The Call of Duty

Former Bhutan prime minister Tshering Tobgay shares insights on enlightened leadership and how it is key to sustainable development, as demonstrated by the monarchs of the Himalayan kingdom

- Hashirin Nurin Hashimi.

Bhutan may be a small country in the Himalayas, landlocked between India and China, but it is a mighty force when it comes to sustainable development and carbon neutrality. At the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP21) in Paris, the country reiterated the commitment (it first made at COP15 Copenhagen in 2009) to remain carbon neutral—and it is in fact one of only three countries in the world today that is carbon negative.

Tshering Tobgay, the former prime minister of Bhutan, says the country is where it is now, thanks to its enlightened monarchs who have worked tirelessly for its progress. “Bhutan may be one of the poorer countries in the world but our kings refused to mine the earth or cut down our forests for immediate economic growth. This was even before climate change was declared to be an existential threat, and before environmental sustainability became ‘fashionable’,” he tells Tatler when we meet in March.

“Our kings are visionaries and ahead of their time, exercising enlightened leadership—and it is their legacy that Bhutan enjoys,” says Tobgay. Today, more than 70 per cent of the country is under forest cover, and 52 per cent are protected areas including national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and a nature reserve. And hydropower is the cornerstone of the Bhutanese economy.