Uncommon Journeys into the Soul of Bhutan
Environment & Ecology
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Bhutan has been described as a natural paradise. This tiny kingdom represents one of the best and the last chances for the conservation of biological diversity in the eastern Himalayas, one of the priority regions in the world for biodiversity preservation. The importance of biodiversity is increasingly being recognized throughout the world - not only for sustaining the wealth of living organisms, but also as a genetic resource for humanity, providing food crop and medicinal species for both current and future generations.
For its size, Bhutan probably has the greatest biodiversity of any country in the world. Bhutan’s evironmental ethics are deeply rooted in the Buddhist compassion for all sentient beings that promoted values such as respect for all forms of life and giving back to the Earth what one has taken away. People of Bhutan not only respect the nature but also confir upon it a living mysticism. Places are identified with deities, divinities and spirits, and a large part of landscape is mapped in such terms in the minds of Bhutanese people.
Bhutan has been identified as one of the ten most important bio-diversity hot spots in the world, i.e those places that together constitute less than two percent of the globe’s surface area but contain more than 50 percent of its biodiversity.
The country has been also identified as one of the 221 global endemic bird areas. The country’s ecosystem harbors some of the most exotic, endemic species of the eastern Himalayas. It has an estimated 770 species of birds, including many that are globally threatened. Among the country’s 165 species of mammals, the highly endangered snow leopard, tiger and golden langur - a small primate found nowhere else - are notable. Over 72.5% of the country is enveloped in thick virgin forest and 26.5% of the country is set aside as protected areas. More than 5,000 types of plants including 2,000 varities of flowering plants with over 50 species of rhododendron are found across the country.
Representative mammal species:
Tiger, snow leopard, Himalayan black bear, greater one-horned rhinoceros, Asian elephant, wild water buffalo, clouded leopard, Himalayan musk deer, golden langur, red panda, takin, blue sheep, pygmy hog, gaur
Representative bird species:
Black-necked crane, rufous-necked hornbill, Impeyan monal, raven, lammergeier, Blyth’s tragopan, hoopoe, grey peacock-pheasant
Representative plant species:
Blue poppy, rhododendron, Himalayan blue pine, juniper, agar, wild rose, Himalayan yew, yellow dock, weeping Himalayan cypress
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