Thimphu Division

Background

Following the nationalization of the forest through the enactment of National Forest Act in 1969, the impetus of the Department was placed on curbing illegal activities and encroachment of the forest land to reduce pressure on forest. With two forest Divisions established in the southern belt in Samtse and Sarpang, a need for a division was felt in northern Bhutan to oversee activities in the region. It was against this backdrop that the Thimphu Forest Division was established during later part of the Second Five Year Plan in 1969 with late Lyonpo Chenkap Dorji as the first DFO who served from 1/10/1969-8/7/1973. It was envisaged then for the Division to cover Thimphu, Haa, Paro, Wangdue Phodrang, Punakha and Gasa Dzongkhags.

Introduction

Today, the Division covers an area of 876.412 sqkm. and provides forestry services to six gewogs viz Chang, Dagala, Geney, Kawang, Mewang and part of Naro under Thimphu Dzongkhag. Additionally, it is also mandated to provide forestry services to urban dwelling communities as well. It is also one of the 14 field divisions challenged by increasing developmental activities and frequent forest fire outbreaks during dry winter and early spring months

Vision

A Sustainable Forest Ecosystem for the People, Nature, and Economy

Mission

To conserve and manage Bhutan’s natural resources through the adoption of innovative technologies to ensure socio economic and environmental well-being, while maintaining a minimum 60% of the land under forest cover for all times to come.

Functions of the Divisions:

Within the Division there are three technical sections which are aligned to the three Functional Divisions of the Department.

Forest Resource Planning and Management Section looks after sustainable management and utilization of forest resources for commercial and rural requirements in line with FNCA and FNCRR. This is done through planning and implementation of different management regimes such as forest management units, community forest management areas, non-wood forest management areas and local forest management areas. It is responsible for the preparation and review of the Forest Management Plans, Operational Plans for the Forest Management Units, Community Forest Management Plans and Local Forest Management Area Plan including Non-Wood Forest Management Plans. Additionally, this section coordinates with different agencies in plantation programs including prevention of forest fires, pests and diseases. Conducting of awareness and sensitization to the public on forest fires including coordination of forest fire suppression through mobilization of fire fighters is one of the important mandates of this section. Forest fire management includes creation of fire lines, conduct damage assessment, disposal of damaged forest resources and reforestation of burnt area. Similarly, it is also responsible for planning and implementation of scientific thinning activities including export facilitation following due verification process.

Forest Monitoring and Information Section is mandated to look after forestry clearances required for all developmental activities on state reserved forest land (SRFL) including land acquisition for various developmental projects such as land lease, acquisition, road, transmission line, irrigation channel/water pipeline, archery range and related activities as per requirement and provisions in the Forest and Nature Conservation Rules and Regulations of Bhutan. It is also responsible for monitoring all the existing management regimes including resource utilization and wood-based industries. Similarly, it is also mandated to review rural timber applications applied through G2C portal. It also serves as the data repository through Forest Information Reporting and Monitoring System (FIRMS). It is also responsible to mobilize human resource and monitor the forest check post under the division with additional mandate to deal with forest offence cases forwarded to the Division HQ from the field offices.

Further, this also ensures prompt and complaint free public services within reasonable turnaround time. It also coordinates and upscale SMART patrol tool in the division through technical backstopping to the field offices on regular basis. Similarly, it is responsible to facilitate timely settlement of the forest offence cases referred to the division from field offices and forest check post. It shall also serve as the focal point for waste management.

Nature Conservation Section is mandated to look after biodiversity conservation programs including national and divisional level surveys on priority flora and fauna. With the increasing Human Wildlife Conflict issues both at national and district level, this section is also mandated to coordinate appropriate mitigation interventions with technical support from Nature conservation Division, Department of Forest and Park Services. The section also looks after wildlife offence cases requiring legal prosecution as per Forest and Nature Conservation Act of Bhutan 2023. It is also responsible for coordinating wildlife rescue and rehabilitation activities. This section is also responsible for annual monitoring of Biodiversity Monitoring Grids covering all the taxa (Plants, Mammals, Birds, Herpetofauna, Insects and Fish) and reporting to Department.

Organogram of the Division

Contact Details

For official communication purposes, please email at thfdivision@moenr.gov.bt or to the contact person/sections email addresses provided below.