The Land of the Thunder Dragon' Bhutan is a small, landlocked country located in the Himalayas, known for its stunning natural beauty, rich cultural heritage, and commitment to environmental conservation and sustainable development.
The country is often referred to as the "Land of the Thunder Dragon," and it is known for its unique blend of traditional and modern culture. Bhutan is the only country in the world that measures its progress by Gross National Happiness, rather than by GDP.
The country is famous for its stunning architecture, including the famous "dzongs" (fortresses) and monasteries, which are architectural masterpieces and are considered to be some of the most beautiful in the world.
Bhutan is also known for its pristine natural environment, including its mountains, forests, and rivers, which are home to a wide variety of plants and animals. Bhutan is a country that is truly unique, and visitors can experience the essence of its culture through its festivals, customs, and traditional way of life.
Here are lessons that the World can learn from Bhutan:
Carbon neutrality (and negativity)
Bhutan initiated a cycle of strategies to guarantee the nation stayed carbon-neutral comprising a constitutional amendment to ensure forested regions would not fall below 60 percent, free hydroelectric power produced by Bhutan's several rivers was prioritized over fossil fuels, and export logging was banned. More than 70% of the nation is surrounded by trees.
This vast proportion of tree cover has beheld Bhutan becoming a carbon sink, meaning that it consumes more carbon dioxide than it generates. Bhutan consumes approximately seven million tons of carbon dioxide annually and barely generates around two million tons.
Bhutan furthermore exports most of the renewable hydroelectric power that it produces from its rivers. This neutralizes the nation's contribution towards carbon emissions by millions of tons each year.
Gross National Happiness
While maximum nations measure their economic worth and advancement through Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Bhutan selected a relatively distinct manner to comprehend and maintain its economy.
The Gross National Happiness (GNH) balances economic growth, cultural strength, environmental preservation, and good administration. These four pillars are affirmed with 9 domains and 124 sub-indicators. Bhutan's governors are focused on establishing conditions in which happiness can thrive.
Universal Healthcare
According to the WHO, Bhutan's Constitution assures unrestricted access to both modern and conventional healthcare and medicine as part of its Gross National Happiness Programme.
The constitution furthermore works to provide security in periods of illness. The National Health Policy and plan pursue unrestricted universal health coverage established on the fundamental care procedure as the strategy for social insurance and development.
Say no to tobacco
Bhutan is the first nation in the world to ban smoking completely. Smoking in public and trading tobacco is illegal there. Violators will bear a penalty of USD 232 with no exceptions. Making tobacco expensive will not benefit much. Its complete prohibition is the need of the hour in our world.
Daily meditation in schools
Lessons in maximum schools in Bhutan commence with quiet contemplation or a session of meditation. This everyday exercise has made educators realize that their students are additionally focused on their studies and address pressure much better.
Inculcating human values
Although education in Bhutan is similar to numerous different nations that pursue the western curriculum, children are furthermore taught lessons on environmental preservation, recycling, and being caring to other people. Teachers in Bhutan acknowledge that even the manner teachers interact with the students should impart some way of values.
Organic Farming
Bhutan declared in 2013 that it would go entirely organic in terms of agricultural techniques, thereby calling for an extensive ban on GMOs. In a nation with a mountainous landscape.
The used chemicals don't simply stay where they are used, they affect the water and plants. Most of their agricultural practices are traditional farming, so they are primarily organic anyway. They believe in living in unity with nature. Animals possess the right to live, they like to watch plants and insects happy.
Bhutanese Architecture
To maintain the historical style of the Architecture of Bhutan intact, it is made essential for the architects to formulate all the buildings with slanted roofs, tiny windows, and colorful wooden doors, just like the traditional buildings.
This makes certain that there is a uniformity in the architectural style of buildings throughout the nation. This oneness in construction technique and design lends the towns of Bhutan a spectacular perspective, just like the beautiful landscapes.
Less is more
The Bhutanese understood happiness and how to fetch it into and discover it in their life from a young age. Schools furthermore give happiness lessons. Life here is modest but happy. Children play with mud, grass, sticks, and other things easily available from nature.
They don't care about TV, radio, or the internet. It inspires us to understand to simplify our lifestyles and be gratified with what we possess rather than desire. Simple living can provide us a feeling of satisfaction and happiness.
Respecting Culture and Conserving It
Bhutan is not solely abundantly blessed in natural beauty but furthermore in terms of fascinating Buddhist architecture, varying from looming Dzongs, monasteries, schools for Buddhist studies, conventional wooden bridges, chortens or stupas, etc.
The people value their culture and are acting their every part to protect it. Bhutan pursues a dress code for the people, the women are presumed to wear the Kira and men wear the Gho while reaching any official establishment such as Dzongs or monasteries, etc.
Physical Fitness
The Bhutanese Government has built open-air gyms with A-class workout equipment for its people in numerous areas. The goal is to make physical fitness available to people free of cost.
Now imagine working out on a treadmill under the bright blue sky, with the fresh cold breeze flowing by, topped with the chirping of birds and the perspective of the whole Thimphu town.
Waste Management
Waste management is the need of the hour, and how everyone should understand separating household waste into decomposable and non-decomposable. In Bhutan, it's unique, the residents have strict procedures on separating the waste and religiously pursue this procedure, and the outcome of course is noticeable everywhere.
Bhutan is perhaps one of the cleanest and nicely maintained countries in the entire world. There are numerous roads in Bhutan that have been build with recycled plastic.
Discipline
Whether it be people passing over the streets at Zebra crossings alone, or obeying the dress code while stopping by the official and religious locations, or children practicing sports in the early cold hours of the day, or pursuing strict waste management approaches everything about Bhutan depicts discipline in their everyday activities.
Compassion
Bhutan is certainly the territory of compassion and compassionate. From enjoying and worshiping the compassionate avatar of Lord Buddha or Avalokiteshwara, to infusing compassion towards all in the young psyches, Bhutan is where you could comprehend the unknown significance of compassion and its dynamism.
Biodiversity Conservation
Bhutan is assertive in its conservation endeavors. It is one of the several biodiversity conservation hotspots in the world dedicated to maintaining the responsibility to the maintenance of its biodiversity.
This is indicated in the determination to maintain at least 60% of the land area under forest cover, to appoint further than 40% of its region as national parks, reserves, and other protected regions, and most lately to specify an additional nine percent of land area as biodiversity corridors connecting the protected areas. Environmental conservation has been positioned as the priority of the country's growth strategy.
Spirituality
Spirituality is a difficult-attained purpose for a maximum of us living in this exceptionally fast-paced world, however, the serenity of Bhutan speaks of it differently. People are energetic there as well; they are similarly chasing their life purposes but at a similar time are better connected to the sacred world.
With such oozing spirituality in the atmosphere, the mountains, the ravines, the people, in fact, everything about Bhutan is serene. Spirituality and compassion make it simpler for oneself to achieve and experience inner harmony and when every person in such a state of well-being the country walks ahead in unison.
Perhaps it's these situations and various additional initiatives taken by the Administration as well that make Bhutan the nation it is. To be titled as the world's happiest nation is in itself is an incredible accomplishment and it's time other countries similarly concentrate on such holistic techniques towards development. There is so much to learn from this small nation.
