BHUTANDRR Policy Peer Review Report
2009

DRR Policy Peer Review
The ADRC launched the Pilot Project of the DRR Policy Peer Review in 2009 to facilitate mutual
learning among member countries for the purpose of achieving the goals established by the Hyogo
Framework for Action 2005-2015 (HFA). This activity is not intended to be a one-way process, but aninteractive effort that facilitates the sharing of experiences and good practices in disaster risk reduction
among members.

Certain themes are selected for each year's reviews in accordance with HFA priorities. The theme forthe 2009 was "promoting disaster risk education and raising public awareness," which is related to HFAPriority 3: "Use knowledge, innovation and education to build a culture of safety and resilience at alllevels."Disaster risk education and public awareness play a crucial role in enhancing people's knowledge ofdisaster risks, affecting their attitudes, and motivating them to adopt a culture of disaster prevention andresilience. This in turn requires the following tasks:•

Develop a program to raise awareness of disaster risk reduction•

Include disaster risk reduction in the education and research systems•

Develop disaster risk reduction training for key sectors•

Enhance the compilation, dissemination, and use of disaster risk reduction information

The review process started with the submission of reports by target countries. The country reports were
carefully examined by a team of reviewers consisting of representatives of other member countries,
disaster management experts, and ADRC staff members. This examination was followed by visits to thetarget countries to conduct on-site surveys and interviews of government ministries and agencies,
NGOs, international organizations, and academic institutions involved in disaster risk reduction
activities. Through their surveys and interviews, the reviewer teams identified the strengths andweaknesses of the target countries and provided each country with a set of recommendations, which are
to be shared with all ADRC member countries.
-1-Summary of Country Report of Bhutan
1.

General Information on Disaster Management in Bhutan

Overview of Natural Disasters
The geo-physical location of Bhutan makes it one of the most seismically active regions in the world. A
strong earthquake on 21 September 2009, the most devastating in Bhutan's recent history, killed 12
people and damaged a large number of houses, public buildings, and cultural and religious monuments.
Bhutan also faces potential threats from glacial lake outburst floods (GLOF). Climate change is causing
glacial lakes to recede by 30 to 40 meters every year, and the risk of glacial lake outbursts increases as
global warming progresses.

Disaster Management System
1) Legal System
The government endorsed the National Disaster Risk Management Framework in 2006. A Draft
National Disaster Management Bill was formulated in 2008. The National Disaster Management Act
has not been endorsed as of 2009, but it is expected to be approved by the parliament in the near future.
Although Bhutan has no laws, statutes, or any other legal framework dealing specificallywith disaster management, Article 8 (6) of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Bhutan stipulates that itis the responsibility of every Bhutanese to provide help to victims of accidents and in times of naturalcalamity. The Environmental Acts and Policies, the Mines and Minerals Management Act, the Bhutan
Water Policy, the Land Act, the Bhutan Building Rules, and the Royal Bhutan Police Act indirectly
support disaster management.

2) Organization
The Department of Disaster Management (DDM) in the Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs is thelead coordinating agency for disaster management in Bhutan. It consists of three divisions:Preparedness and Mitigation, Response and Early Warning, and Relief and Reconstruction.
The National Committee for Disaster Management (NCDM) is the highest-ranking executive
body for disaster management, and is chaired by the Secretary, Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs.
DDM functions as the secretariat of the Committee. Also, at the local level, there are 20 District
Disaster Management Committees chaired by governors.

-2-Institutional Arrangements

National Disaster Management Authority

National Committee for Disaster Management

Inter-Ministerial

Department of Disaster Management

Taskforce-National Emergency Operation Centre

Dzongkhag Disaster Management Committee-Dzongkhag Emergency Operation Centre

Thromde Disaster Management

Dungkhag Disaster Management

Committee

Committee

Gewog Disaster Management Committee

3) Plan
The Department of Disaster Management under the Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs (MoHCA)
have prepared the National Disaster Management Planning guidelines to assist the districts and blocksof Bhutan to develop their disaster management plan. It is expected that the district will prepare theirdisaster management plan based on the National Disaster Management Planning guidelines. Apart fromthe National Disaster Management planning guidelines, a school disaster management planning-3-

guidelines have also being developed to assist the school in developing their school disastermanagement plan.

2.

Public Awareness and Education on Disaster Risk Reduction in Bhutan

Component VI of the National Disaster Risk Management Framework is public awareness andeducation. It calls for efforts to build awareness among people about the hazards and vulnerabilities intheir communities and for steps to be taken to mitigate such risks by adopting a multi-sectoral strategy
and establishing partnerships with media and community organizations.
DDM is also responsible for creating public awareness and disaster education activities in
Bhutan, and works closely with relevant agencies such as the Ministry of Education, Standard andQuality Control Authority, Department of Geology and Mines, Department of Public Health,
Department of Energy and Department of Forest.

Current Efforts for Creating Public Awareness and Education on Disaster Risk Reduction in
BhutanBelow are the current main efforts being undertaken by the DDM and other relevant agencies.

(1) Earthquake Risk Reduction and Recovery Project (ERRP), a SAARC regional projectThis project is being funded by the government of Japan and implemented through organizations suchas the UNDP and ADRC. The Standard and Quality Control Authority (SQCA) is also involved. The
program aims to strengthen institutional and community capacities to plan and implement earthquake
risk reduction strategies that integrate disaster preparedness, mitigation, and post disaster recovery infive South Asian countries (Bhutan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan). As part of the project,"pull-down tests" of seismically reinforced and unreinforced buildings were conducted to verify theeffectiveness of retrofitting, as well as to raise awareness among the general public.

(2) Under the Project titled Reducing Climate-Change-Induced Risks and Vulnerabilities from GLOF
in Punakha-Wangdue and Chamkhar Valleys
This project is funded by the LDCF/Global Environment Facility (GEF) through the UNDP, there arethree implementing agencies for this project, the Department of Disaster Management implements
capacity building and creating awareness on risks posed by GLOF in the three valleys. And theDepartment of Geology and Mines (DGM) is responsible for implementing mitigation works at the lakesites which poses threats to live and livelihoods to the people living downstream in Punakha and
Wangdue valleys. The Department of Energy looks after the Early Warning component and is
responsible for establishment of Early Warning System in the vulnerable areas.

-4-(3) Media Programs
An animated series (Ap Naka Part 1 and 2) on safe construction practices and earthquake safety
precautions were produced and broadcasted on the national television channel. Newspaper inserts andsupplements providing information on various hazards for risk reduction measures are also publishedfrequently. This is a collaborative project between the DDM and SQCA. The DDM has also formulated,
printed, and distributed an Emergency Safety and First Aid Handbook which contains do's and don'ts
regarding different hazards to various ministries/agencies/dzongkhags/schools.

(4) Safe School Campaign
Working in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Health, and the Royal Bhutan
Police, the DDM has carried out this campaign in four dzongkhags (districts) so far – Thimphu,
Chukhha Pemagatshel, and Samdrup Jongkhar. As part of this campaign, school principals and teachers
are sensitized to disaster risks and the school disaster management planning guidelines, and trained inbasic first responder skills, such as emergency first aid, search and rescue, and fire safety measures.
The campaign ends in each dzongkhag with an earthquake mock drill conducted by the pilot schools.

(5) International Day for Disaster Reduction
Bhutan observed International Day for Disaster Reduction for the first time in October 2008. A
nationwide art and essay competition for all schools was held, and schools in Thimphu participated inan "exhibition on disaster risk reduction" competition. In 2009, the day was observed by students
around the country who participated in drawing competitions on disaster reduction. Students in
Thimphu also staged short skits and composed songs on disaster preparedness.

(6) Community-based Disaster Risk Management
Community-based disaster risk management (CBDRM) training workshops have been conducted by
the DDM to develop the capacity of communities. The CBDRM planning curriculum has beendeveloped and the disaster management teams from Punakha, Wangdue, Bumthang, Chukha andThimphu dzongkhags (districts) have been trained in the process and are now prepared to train gewog(block) level teams and develop gewog disaster management plans.

(7) Early Warning
The existing manual early warning system managed by the Department of Energy (Ministry of
Economic Affairs) was made more comprehensive to include key persons in vulnerable communities
and standard procedures have been further enunciated. Work is in progress towards development of acoherent, end-to-end EWS that has both broad spatial coverage (covering all vulnerable areas) anda broad multi-hazard focus to reduce risk from all natural hazard events. The promotion ofcommunity-based and people-centered approaches to disaster risk management will be an
important part of this process. Various agencies in Bhutan are organized according to specialized-5-

tasks for different hazards, with relatively little information sharing or partnerships with otheragencies. It is these gaps that this component seeks to address by bringing together all concerned
agencies. It will begin to establish a policy dialogue so that appropriate standards for end-to-end
early warning systems are developed, implemented and institutionalized at the national level. This
will have linkage with Communication and Transportation component that will address issues
related to the lack of communication lines/ networks and especially their unavailability during
times of emergency. The local and national level support activities will also be designed tointegrate with regional and international early warning system development efforts.

***********************
ADRC Counterpart
Department of Disaster Management, Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs(http://www.mohca.gov.bt/)-6-

Overview of the Mission to Bhutan
Members1) Counterparts in Bhutan (Department of Disaster Management, Ministry of Home and Cultural
Affairs)- Mr. Namgay Wangchuk, Director- Ms. Tenzin Choden, Assistant Program Officer- Mr. Tshering Wangchuk, Assistant Program Officer

2) Reviewer Team to Bhutan- Dr. Koichi Shiwaku, Research Fellow, Earthquake Disaster Mitigation Research Center (EDM),
National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Prevention (NIED)- Mr. Arshad Nawaz Chheena, Deputy Director (Mitigation & Preparedness), National Disaster
Management Authority, Prime Minister's Secretariat, Pakistan- Ms. Maki Yoshida, Researcher, Asian Disaster Reduction Center (ADRC)

Mission Date
25-26 November 2009

Organizations & Officials Visited
1) DDM
See above.
2) Department of School Education, Ministry of Education- Mr Chencho, Offtg. Director- Mr. Kaka Tshering, Liaison Officer- Two school teachers3) Department of Geology and Mines, Ministry of Economic Affairs- Mr. Yeshey Dorji, Offtg. Director General
4) Standard and Quality Control Authority, Ministry of Works and Human Settlement- Mr. Phuntsho Wangdi, Director
5) UNDP Bhutan Office- Mr. Karma Rapten, Head, Environment and Disaster Management Unit, UNDP Bhutan- Mr. Karma Chogyal, LSA/Program Associate, Environment & Disaster Management Unit, UNDP
Bhutan-7-

Observation and Analysis
Department of Disaster Management (DDM), Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs
Established in 2005, Disaster Management initiatives in Bhutan had started off with its responsibilities
carried out by a small division established under the Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs. The
division was upgraded to a Department in the latter half of 2008 owing to the importance given todisaster risk management in Bhutan. In order to prepare for and respond to disasters in the country, theDepartment of Disaster Management has three main divisions:

1. Preparedness and Mitigation,
2. Response and Early Warning, and
3. Relief and Reconstruction
The Preparedness and Mitigation Division ensures coordination with all sectors with regard
to risk reduction, mitigation and preparedness and creates general awareness and education on disasterrisks and risk reduction through its Awareness and Education Unit. The division is mainly responsible
for facilitating the preparation and implementation of Sector/ Dzongkhag/ Thromde/ Dungkhag and
Gewog Disaster Management Plans, Community Based Disaster Risk Management Planning at
community level, in collaboration with respective Dzongkhag administrations and also building
capacities of disaster management committees and teams to support risk reduction and preparedness
activities. One of the most important responsibilities of the division is to create awareness on disasterrisk reduction at all levels, including the Safe School initiative and such other related campaigns. The
division has also developed various IEC and curriculum materials for capacity building and awarenessat various levels. The division is also responsible in building partnerships with both national andinternational agencies and organizations for knowledge sharing and obtaining support and resources forthe division's activities and initiatives.
The Response and Early Warning Division ensures the institutions of an effective disaster
response and early warning system in the country. It is responsible for the preparation of contingency
plans, SOPs and the establishment and operationalization of the Emergency Operation Centres atvarious levels. The division is also responsible for liaising with other relevant sectors and agencies toinstitute an Emergency Communication network, setting up and strengthening early warning systems
for various natural hazards and disaster risks involving the communities.
And the Relief and Reconstruction Division coordinates all relief and reconstruction related
efforts in collaboration with relevant sectors and agencies. The division is also responsible forfacilitating pre-agreements and arrangements with international and other development organizations
on relief and related assistance.
Although the Department of Disaster Management is a new setup, it has been actively-8-promoting disaster risk reduction in Bhutan as a lead coordinating agency. With limited staff strengthand the vast responsibilities, staffs in the Department have been working relentlessly to ensure timely
response and relief efforts at all levels.
The Department has also been actively engaged in building institutional set ups and building
capacities at all levels. One of the most important activities undertaken by the Department at thecommunity level is to train the Dzongkhag officials in Community Based Disaster Risk Management
Planning process. As the communities are the first responder and they know their hazards,
vulnerabilities and capacities and they have the advantage of time and location to make the essential
difference in their communities.
The Department is also vigorously working towards educating and creating awareness on dos
and don’t on different hazards at all levels through print and audio visual programs in coordination withall relevant stakeholders.

Department of School Education, Ministry of Education
The Department of School Education, in cooperation with the DDM and the UNDP, has been
conducting a school project with support from UNICEF. As part of this project, simulation drills
focused on earthquakes have been conducted. Teachers are trained to conduct the drills, and havereported that the training is effective in helping them conduct the drills properly.
Drills are important for teaching people what to do when an earthquake occurs. The drills
assume that the school buildings will not completely collapse. If school buildings do collapse, the desksthat the students hide under are supposed to be strong enough to protect them from falling debris.
Currently, drills are being conducted without any tests having been conducted on the strength of schoolbuildings or desks. Since school buildings are more important to saving the lives of school children, theministry needs to test their strength. If they are not strong enough to protect the people inside, the drills
should be adjusted accordingly.
To increase opportunities for students to learn about disasters, disaster education should be
integrated into the current school curriculum. Generally, the school curriculum consists of the regularcurricular education and extracurricular activities. Disaster education can be covered during the regularcurriculum, as part of the study of such subjects as social studies, science, and English. The advantage
of integrating disaster education into the regular curriculum is that students begin to think of disaster
preparedness as an ordinary part of their lives, rather than something unusual. The disadvantage is thedifficulty of providing active learning exercises for students. In general, the regular curricular education
is based on lectures and discussions (in this case, questions and answers) between teachers and students.
This is a passive model that poses difficulties in terms of raising awareness of disaster management,even though it enhances overall knowledge of disasters. Therefore, extracurricular activities should also
be utilized for disaster education, especially to provide more active learning exercises.
To promote school disaster education, teacher guidelines are important. The guidelines
should indicate what is to be taught during regular subject classes and what kinds of programs should-9-be included in both curricular and extra-curricular activities.

Department of Geology and Mines (DGM), Ministry of Economic Affairs
A couple of glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) projects have been conducted by the Department of
Geology and Mines in close cooperation with the DDM, the Department of Energy, and the UNDP withfunding from organizations including LDCF/GEF, JICA-JST, and SAARC.
Hazard maps were developed for flood disaster reduction with support from internationalorganizations, and these are being distributed to communities by local governments. Based on thehazard maps, the DGM identified safer places for evacuation during floods and informed thecommunity of these locations. Evacuation locations should be physically accessible and familiar tocommunity members. It is important that the DGM identifies safer evacuation locations, but its
decisions must reflect the local situation. Regardless of the evacuation sites identified, people tend toevacuate to the locations that are most accessible and familiar to them. Hazard maps can identify safer
locations but cannot read the local situation. The DGM should hold discussions with communities to
identify the safest evacuation sites. Community involvement is a critical component of effective
evacuation measures.

Standard and Quality Control Authority (SQCA), Ministry of Works and Human Settlement
Focused primarily on earthquakes, this agency is working to promote building standards with the helpof SAARC and NSET-Nepal. Programs to raise the awareness of planners and decision makers havebeen implemented, but these have been mainly focused on more urban areas. The agency has identified
a lack of information in rural areas as one of its target problems. Masons in rural areas lack access to
information on safe construction techniques, and are not well aware of the importance ofearthquake-resistant buildings. TV broadcasts have been used to raise awareness of earthquake safety.

UNDP Bhutan Office
The UNDP Bhutan Office has been involved in the above-mentioned projects regarding GLOF disastermanagement and school education, designing project plans and providing funds and advice to thegovernments involved.
Projects related to schools have been conducted as mentioned above, but these tend to lack
community involvement because it is difficult to involve the entire community in such projects. It is
impossible to involve everyone, but schools are core community institutions. It is important to have astrategy for involving communities in school projects.

Others
According to the DDM, other actors such as the Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Health havebeen involved in public awareness and disaster education activities in Bhutan. However, the mission
was unable to learn about their efforts during its visit due to time constraints.
- 10 -Strengths and Weaknesses
Based on the above observations and analysis, the mission identified the following strengths andweaknesses.

1.

Strengths

・ Strong leadership of the DDM in coordinating all disaster-related activities and programs in
Bhutan.
・ Promotion of the philosophy of Gross National Happiness, which contributes to promoting disasterrisk reduction.
・ Richness of human resources in Bhutan
・ Existence of National Disaster Risk Management Framework and National Disaster Management
Bill・ Provision of finances: establishment of a relief fund, mitigation and preparedness fund, andemergency response fund.
・ Coverage of all phases of the disaster management cycle (with DDM divisions managing
Preparedness and Mitigation, Response and Early Warning, and Relief and Reconstruction).
・ Full commitment of the country to prepare a National Disaster Management Plan by initiating
workshops for the development of local Disaster Management Plans.
・ Promotion of Community-Based Disaster Risk Management (CBDRM)・ Participation of communities in preparing local plans for specific or relevant hazards.
・ Establishment of an awareness campaign for schools through the development of a School Disaster
Management Plan.
・ Masonry training for selected areas.
・ Relationships with international organizations.
2.

Weaknesses

・ Weak link between regular teaching system and disaster education.
・ Need for greater enforcement of laws to ensure community safety against disasters.
・ Strength of school buildings has not been checked.
・ Few staff in disaster-related departments (DDM is fully aware of this issue).
・ Multiple hazard situations have not been well considered.
・ Information gap between rural and urban areas.
・ Lack of domestic/oversea NGO's participation in disaster risk reduction activities- 11 -

Findings and Recommendations of Reviewers
Bhutan faces harsh reality of increasing risks of natural disasters such as GLOF and earthquakes.
However, relevant agencies have been accelerated their efforts to prevent and mitigate the impact ofsuch disasters, promoting public awareness and school disaster education activities. Their efforts willbear fruits rapidly in light of strong leadership of the government, accumulated human resources,
diligent Bhutanese, and the size of the country.
School safety and community safety are interrelated issues. Integrated plans for community
safety that include schools are expected to be developed. The government has a responsibility topromote and achieve community and school safety through the active participation and cooperation ofboth community and schools.
The following are the findings and recommendations of the mission based on the strengths
and weaknesses identified, although some of the points are fully recognized by the government.
1.

School Safety and Education
 Though some efforts have been made to conduct awareness campaigns in the schools, morework can be done to include disaster risk reduction in the regular teaching system, such asincorporating it as a subject in the curriculum of schools/colleges. Then, students are able toequally gain the knowledge on natural disasters and disaster preparedness in a regular basis.
 Extra-curricular activities should be also utilized for school disaster education. These activities
can provide more active and exercise-based learning experiences to school children, which
helped them learn how to cope with natural disasters in a natural way.
 Teacher guidelines for disaster risk education should be developed. The guidelines will help
teachers promote disaster education in schools.
 Hazard maps can be utilized for school disaster education so that students will learn thehazards that exist in the areas where they live and where their schools are. Hazard maps help
students and teachers consider how they can reduce risks.
 The strength of school buildings should be examined for emergency planning and to determine
their level of disaster resistance. And then schools can conduct better and appropriate planningfor disaster preparedness.

2.

Community Hazard maps are expected to be used to create evacuation plans and to identify evacuation sites
at the community level.
 Hazard maps indicating evacuation sites are expected to be developed for/with community
members.

- 12 -

3.

Link Between School and Community
 Community should be involved in school projects since schools are core community
institutions.
 Hazard maps will be developed in the near future and they are expected to be developed withthe community, and also widely shared with the community, school teachers, and students.

4.

Government
 Relevant authorities require more commitment to the dissemination of legal frameworks andnational policies that can lead to raising awareness of people and protect the communityfrom natural disasters.
 More capacity development of national/local government officials who are in charge ofdisaster management in Bhutan. The DDM can focus more on coordinating work, notconducting programs by themselves.

- 13 -

Acknowledgements
The ADRC would like to express our sincere appreciation to all those who contributed to this report,
especially Dr. Koichi Shiwaku, Mr. Arshad Chheena, Mr. Namgay Wangchuk, Ms. Tenzin Choden, and
Mr. Tshering Wangchuk.

Asian Disaster Reduction Center
The Asian Disaster Reduction Center (ADRC) was established in Kobe, Hyogo prefecture, Japan in
1998, with a mandate to facilitate multinational cooperation for disaster risk reduction in the Asian
region. In cooperation with its 28 member countries (as of 31 March 2010), the ADRC implements
activities aimed at promoting further prosperity and safe, peaceful, and comfortable communities in
Asia through such means as information sharing, human resource development, and capacity
building programs.

Member countries
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan,
Republic of Korea, Kyrgyz, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New
Guinea, Philippines, Russian Federation, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Thailand, Uzbekistan,
Viet Nam, Yemen

Advisor countries
Australia, France, New Zealand, USA

ObserverAsian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC)- 14 -