Virtual Trip

After experiencing secondhand through the screen of my computer, the glorious beauty and serenity of this overlooked country named Bhutan, visiting this place is now next on my bucket list. I was astonished to find out there was so much difference in culture and how much there was I didn't yet know about the land of the thunder dragon.

The world we live in has nearly 200 countries as the current era of globalisation and mass communication has shed light on many of these smaller shielded countries, yet Bhutan still treads beneath the radar. Although it shouldn't be a surprise that there are many places which I have never heard of, nevertheless I was, towards the existence of Bhutan. A country lodged between the south eastern slopes if the Himalayas and sandwiched between its larger attention seeking neighbours; India and China. I found out that it's uncanny location and natural mountainous borders have caused a lack of media coverage as it was hard to get to. Furthermore, The whole of Bhutan only has a single international airport which is known as the world’s most dangerous airport due to is position in a deep valley elevated above sea level.

To even enter the country legally, there is a pricy visa fee of $250 which immediately turns many travelling heads. Little do many people know that on the surface Bhutan's visa fee may seem 'pricey' for such an undeveloped country, but in actuality, this mere $250 fee also covers, accommodation, food, transportation and 35% of the fee going to support the locals. Low impact tourism and a banger for your buck!!!

During the virtual field trip I was enchanted by the beauty of Bhutan's greenery and state of Bhutan's pristine forests. I have been to a few national parks in my (short) time but Bhutan's forests gave an air of mountain freshness, which I could only hope to experience. It turns out, the reason for Bhutan's seemingly untouched condition is because of government's conviction towards a carbon neutral environment. It is mandated in its Bhutan’s constitution that 60% of all it’s land is under forest cover. Bhutanese culture emphasises the importance of trees and the mountains which are taught through the practises of Mahayana Buddhism. But what's more shocking is that Bhutan is not only Carbon neutral... ITS CARBON NEGATIVE, OFF SETTING THREE TIMES THE AMOUNT OF CARBON THE COUNTRY PRODUCES!!!

I found that whenever citizens of Bhutan mention their kings they talk with a tone of reverence, emitting a deep respect and admiration for them. Their kings, especially the former king of Bhutan, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, did many great things for their country which makes it seem that they truly love and work for the people. They were not just idols or figureheads of the country but rule changers and leaders. One of the former king’s many acts that makes me respect them and their will to make their country a better place for their people was the act to change Bhutan’s government from a monarchy to a democracy, so that the citizen’s voices could be heard.

“Gross national happiness is more important than gross national product”. This was declared by the Former king who has successfully made Bhutan the 8th happiest place on Earth, according to their Business Weekly.

One thing that I found contradictory was the fact that the people of Bhutan do not kill animals, especially not their sacred national animal, the Takim, due to their buddhist teachings which they treat as a lifestyle philosophy. However, they do still have the luxury of eating meat and livestock, which they import from neighbouring countries like India. I found this incredibly hypocritical.

Recently in the last few years, Bhutan has experienced thousands of flash floods which has become the new norm, affecting countless of lives. These floods occur from the rising water levels from lakes and rivers which then breach the dams. An increase of 2 degrees celsius is enough to melt an entire glacier to form scenic lakes and lush vegetation but on the flip side, it's just a pretty consequence of climate change.

Personally, I don't think it is possible for an individual to make a major change in Malaysia's natural environment, although change does begin from an individual. The reason I think that why currently we can't do anything impactful is because large changes need finances, and this is something we do not yet have as teenagers starting college. The best thing to do is to raise more awareness, whether through our social medias, which we can easily do or host marches to bring awareness to more people. But if we did have the finances to attain a thriving natural environment, Malaysia would need to could preserve forest cover. According to the U.N, 62.3% of Malaysia is forested, which is a pretty large number when compared to many other developing countries which have about <30% of forest cover and developed countries around <15%. I think it would be fair to say policies could be made like Bhutan to preserve 60% of the forest at all times to prevent further deforestation. More green areas and the precious rainforests of Malaysia must be turned into national parks to prevent poaching and illegal logging, which should also have harsher punishments.

Most of the major environmental programmes in Bhutan are funded by the government, for example Clean Bhutan and Green Bhutan, which focuses on planting trees. This is something I thing our government could initiate more often. To set aside a small percentage of funds to run a few helpful programmes. The advantage our country has over Bhutan is our larger economy and higher GDP which is almost 2000 times larger than that of Bhutan’s. This can help us invest in sustainable technology, such as subsidising hybrid and electric cars to make them more affordable for the average Malaysian. Another interesting piece of technology Malaysia could implement is solar panels on houses for the less privileged which could be an effective way to reduce wood burning.

Unfortunately, no matter how hard one small country tries, they are still unable to stop the advancing doom of climate change, which has severely affected Bhutan. I find that it is quite unfair how the world works against this little nation who thrives on morality and environmental principles which make up the charm of the modest landlocked country. They have already done their part and plenty in terms of 'saving the climate', yet they aim for higher goals and it is our turn to set our sights on goals beside them.