Vision: Sustaining and conserving a healthy forest ecosystem for a progressive Bhutan.
Mission: To conserve and manage Bhutan’s forest biological resources to ensure socio- economic and environmental wellbeing, with a minimum of 60% of the land under forest cover for all times to come.
Mandates:
- Manage and utilize Bhutan’s forests for sustainable production of economic and environmental goods and services to meet the needs of the people.
- Enhance long term sustainability of Bhutan’s biodiversity and ecosystem services through management of natural habitats including wetland.
- Facilitate and collaborate for effective and integrated watershed management.
- Sustainable forest management through effective application of science and technology including participation of communities for socio-economic benefits.
- Forest landscape restoration for social, ecological and economic benefits.
- Forestry research to generate and disseminate scientific knowledge to enhance forest and biodiversity management to support implementation and ecologically sound policies.
- Periodic monitoring of forest resources and evaluation to ensure sustainable management and information dissemination.
Core Business Areas/ Core service areas:
1. Sustainable Forest Management
- Scientific forest management through extraction of forests resources from forest management units, local forest management areas and working schemes.
- Forest resource allocation and utilization of timbers and non-timber forest resources. • Community based forest resource management through Community Forestry and Non Wood Forest Product management areas, community-based forest enterprise). • Forest landscape restoration mainly through afforestation and reforestation plantations. • Management of trees outside forest mainly in agriculture land through agroforestry programs.
- Facilitate, coordinate and collaborate for effective and efficient utilization of forest resources.
- Enhanced climate resilience of the forestry sector (Reduce Emission from Degradation and Deforestation (REDD+), National Adaptations plans).
- Promotion of nature-based solutions (Payment for Environmental Services). • Monitoring of programs and activities to ensure quality and impact of the initiatives.
2. Nature Conservation
- Management of PA network (PA/Biological corridors (BC) management plans) • Promotion of sustainable livelihood opportunity (Ecotourism, HWC mitigation, Nature recreation)
- Species conservation and monitoring for species persistence.
- Conservation of watershed & wetlands as natural habitats of wildlife (RAMSAR, water source protection, recharge area mapping & designing interventions).
- Reporting and compliance to international convention (CITES, UNCBD, UNESCO, SAWEN, etc)
- Monitoring of programs and activities to ensure quality and impact of the initiatives.
3. Forest Monitoring and Information
- Facilitate allotment of State Reserved Forest Land (SRFL) for public use (Forest Clearance, Environmental Clearance, Land leasing, Land exchange)
- National Forest Monitoring System (NFMS), Forest Information and Resource Management System (FIRMS)
- Effective monitoring of Forestry activities (Forest resource utilization, services) • Enforcement of Forestry legislation (SMART, SDSS, adjudication)
- Reducing forest degradation (Forest Fire management, Pest & diseases) • Forestry information repository and dissemination.
- Monitoring of programs and activities to ensure quality and impact of the initiatives
4. Forestry Research and Training
- Contribute to support science-based decision-making processes by conducting research and policy analysis in relevant areas of concern (research).
- Mainstream scientific research findings into environmental policy and decision-making processes (publications and conferences).
- Provide training of current and future generations of conservation and environmental leaders, practitioners and academics (training).
- Facilitate enhanced training programs to existing staff of the Department.
