Challenges on the Ground

The problem with working in development, and simultaneously being something of a tourist in a place, is that you learn way too much, and really see what is happening underneath the veneer that the gaze of most tourists is limited to.  You get exposed to the differences between the policies, rhetoric, and aims of what a government is trying to achieve, and the nitty-gritty of what is happening on the ground, as well as all of the challenges they come up against.  For a tiny country of less than one million people, sandwiched between the two one-billion-plus giants of India and China, there is so much outside pressure, that some of it becomes impossible to resist, and this is what is happening in this tiny Kingdom.  I fear that in twenty years this place will be almost unrecognizable.  And I know that, for people who were here twenty years ago, before TV, Coca-cola and blue jeans, it already is.

Just to provide a little historical context, it’s important to realize that none of this is really Bhutan’s fault.  It’s astonishing that they’ve maintained their sovereignty and independence as much as they have, and were never colonized, though of course this is due as much to their remoteness as anything, as well as some fairly skillful negotiation with the British over the 18^th, 19^th and early 20^th centuries.  For this period, Bhutan remained as traditional, remote, and closed as anywhere on earth.  But when they observed the invasion of China into Tibet in 1959, and felt increasingly threatened, they were forced to turn outwards and realize they couldn’t stay cut-off from the world forever.  Without entering into the game of international relations and the interplay of economies, politics and nation-states that so characterizes this era of globalization, they feared their small country would be lost, one way or another.  So they turned to India, who had become their closest ally (and at times adversary) in recent times.

Shepherds in the mountains with their yaks: an imperiled lifestyle.

Since then, though, it seems to me that they have become way too dependent on India, and too reliant on Indian politics and economics.  Most of their GDP comes from India, one way or another (and especially through an ever-growing reliance on selling them hydro-power), and the Bhutanese currency is pegged 1:1 to the Indian rupee.  In recent times, this has led to a ‘rupee-crunch’, and I’m told that it’s getting harder to change the Bhutanese ngultrum at the border, and that one even has to pay 110 ngultrum for 100 rupees now.  More ngultrum flows out than rupees come in these days, and more and more Bhutanese cross the border for cheap goods and food, and this of course affects the struggling Bhutanese business communities, and the poor farmers, negatively.  And it only seems to be getting worse.

This reliance on India seems to be proportionately affecting the government’s ability to live up to its GNH ideals.  When I was travelling towards the East of the country last weekend, I saw the most astonishing ecological devastation caused by the attempts to fix the terrible roads in this country (or I should say ‘road,’ because there is really only one east-west connector, with a few roads that go from that down South to India).  Who’s building this road and causing this destruction?  Contractors from India, so what interest do they have to take proper care with their work?  And this is the same story all over the country, or at least in much of the area around the political and economic center of Thimphu-Paro.  Bhutan’s growth is being fueled by its enormous Southern neighbor, but with this growth comes pressures that are increasingly difficult to resist.

We were stopped here as road crews knocked debris from above into the valley below. We actually saw a monkey running for cover.

 One of my least favorite observations, which I can’t help but take note of everyday here, is the difference between the outwards and inwards in Bhutanese life and culture.  For example, the government maintains its admirable policy of ensuring that all buildings are built in the traditional style: but sadly, this only pertains to their outwards façade.  Inside, anything seems to go, and some, no matter how lovely outside, are as ugly as any modern building within.  I noted in a recent op-ed, published in a local newspaper here (http://www.kuenselonline.com/observations-from-an-outsider/#.URzIemdcq4o), that this problem can be transposed to the people here, who, though they need to wear traditional gho or kira for most jobs, sadly don’t maintain that outwards integrity and beauty inwardly.  One sees too many people kicking at stray dogs to think that all Bhutanese are model Buddhists (or Hindus or Christians or Muslims) with respect and love for all living beings.  The deterioration of the inside of buildings can too easily be seen also within people.  

I could go on about the transition from traditional rammed earth architecture, seen around the country melting back into the earth in a truly ecological and sustainable fashion, towards the concrete and steel that is increasingly prevalent, in Thimpu at least, but I’ll leave that aside for now, except to note that it is another difference between policies of sustainability and the realities and pressures on the ground (and where are these new and modern techniques learned from?  Bhutanese are sent to, where else?  India, to learn about building, engineering, electricity, plumbing, and they come back with shoddy skills which lead to shoddy craftsmanship in too many places and in too many ways).

Alas, I don’t want to be entirely unsympathetic and negative.  The Royal Government is doing its best, and does work really hard to maintain its values and goals.  Good things are still in abundance, Thimphu maintains a certain lovely small-town charm, over 60% of nature in the country is preserved, and the beauty of it is stunning to anyone who travels through it.  I spent the weekend amidst hundreds of black-necked cranes who are about to depart for their breeding grounds in Tibet, and while the governments of China and Bhutan are hardly on talking terms, NGOs that do work to preserve nature, with support from the governments, are working together to preserve the natural homes of these marvelous creatures.  So hope is not lost, I only pray that Bhutan can truly maintain its sovereignty, overcome its reliance on its Southern neighbor, and grow to find true economic, as well as environmental, sustainability.  In the 21^st century, this is a necessary step for a country to truly survive and prosper.