Database of Environmental Education Related Organizations Among Asian Countries

Contry/Region

Contact

Address:	Royal Society for the Protection of Nature, P.O Box: 325, Thimphu, Bhutan
Tel:	+975-2-322056, 326130	Fax:	+975-2-323189
URL:	http://www.rspnbhutan.org/	Email:	Ulhendup@yahoo.com

Organization Structure

Date of Establishment:: 1987
Number of Staff:: 18
Sections:
Members:
Name of Director:: Dr. Lam Dorji

Activity Area

Advocacy / Community Development / Conservation / Ecotourism / Education / Research / Women Gender

Foundation (Budget)

Foundation

0 (0 US Dollar) (Fiscal Yr. )

Annual Budget

0 (0 US Dollar) (Fiscal Yr. )

Account Settlement

0 (0 US Dollar) (Fiscal Yr. )

Main Resources

Grants

Introduction of the Organization

Objective:: The Royal Society for the Protection of Nature (RSPN) is the first and the only non-governmental organization (NGO) in Bhutan to exclusively concern itself with the conservation of Bhutan's environment. Although RSPN was established in 1987, it was only on 29th October 1997 that it was accorded legal status as a non-profit NGO. RSPN's mission is to inspire personal responsibility and actively involve the people of Bhutan in the conservation of the Kingdom's environment through education, applied research and information dissemination, and collaboration with concerned agencies and indigenous institutions. RSPN's goals, as stated in the draft Strategic Plan 2005-2010, are to:

- Conserve endangered species outside the protected area system:
- Develop ecosystem based approaches to management in areas outside the protected area system:
- To support management of emerging urban environmental issues;
- To enhance institutional capacity for environmental education, ecological research and community based natural research management.

Environment Education, Conservation & Development, Research & Communication, Administration & Finance are the four units in RSPN. A total of 18 staff members are working in RSPN. Mr. Lam Dorji (Ph.D) is the Executive Director.

Partnership with

Ministry of Education
Wang Watershed Management Project, Ministry of Agriculture
Nature Conservation Division, Ministry of Agriculture
National Environment Commission
WWF-Bhutan, Bhutan Trust Fund for Environment Conservation

Regular Environmental Education / Education for Sustainable Development Programs

Title	Place	Operational features
School based Nature Club activities	In all 20 Districts	RSPN initiated environmental education through Nature Clubs in response to the increased pressure on the environment and to overcome the lack of participatory environmental education in the formal curriculum. As of 2005, there are 80 (20%) schools covered under this network comprising of Community, Primary, Lower Secondary, Middle Secondary, Higher Secondary schools, Sherubtse College and other vocational and professional training institutions.
Awareness program for Wang Watershed Management Project	In four districts of Thimphu, Chhukha, Paro, Haa	Since 2002 RSPN has been involved in creating public awareness on the overall health of their local stream catchment. Action research of the issue identification and development of action in order to minimize the issue involving the local community. Some of the activities of water catchment are also being recommended to be I ntegrated in the formal school curriculum. Adult learners through Non Formal Education are also involved in this programme.
Urban Waste Management	Thimphu &amp;amp; Phuntsholing	The capital city of Bhutan, Thimphu, and the commercial hub, Phuntsholing have been experiencing rapid socio-economic development over the last 30 years. The city's population has doubled in just 5 years to about 60,000 in 2003 (State of the Bhutan鐃緒申s Environment) with limited scope for expanding the urban area. Although living standard has improved for many people, the qualities of environment in the cities have deteriorated. The solid waste collection system is one of the main pressing problems in the cities. Two of the causes of uncontrolled waste dumping are the lack of infrastructure and the behavior of the public.
Environment &amp;amp; Religion Project	In all 20 Districts	This project aims at improving the environmental awareness and consequent actions of the population of the religious institutions in Bhutan and their immediate surroundings by using the Buddhist faith as a basis. The objectives of the project are: - To explore and extract the environmental lessons from religious scriptures, folk beliefs and traditions. - To increase environmental awareness among the population of Bhutan's religious institutions and the population surrounding the religious institutions using the religion as a basis. - To convert this awareness into positive environmental action.

Plans for the next 5 years

Provided with no budget constraints, Environment Education Unit of RSPN would accomplish the following tasks

*Establish self sustaining nature clubs in 100 schools and Institutions in Bhutan
*Understand and improve water quality in Bhutan's streams and rivers and enable students to understand dynamics of watershed management
*Ensure proper solid waste management in major urban areas through public participation and partnership.

Self Evaluation

RSPN is a recognized NGO in Bhutan and Environment Education is one of the well established programmes in RSPN. RSPN has expertise in EE and some of the Government EE projects are being implemented by RSPN.

Photos, maps, etc

Programs

Name	Field of activities
Community Watershed Management	Advocacy / Nature Awareness / Research / Waste Pollution / Water

Organizational Information

Organization Name

This database consists of organization in the Environmental Education and ESD field in the Asian countries. This will help you to search for project partners and share experiences and views in EE&ESD all over Asia.

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