Bhutan's Constitution mandates at least 60 percent forest cover in perpetuity

Background

The honour given to Bhutan at the World Health Organization South-East Asia Regional Committee meeting in Dili belongs to a country that has written care of its land into its highest law. The World Bank notes that Bhutan's Constitution mandates that at least 60 percent forest cover be maintained in perpetuity. The United Nations Development Programme calls Bhutan the only country in the world whose constitution protects its forests. In practice the country stays well above that floor, with over 71 percent of its territory under forest cover. Those woodlands work as a natural store that pulls carbon out of the air. The World Bank describes Bhutan as the only carbon negative country in the world. That means more greenhouse gas is taken in each year than the country gives out. Holding that balance shapes how Bhutan plans its roads, its farming and its power.