Thimphu, Bhutan 6 March, 2019 – Cooperation efforts between Bhutan and the European Union (EU) turned towards sustainable consumption and production (SCP) today as the SWITCH-Asia SCP Facility organised a Multistakeholder Consultation, creating an opportunity for diverse voices to engage on national policy and strategy development. The multiple stakeholders included representatives from Government and the EU Delegation to Bhutan, private sector leaders and experts from academia, civil society and the United Nations (UN). The discussions led to agreement among all participants to integrate SCP policies and activities into Bhutan’s National Environmental Strategy and aligning them with Gross National Happiness (GNH) approach to development.
Dialogue kicked off with reviewing preliminary assessments, but quickly became more focused on key sectors stakeholders identified as national priorities, which included tourism, hotels and green buildings, waste management, green procurement and green education curricula.
Referring to the various relevant programmes that were implemented with regards to consumption and production, Mr. Karma Tshering, Head, Policy and Programme of the National Environment Commission Secretariat, “asked the participants and SWITCH-Asia to consider the achievements of these programmes so as to scaling them up and replicating good practices while expanding knowledge and expertise through sharing of lessons from other countries, with particular attention to waste” Mr. Tshering also highlighted the necessity for a closer collaboration between SWITCH-Asia and the 10YFP in providing needed technical support for elaborating a National SCP Action Plan”.
While the European Union looks forward to working with Bhutan on these issues, it has alreadysupported three projects between 2012 and 2017 via the SWITCH-Asia Grants Programme, covering sustainable tourism, GPP and industrial development. “The EU has seen positive results from previous projects implemented in Bhutan and sees further opportunity to scale these efforts up and promote sustainable consumption and production at the national level,” said Mr. Tomasz Kozlowski, the European Union Ambassador to Bhutan, adding that "the meeting today is yet another promising sign that Bhutan is making progress and is committed to creating a green economy, a goal shared by the EU.”
For its part, the SWITCH-Asia SCP Facility was impressed with the level of engagement during this first Multistakeholder Consultation. The work done by the United Nations ESCAP and on-going work with One Planet Network/10YFP, as well as agencies, demonstrate that there are already strong partners to collaborate with to build synergies and optimize resources. This will enable a quicker and more complete transition to SCP. According to Arab Hoballah, Team Leader of the SCP Facility, “Bhutan is on the right path, working with both international partners in the EU and UN as well as bringing national actors to the table for discussions, such as the Multistakeholder Consultations. This inclusive environment will ensure stronger commitments to SCP and multiply the impacts relative to when activities take place in silos.”
Bhutan has long been committed to development, pioneering Gross National Happiness and climate change including the Paris Agreement. More recently, Bhutan has been active in pursuing achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and has continued to implement projects focusing on SDG 12, which covers responsible consumption and production, making it a primate candidate for the SCP Facility to partner with.
In the context of an SCP Action Plan and with needed governance system, priorities that emerged for immediate follow up Bhutan included ToT for and capacity building of Energy Auditors/Energy Managers for Green Buildings (Green Hotels) and Energy Efficiency; capacity building and replication of successful models for Waste Management, Minimization, Prevention and Integrated Waste Management; technical assistance for mainstreaming GPP and Review and integrate SCP in the educational curricula.
Multistakeholder Consultation would continue over the next three years, with the SWITCH-Asia SCP Facility continuing to provide support to Bhutan, convening stakeholders, responding to government requests for policy support and targeted technical assistance on the priorities and strategies that will create the most impact for Bhutan, while associating and further supporting local experts.
