Geo Inquiry: Where are the most suitable state-owned land in Samtse Gewog, under Samtse Dzongkhag?

State owned lands are those lands which are controlled by government and no individual or private organization owns it. All lands which are not surveyed and tagged with Lagthrams (documents to declare you own the land) are all state-owned lands in Bhutan. These lands are mostly used for the purpose of developmental activities like construction of roads, offices, parks and other developments for the benefit of publics residing nearby. However, not all these lands can be used for developmental purpose as most are forested, mountain terrain and not suitable for any activities.

With the increase in population there will definitely be change in land use which will lead to encroachment of the state land. According to Tshering (2018) most of the encroachment in Bhutan can be associated with the ever-increasing pressures from the accelerated socio-economic development activities mostly from the construction of farm roads, electricity transmission, industries and urbanization. Some reasons for encroachment can be non-intentional, which might be due to ignorance of the existing laws or awareness.

Samtse gewog is chosen as the study area to examine and analyze the state land suitability to put it to optimum use. Illegal encroachment of the state-owned land is one issue the dzongkhag is facing according to Land Record Officer. Samtse dzongkhag lying in the border area is actually expected to face such issue, but there is a need to create awareness among the people living in the gewog. The high rate of migration of landless people from rural to urban and ignorance of the people leads to encroachment, (Acharya, 2008). So, when urban areas are cramped with more population, the activities of people lead to high encroachment, (Asif, 2014). Knowing about the state lands might help them to discourage encroachments, on the other hand they will be aware of proper process they can follow to use those lands for their benefit. Though major portion of the land may not be usable or will not be allowed as it is covered by forest, there are few portions which can be put to use for cultivation or animal farming.

The first step towards answering the geo inquiry question that we asked was where are the suitable state lands that can be used by the public or by those who doesn’t own land but wants to use it. The government provides the land on lease if it is suitable and appropriate for use. Land lease according to the Land Act of Bhutan 2007 is “a state of tenure that confers only a right of use of the land for a defined period of time and does not imply the ownership of land.” Which means people can use the available land for their use. The suitability mapping of the land is adapted from the practical that was completed to find out the tiger habitat suitability in Jigme Singye Wangchuck National Park. Similar workflow was followed with some modification of the data according to the need.

After acquiring the Samtse Gewog shape files from the Land Records office of Samtse Dzongkhag, the data were selected based on its applicability for the map. Samtse Digital Elevation Model (DEM) was derived from the DEM data and even used the slope data and LULC to derive the suitability map. The modifications however were executed based on the need of the features, especially for LULC data.

The figures on the right show suitability of the state land and to make the picture clear, the additional layer of private owned land was added. The percent of land most probably suitable (indicated by white patches) decreased. The realization that private owned lands are also included in the highly suitable area made the analysis of the project to think of better ways to represent only the suitable lands which might be available and does not fall under private land.

1. These maps can be used by the dzongkhag Land Record section, gewog office and others as a reference when people put up proposal for the land lease.

2. People can refer the maps for the availability of lands for their ventures in future.

3. Reduce encroachment issues the Gewog is facing due to lack of information. Having a map which gives information on state land will help people to think twice before taking any chances.

4. The maps can also give birth to bigger ideas for the stakeholders to undertake more studies on the issue of encroachment and its associated problems.

The students need to take up land use and land cover studies in their curriculum. They are even taught on the types of soil, relief, climate and other factors required for the farming practices. The similar field studies can be taken up by the higher secondary school students in their school. The geo inquiry process doesn’t necessarily have to be a huge project, rather a simple place-based field studies can be applied to enhance the student learning. This will also revive the student’s interest in geography and advance in the field to fit themselves in the 21st century learning skills. Knowing

about state land, encroachment issue by the students will guide them for future ventures. Not all students can get employed in government offices, so the values of self employment can be instilled from young age itself.