• The joint development of a pilot project framework and operational template for a emissions reduction project in Bhutan with the potential to expand it if it is successful and meets the expectations of the RGOB.
• The injection of external funding into projects by Envirotrade that address developmental objectives identified by the RGOB.
• Build on successful work already done by Bhutanese institutions in areas such as habitat restoration, fuel-wood replacement and poverty alleviation and generate additional income from these initiatives.
• Establish Bhutan as a leading participant in the emergent market in emissions reduction credits.

Envirotrade and its project partners aim to deliver the following benefits to the Royal Government of Bhutan in so doing it would address elements of the RGOB's policy objectives;

• Within a five-year period Bhutan would have established a substantial reserve of carbon that can be sold at an optimum price when the market conditions become favourable. 
• A model would have been established by Bhutan for other developing country governments to follow. 
• Generation of income from enterprise,
• Enhanced livelihoods and poverty alleviation,
• Diversification of rural income,
• Increased agricultural output,
• Reforestation of indigenous forest,
• Rural development and 
• Alleviation of pressure on wood fuel resources.

The Isuna planting site has been selected for a pilot carbon driven habitat restoration project. The initial phase will involve the reforestation of approximately 100 hectares of extremely degraded land adjacent to the National Highway. The Paro/Thimphu was historically deforested in earlier centuries to supply building materials and has been ravaged buy fires over the years. The valley contrasts strongly with the surrounding areas which are heavily forested. 

The steep slopes will be planted with a mixture of Blue and Chir Pine and Oak and smaller shrubs and undergrowths will be encouraged by fencing the area to exclude cattle and yaks during the establishment period. This interruption of grazing rights is being negotiated with local communities who will resume grazing and access once the trees are established. Access to thinnings and other NTFP's will also be negotiated. The project will also provide employment for local people.

The long-term objective of the project is to restore the forest habitat and re-establish the biodiversity of the area as well as sequester carbon. The project will draw heavily on research and trial plots managed by the Department of Forestry in Bhutan and the project team will work under the direct oversight of the National Environment Commission and its National Focal Point on Climate change

Project Site 

The Isuna planting site has been selected for a pilot carbon driven habitat restoration project. The initial phase will involve the reforestation of approximately 100 hectares of extremely degraded land adjacent to the National Highway. The Paro/Thimphu valley was historically deforested in earlier centuries to supply building materials and has been ravaged by fires over the years. The valley contrasts strongly with the surrounding areas in the region that are heavily forested. 

Project map showing negotiated transit corridors agreed with local community stakeholders and endorsed
Because of the gradient of the site and its location along a river it is a protected site with no timber harvesting (beyond thinning within a forest management plan) permitted by Bhutanese law. The region is under the close protection of Forest Guards and the Forestry Department have an active presence in the area. These factors contribute to the potential success of the project.

The long term objective of the project is to restore the forest habitat and re-establish the biodiversity of the area as well as sequester carbon. The project will draw heavily on research and trial plots managed by the Department of Forestry in Bhutan and the project team will work under the direct oversight of the National Environment Commission and its National Focal Point on Climate change.

Soil Carbon and Habitat Restoration

The land identified for replanting and that adjacent to it at the Isuna site is exclusively owned by the Royal Government of Bhutan. It is regulated by the Forest and Nature Conservation Act of 1995 and the Royal Bhutanese Land Act.

The planting area falls within a river drainage reserve and as such is protected by law. Water quality is crucial to Bhutan’s hydroelectric generation industry that makes use of run of the river micro-hydels and is regarded as a Strategic industry. Bhutan earns more than half of its national income from the export of the power and therefore has taken measures to severely restrict land use in areas such as the Isuna site. Reforestation of riverbanks contributes to this policy and significantly reinforces the permanence of the site.

It is further subject to a complete logging ban due to the gradient of the site. Bhutan has regulations in place that prohibit the logging of areas with a steep gradient to prevent land slippages and erosion.
It is administered and managed by the Department of Forestry as a severely degraded area. The department is responsible for regulating grazing (by permit) and monitoring use of the site takes place by District Forestry officers.
The species types (Pine/’Oak) are also subject to a regulated 99 year rotational cycle in any event.
The site will at all times remain the property of the Bhutanese Government. 
The nearest village consists of a community of migrant jewelers who are resident in the neighboring valley and have restricted grazing rights on the site. 

This grazing is seasonal in nature due to the relocation of the national herd during summer months to the mountains. These grazing rights are set out in the Bhutan Land Act in sections dealing with Grazing Land (Chapter 8) in which the primacy of government rights in any land use is asserted.
The project envisages a suspension of this right that will be the subject of a negotiated agreement between the government and the community in terms of which they are excluded from grazing access for an agreed upon period. When the fences restricting access are removed after the establishment period is complete grazing will be permitted with restrictions as set out in the appropriate legislation. 

Community access to the area for the collection of leaf litter will be similarly subject to negotiation and will only be permitted after sufficient rehabilitation of the soil has been achieved. The site will be subject to ongoing research and monitoring due to its status as a pilot project. The Resource, Research and Development Section of the Department of Forestry will be undertaking this research.
The community will be given rights to the thinning’s from the forest management programme.
Namsay Consulting (our Bhutanese partners) will facilitate and participate in these negotiations between the government and the community and have a sophisticated understanding of the requirements and standards required for such a site to compliant with the Plan Vivo system. 

The project is a habitat restoration type operation and the rehabilitation of the soil (which is severely degraded and sandy at present due to leaching, fires and grazing) will be an important consequence of reforestation. The RRD section of the Department of Forestry will be conducting ongoing monitoring of soil conditions and it is envisaged that at 25 and 50 years a more detailed testing programme would be undertaken to establish and verify increased soil carbon. The viability of the project is linked to the permanence of the site (reasons set out in detail in the first section of this document) and it is therefore desirable that the calculations be within the 99 year framework with soil carbon included.