, Bhutan

3. Pradhan., M. October 2003, Preparation of an overview of environmental information in Bhutan, Digital Shangrila, Thimphu Bhutan

4. Danida, 1998, Background Document on Danida ref. no. 104 Bhutan 7., NEC, Bhutan

5. NEC, 1999a, Ambient/Discharge Standards and Environmental Sampling Manual , RGOB, Thimphu Bhutan

6. NEC, 1999b, Report on Air pollution in Thimphu, RGOB Thimphu Bhutan

7. NEC, 1999c, The Middle Path, National Environment Strategy, RGOB, Thimphu Bhutan

8. NEC, 2000a. EA Act and Regulations, RGOB, Thimphu Bhutan

9. NEC, 2000b, First Greenhouse Gas Inventory, RGOB, Thimphu Bhutan

10. NEC, 2000c, Environmental Codes of Practices for Urban Roads and Traffic Management, RGOB, Thimphu

11. NEC, 2001, Bhutan: State of the Environment, RGOB, Thimphu Bhutan

12. NEC, 2002, Regulation for the Environmental Clearance of Projects and the Regulation for the Strategic Environmental Assessment, RGOB Thimphu

13. Planning Commission, 2002, 9^th Five Year Plan Environment Sector Plan (2002-2007), RGOB, Bhutan

14. RSTA, 2004, Registration form, RGOB, Bhutan

15. The National Newspaper, Kuensel, 12 June 2003, Kuensel Corporation, Thimphu Bhutan

16. Thimphu City Corporation. 1992, Action Plan for Thimphu, RGOB, Bhutan