Dot Com beat BTCL in BCCB Twenty20 Championship

In a totally one-sided game, team Dot Com beat BTCL comfortably by six wickets, to emerge winners of the Twenty20 championship, the final of which was played yesterday in Thimphu.

Opting to bat first after winning the toss, BTCL were bundled out for 60 runs. BTCL had no answers for Dot Com’s opening fast bowler Lobzang Younten, as he went on to take three wickets, giving away just 11 runs.

On the other side, off spinner Susil Sharma picked up three wickets, giving away only three runs. Captain Jigme Singye and Nima picked up two wickets each.

BTCL’s opening batsman Tandin Wangchuk was the only batsman from the team to reach double figures (17 runs).

Dot Com took 14 overs to reach their target for the loss of four wickets. Subash remained not out at 21, while Dechen scored 10 runs. Phuntsho Wangdi was the pick of the bowlers with two wickets.

“We’re looking to make a tour to Kolkata and get our boys some tournament practice,” DK Chhetri, Dot Com enterprise and club owner, said after the emphatic win.

“We promised to support two students for further in-country studies in the next academic year and, at the same time, we’re looking to form a permanent club website and continue to support students financially for their academics as much as possible,” team manager and player, Ashish Chhetri, said.

Dot Com took home the winning amount of Nu 30,000; while runners-up BTCL won Nu 20,000.

Dot Com captain Jigme Singye won the man of the match award and a cash prize of Nu 3,000; while teammate Susil Sharma bagged the best batsman of the tournament award. Rigsum’s Sampath was awarded the best bowler of the tournament.

The tournament was organised by the Bhutan cricket board.

Source: Kuenselonline

Bhutan GNH: Part IV - Corporate responsibility and the potential for oil and mineral exploration in Bhutan

Between the 1970s and 1990s, the Geological Survey of India (GSI) did the mineral exploration in Bhutan and covered 33 percent of the country. The GSI found potential for oil in Bhangtar, in Phuentshothang gewog of Samdrupjongkhar, traces of gold, silver and copper in the Black Mountains and tungsten in Sarpang dzongkhag with an estimated value of Nu 50 – 60 billion.

Now there is an American mining company willing to follow up on these finds and to explore the rest of the country with a few strings attached. In 2009, Kuensel reported that US-based Cline mining corporation is trying to gain mineral exploration rights for the entire country. J Matthew Fifield, managing director of the Cline Group, proposed he would get a group of American investors to invest in Bhutan’s mining sector “in a big way.” The Department of Geology and Mines (DGM), and Druk Holding and Investments (DHI) — through which Fifield communicated with the government — expressed interest in the proposal and were studying it, said the newspaper report. If an agreement were reached, the mining company would get exploration rights, and the government would get mining shares and royalties.

According to DGM, nothing has yet been done to implement the 2009 Cline mining corporation proposal, which is still in the conceptual stage. The department reportedly would not consider or act upon any proposal until the draft mineral development policy is finalised.

Druk Holding and Investments, however, is currently encouraging interest in potential mineral exploration and extraction by “seeking partners to invest” in mineral-based industries, among other areas. According to DHI, “With the development of the mineral development policy, there will be opportunities for investments in extraction of minerals and mineral-based businesses.”

Both these statements, and that of DHI in particular, indicate the potential for the proposed policy to open the floodgates to mineral exploration and extraction throughout Bhutan. Certainly DHI is explicit in referencing the new policy as providing “opportunities” for mining activities. While the Cline mining corporation proposal has been stalled since August 2009, approval of the draft mineral development policy may well provide the means through which the Cline “conceptual” proposal becomes reality.

Before dealing with Cline mining corporation or similar mining corporations, the government needs to assess these inevitable aforementioned long term costs that have been associated with mining operations worldwide, and to determine whether such activity is in keeping with GNH values, principles, and practices. Needless to say, in negotiating with any foreign company, RGoB will also certainly want to ensure that the company is indeed responsible, without any past negative social, economic, and environmental record, and therefore likely to operate according to GNH principles and practices in a country with the avowed philosophy and policy of adhering to those values and practices. However, recent news reports out of the U.S. raise a red flag regarding the Cline Group’s past environmental record in its home country. For example, concerns are currently being expressed at public meetings by residents and environmental groups over a highly contentious proposal by the company for an open-pit iron mine, slated to destroy an ancient mountain range in Ashland counties, Wisconsin. Investigation of such past and present activities is clearly essential to establish a clear profile of any foreign company invited to participate in this country’s unique development strategy that can be a model for the world.

A caveat
Impact of the best of intentions, policies and strategies will be less in the existing environment. Unless the prevailing environment of weak enforcement, poor monitoring, poor accountability, lack of professional capability in particular in assessing the total costs of exploitation of natural resources, which, I believe, must be computed to rationally fix rents, fees, royalties and evaluate bid offers and compensation for communities change, creation of new bodies or policies will not bear much value. Public interest that the paper is expected to protect, during implementation will give way to private interest, which generally is the case now. Institutions will be abused to legitimise wrong decisions and to peddle private interests. Community elites and local officials will be mobilised by the influential proponents for their gains.

Choosing a development path for the future
More disturbingly, such immediate concerns about whom we might be inviting in to exploit our land should provide a deeper invitation to the government and the people to assess the real purpose and potential impacts of the proposed mineral development policy. Certainly DHI, at least, appears to see the new policy as opening the door to what could be a sharp increase in mining activity nationwide, and is already “seeking partners to invest” in this activity, among other areas. But who are these potential partners? And would such a move exchange an apparent short-term economic gain for a potentially devastating long-term loss that could carry huge and irreparable costs to our nation’s precious earth and ecology? And does our future lie more with the massive, profit-hungry multi-national corporations that are inevitably associated with large mining operations or with smaller, more self-reliant Bhutanese endeavours with a real commitment to the land and its people (hopefully)?

The National Environment Commission’s answer to those questions is crystal clear, and points to a clear choice between two different visions of our country’s future that deserves to be invoked at this crucial point in history. As stated in Bhutan’s NEC 2008 report:

“The concept of large-scale industrial development is in direct conflict with the country’s policy of environmentally sustainable development especially when bearing in mind the country’s fragile mountain ecosystem and limited usable land…. The potential for future industrial development in the country lies in the development of a network of small-scale and cottage industries based on sustainable management of cultural and natural endowments, especially focusing on niche products such as hand-woven textiles using natural dye and organically produced food and medicinal products.”

The goals and values of GNH are clearly aligned with the above statement of the NEC. But, how effective is NEC with its strong team of well educated and well exposed professionals? We have managed thus far to act as superbly responsible stewards of a land rich in biodiversity and aesthetic beauty—guardians of some of the world’s most precious natural heritage. That remarkable legacy of stewardship was formally acknowledged in 2005, when the United Nations recognised Bhutan as “Champion of the Earth” for placing the environment at the very centre of all its development policies, and thereby setting a vital example to a world with a sad history of destroying its natural assets at incalculable cost to human society and other species.

Only if our deeply-felt ecological “conscience” and commitment to GNH - the extraordinary legacy of its wise and benevolent monarchy, the Fourth Druk Gyalpo, and its profound ancient wisdom tradition - continue to be put into practice in policies today will we continue to protect our own precious heritage. And only then can Bhutan act, in the words of world-renowned ecologist Dr. Vandana Shiva, in a recent visit to Samdrupjongkhar, as “a lighthouse for the way the world should be if the world has to have a future.”

I strongly feel that this is the context within which the proposed draft mineral development policy must be assessed, and within which the deeper question must be asked whether a pro-active mining policy, with all its known ecological and health impacts, is compatible with the country’s deepest held values and principles. The decisions made today will have far reaching implications for us, for its unsurpassed natural assets, and indeed for the world.

By the way, what does NEC have to say on the policy?

As I sat solemnly in the kuenrey of Tashichhodzong on March 18, praying for Japan and our Japanese friends, I hoped for a different world order that is determined by the intrinsic values of interdependence, impermanence and wisdom. Only tough choices and tough decisions will testify our conviction and sincerity in GNH. Was I idealising? Maybe?

Source: Kuenselonline

Ministry of health of Bhutan to recover Nu 70-80 million worth of partial

The ministry of health is exploring means to recover Nu 70-80 million worth of partial, defective and non-supplied medical equipment from its two suppliers based in India.

A committee of six officials was formed after the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) recommended the ministry to study the government of India-funded supply of medical equipment.

The committee members visited three referral hospitals, 21 district hospitals and 18 grade-I basic health units from January to March, to review the equipment, and made a presentation to the ministry on April 5.

A member of the committee said the health ministry received about Nu 300M in 2007 to buy medical equipment for the referral hospitals in Thimphu and Mongar; and ACC, after reviewing the procurement of medical equipment, recommended the ministry to study the procurement procedure, and put in place an internal control mechanism to make it transparent and accountable. “Of the Nu 300M, Nu 200M was for JDWNRH and Nu 100M was for Mongar regional hospital,” he said.

The official also said that the ministry is exploring means to make the two suppliers supply all the equipment.

Citing an example, officials said the Thimphu national referral hospital and Mongar regional referral hospital received only six operation theatre lights of the 12 ordered. The official said that the health ministry had to recover the other six OT lights. “There are defective and partial equipment supply in physiotherapy and pediatrics department also,” he said. “We have to recover that too.”

But, with the two suppliers refusing to respond to calls and messages, the ministry is planning to send a team to talk and solve the problem.

“The two suppliers were frightened after ACC arrested and detained them,” an official said, adding, “We should have first recovered the supplies and then taken appropriate action.”

The committee also pointed out that there were inefficiencies in drugs procurement and supply division. “We streamlined the whole process to make it transparent,” an official said.

BHUs and district hospitals would now maintain an equipment inventory register, a log book to record how many times a particular equipment had been used and the problems it gives.

Unlike in the past, where the ministry decided and procured medical equipment for all hospitals, the district hospitals would identify, specify and quantify the health equipment needed in the particular district hospital and BHUs. “This is a major change in the procurement system that would save a lot of government budget,” an official said.

A committee member said the finding indicated that there is inefficiency at various levels in health system, but corruption is not institutionalised. “Those who have accused the ministry of institutionalised corruption, should be able to prove it,” the committee’s chairman, Dr Ugyen Dophu, said.

He said a few individuals are corrupted and they have been charged by ACC. “A few might be caught again, but that doesn’t necessarily mean everyone in the ministry is corrupted.”

Source: Kuenselonling

Facebook, Social Networking ban in offices in Bhutan

The recent government decision to disallow the civil service from accessing the social networking site Facebook during office hours was regularly questioned by audience members at a ‘social media and democracy’ panel discussion held in Thimphu, yesterday.

Namgay Wangchuk, a royal institute of management trainee, asked panelists on what basis the government had passed the ban, and whether any kind of research had been conducted to validate the basis.

Panelist Tenzing Lamsang, who is also the news editor of the Business Bhutan weekly, explained that the intent of the ban is to increase productivity by civil servants. He pointed out that a consequence of the ban was a perception among civil servants that the government is trying to “clamp down on opposition.” He was referring to Facebook sites, such as the ‘amend the tobacco act’ and the ‘right to information’ pages. “I think it’s somewhere in between, not entirely on either side.”

An audience member asked how banning social sites would lead to productivity. Tenzing Lamsang pointed out that, as a journalist, he has encountered how Facebook can affect the civil service. “One flaw about the civil service, not all of them, when you go there they’ll be playing their video games, they’ll be on Facebook, and they wouldn’t have time for work,” he said. “I’ve faced that many times.”

He added, “You can’t use office resources, when the office is paying the internet bill, for your own personal purposes, but what do most civil servants do? Let’s be frank about it, guys looking for girls and the girls looking for guys.” But he also pointed out that, while the banning may curb such activities, the issue still remained a grey area, when it comes to freedom of expression.

A lecturer of the institute of language and cultural studies said that, by banning the social site, the government is “moral policing”. She pointed out that the government’s role is not to be a moral police. She said that instead offices should ensure that civil servants have “work to do”.

Another issue discussed at the event included why Bhutanese are so active on online forums that allow anonymity. The questioning audience member asked whether this could be because of a lack of laws offering protection on free speech.

Panelist Sangay Khandu, who is the parliament member for Gasa dzongkhag, pointed out that the constitution of the country guaranteed freedom of expression for all Bhutanese. “In no way is a Bhutanese at threat for speaking out his or her mind,” said the MP, “given that you can substantiate with reason and logic.” He added the tendency of Bhutanese to be active on online forums is not because “of an absence of a law that protects the rights of Bhutanese to speak or express.”

A Royal Thimphu college student said that social media is only available to a minority of Bhutanese. She asked what measures existed to get majority voices included in the media.

Panelist Kinley Tshering, who moderates the ‘amend the tobacco act’ Facebook page, pointed out that the government, as a first step, is looking to connect all dzongkhags with high speed broadband internet access by this year. He added that the next step would be to explore ways to get more people to engage in social media. He said that such internet literacy needed to be created by the media, civil society organisations, and the government.

The social media and democracy event was organised by the Bhutan centre for media and democracy and Royal Thimphu college. It was held to mark World Press Freedom day, which falls on May 3.

Source: Kuenselonline

GNH og Bhutan requires a new accounting system

If the draft mineral development policy’s stated vision “Create a vibrant mineral sector that contributes to the achievement of GNH” is to be realised, then all current and proposed mining activities must be assessed in a holistic manner, and undergo a full-cost accounting that together can actually function to make the market economy much more efficient, if adopted and implemented in practice.

Internalisation of external costs
Full-cost accounting internalises ‘externalities’, such as the social and environmental impacts of economic activity, and thus assesses the true costs of production, which in turn should be reflected in market prices. If, for example, the full costs of pollution and greenhouse gas emissions were included in the cost of production, and in market prices, imported food might become considerably more expensive than locally grown produce. Externalities related to the coal industry in the USA in 2008 have been estimated at $US345 billion. That is $1,124 for every man, woman and child in the USA. These externalities included land disturbance, methane emissions, carcinogens, public health costs, fatalities, loss of productivity and climate damage. (Source: American Journal of Public Health, April 2008, Vol 98, No.4).

The economic valuation of non-market assets
Full-cost accounting recognises and accounts for the economic value of non-market assets that are not traded in the market economy, but which nevertheless have real economic value. In assessing the value of a forest, for example, a full set of natural capital accounts will include not only the market value of the timber (as in conventional balance sheets), but also the value of the forest in regulating the climate and sequestering carbon from the atmosphere, in protecting watersheds, in preventing soil erosion, in providing habitat for many species, and in providing aesthetic and recreational enjoyment.

From the perspective of a full-cost/benefit analysis, therefore, a ‘healthy forest’ is one that performs all these functions optimally. Indeed, the scientific evidence clearly shows that, when the non-market values of a forest are compromised, the quality of the wood cut also declines.

The replacement of fixed with variable costs to the extent possible
This essentially means that costs would vary according to usage. To give a concrete example, fixed annual payments for car registration and insurance provide no incentives for conservation, and no penalties for unsustainable behaviour. If payments varied by type of vehicle, fuel efficiency, and number of kilometres driven annually, they would reflect a far more accurate picture of the actual social, economic, and environmental impacts of driving.

The mineral development policy states (page 9):

“The adverse social and environmental impacts of mineral extraction can be prevented or mitigated only with effective administration and monitoring of the mining sector, for which creation of an autonomous body with a specific mandate is found very essential at this juncture.”

Thus, perhaps this autonomous body could be charged with the explicit responsibility of coordinating full-cost assessments of current or proposed mining operations. The cost of these assessments would be borne by the mining operators. By ignoring the value of natural and social capital and ecosystem services, GDP is in fact putting an arbitrary value of zero on these vital assets, which is not only far less accurate than an attempt to assign a proper value, but treats these assets as mere externalities that therefore do not get proper policy attention.

Case study: Coal mining in Samdrupjongkhar
A case study on the coalmine in Deothang was conducted as part of the Samdrupjongkhar Initiative research project, as an example of the kind of investigation required for all mining projects (details at www.sji.bt). The study is not to provide any kind of comprehensive overview of mining impacts, but to illustrate the potential dangers that can result when the full costs of mining are not properly considered.

When people working at the coal mine were asked about the working conditions at the mine, many of the villagers were simply happy to have work and did not want to complain. However, others talked about noise and dust created by the transportation of coal. One individual, who no longer lives in the area, but worked at the mine between 1997 and 2001, said that there were many health problems, mostly respiratory, associated with working there, as well as several work-related deaths. People also noted landslides, erosion, dust creation, reduction of agricultural productivity and houses being affected because of erosion and blasts.

While it was not possible to ascertain the health status of the employees at the mine, since no study has been undertaken, coal is known to be hazardous to health. According to the US centre for disease control, both surface and underground coal miners suffer from coal dust exposure and associated lung diseases such as pneumoconiosis (black lung) or anthracosis. The report states that at most risk are those, who cut the coal directly from the coal seams (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Evidence Package for the National Academies’ Review 2006-2007), as is the case of the coal mine in Deothang.

In 2008, data from communities located near coal mines in the US were analysed by University of West Virginia researchers, who found that residents had an increased risk of developing chronic heart, lung, and kidney diseases. According to the data, people, who live in coal mining communities, had a 70 percent increased risk for developing kidney disease, a 64 percent increased risk for developing chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases such as emphysema, and were 30 percent more likely to report high blood pressure. One of the lead authors of the study concluded: “People in coal-mining communities need better access to healthcare, cleaner air, cleaner water, and stricter enforcement of environmental standards.” (Chronic Illness Linked to Coal-Mining Pollution, March 27, 2008).

Complaints about the dust created by the coal-carrying trucks during the dry season have led the coal mining company to water the roads daily to keep down the dust levels. However, in many places, the result may be just as hazardous to health. The water, when mixed with the spilled coal from the trucks, leaves an iridescent slurry coating the roads and filling the potholes. Invariably, this mixture washes down the hills, polluting agricultural fields, streams, and water sources.

A comprehensive cost benefit study, including both short and long-term costs associated with the existing mines, should be conducted, assessing the full costs of mining against the revenues to the state and employment. The study should also include a study of health impacts on mine workers.

Coal mining also brings to the fore another potentially catastrophic reality for Bhutan: Global warming has serious implications for Bhutan in terms of potentially devastating glacial lake outbursts. Thus, it is highly questionable whether a country committed to climate stability, by vowing to remain a net carbon sink in perpetuity, should be mining and exporting one of the greatest contributors to this global as well as national calamity. The question is particularly pertinent in a country that neither uses nor needs coal for its own development.

Source: Kuenselonline