Bhutan Environment - 2024

Environment - current issues

soil erosion; limited access to potable water; wildlife conservation; industrial pollution; waste disposal

Environment - international agreements

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea

Climate

varies; tropical in southern plains; cool winters and hot summers in central valleys; severe winters and cool summers in Himalayas

Land use

agricultural land: 13.6% (2018 est.)

arable land: 2.6% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 0.3% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 10.7% (2018 est.)

forest: 85.5% (2018 est.)

other: 0.9% (2018 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 44.4% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization: 2.52% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Revenue from forest resources

1.89% of GDP (2018 est.)

Revenue from coal

0% of GDP (2018 est.)

Air pollutants

particulate matter emissions: 26.1 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions: 1.26 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions: 1.11 megatons (2020 est.)

Waste and recycling

municipal solid waste generated annually: 111,314 tons (2007 est.)

municipal solid waste recycled annually: 957 tons (2016 est.)

percent of municipal solid waste recycled: 0.9% (2016 est.)

Total water withdrawal

municipal: 20 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

industrial: 3 million cubic meters (2019 est.)

agricultural: 320 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

Total renewable water resources

78 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)