INSIDE

Issue No. 3

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2 CNR SPECTRUM

NEWSLETTER October 2013

CNR team wins the Climate Change Debate

 

Continued from page 1.

CNR was represented by three students from BSc Sustainable Development Programme and one student from Diploma in Forestry. “The forum was very educative as we learnt about the glacial melting and its effect on environment, economy and society”, said Dil Maya Subba, a 2nd year BSc Sustainable

Development Student of CNR. “It is very important to engage youth. And the forum has just done that by involving youth and considering youth as media to convey message on climate change”, she concluded. The forum was organized jointly by International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD)

and Centre for Climate Change and Spatial Information (CCCSC) at Sherubtse College.

Contributed by Tshering Gyeltshen, Assoc. Lecturer, Dept. of Animal

Science

Symposium on Food Diversity and Exchange The College of Natural Resources in

collaboration with Ministry of Agriculture and Forests (MOAF), Tourism Council of Bhutan (TCB) and Druk Holdings and Investment (DHI) organized a symposium on “Food Diversity and Exchange: The way to Rural Development” at Royal Institute of Tourism and Hospitability (RITH) in Thimphu on 29th October, 2013.

The objective of the symposium was to present another approach to rural development based on the diversity of terroir, a French word that refers to a particular geographical area and embodies climate, soil as well as wide range of topics that involve human choices – agriculture practices, taste, trade, and marketing.

The Royal University of Bhutan invited Professor Jean – Robert Pitte, who is a distinguished geographer and gastronome and has immense knowledge on rural development and culture. Besides, other presenters from the country, CNR in collaboration with DAMC, MOAF

presented on “Food Diversity in Bhutan”. The symposium was held to promote knowledge of sharing and perpetuating the living heritage of food, promote a taste of Bhutan, and to create awareness on diversity of local produce.

Professor Pitte also visited CNR on 31 October 2013, interacted with staff and students and gave a talk on Cultural Geography and Sustainable Development.

Contributed by: - Ugyen Yangchen,

Assistant Lecturer, Department of Agriculture

Participants at the Climate Change Research Forum in Sherubtse College, Kanglung

EDITORS: Dr. Tshering Gyeltshen Associate Lecturer Department of Animal Science

Tandin Gyeltshen Associate Lecturer Dept. of Sustainable Development

October 2013 PERSPECTIVES

3

LETTER TO THE EDITOR The ‘road’ of education is

bitter! The motor able road leading to degree

hostel badly needs a repair, be it levelling or if asphalted, all the better. But for now, many who use the road call it just the road in the name, riddled with many potholes, undulated surfaces and bends too precarious to negotiate. The condition of the road is best represented by cars that remains parked jam-packed in the hostel campus. Although many hostel occupants own their individual personal cars, many are compelled to trudge the equally challenging footpath.

This is healthy though when you can burn calories. The road in one way is a boon for in-service students. Walking is made more of compulsion due to poor road, making it possible for them to down-size their increasing protruding of tummies.

The trudge they take every morning and evening to scale the mountain helps them burn all the fats they have accumulated over the years, sitting in the easy chairs. But when the walking has to be done more than one can handle, they start blaming the road.

The curse is even worse when they are late to class. If given the good road, it would take less than five minutes to come to the class. But every time, a student is late and is in rush mood, it is the question of whether to run down or throttle down. But no one is really sure, which would take longer time.

The road further deteriorates during the time of downpour. The road is too slippery and even if you can handle it, the gradient challenges you more. Hence, come the rain, forget the car, rather choose the plodding whether you like getting drenched by rain or not.

It is hopeful though that something will be done with the road to improve it. Although it might pinch the CNR coffer to tar it, an attempt to level it and correct the curves and gradients can be a huge effort towards the road making it more usable.

For now, you dare to drive the bumpy road or lose more weights negotiating the mountain, getting to and from the hostel.

Spilling pain in the heart I know the reality, that bitter reality, I know that situation is worst in clarity, But what can I do with it-my heart is stubborn now, For I won’t be able to convince it anyhow, I know you were never meant to be mine, And fate always dragged me in opposite direction, Where I least expected-has no shield in reaction. Yet I never could give up the challenge. When each and every moment of my life, I wanted to see you and be with you I tried convincing it’s worthlessness to my ignorant heart, But failed badly landing up in life’s thorny part. It is too much now for me to bear-cant bear! The pain is getting spilled all over me, The eyes have become a bed of the ocean, The dry cheeks have turned into a beach, Feelings are washed away, without speech. Breathless and weary have my feelings turned, Silent invisible fire in the heart gets burned, Hidden in the invisibility of reality, Do I exhibit the smile for life’s durability!

- Prem Kumar Bhattarai,  2nd Year, BSc Sustainable

Development.  

Midnight Beauty

It is a queer story; that I am yet to tell, When in February I went down to my

village, I heard what put a faint memory,

Of the girl who hung herself from the tree, I don´t remember anything but her,

And she was one beautiful girl; In the bright moonlight nights,

When I am startled from my sleep, And all is quiet around me,

Standing still and motionless, In a obscure corner of my room,

A slight and wasted figure, With long black hair streaming dowm her

back, Which stirs with no earthly wind,

And her eyes that fix their gaze on me, Hush! The blood chills my heart as I write

it down, Her face pale and dead, Her eyes glassy bright,

That figure never moves; She never frowns and mouths as other

do,

She is dreadful to me and as much tempting,

She comes from the fresh grave and yet so beautiful,

She carried a sense of melancholy with her,

For nearly a month I saw that face grow paler,

For nearly a month I saw the tears fall down her mournful cheeks, And never knew the cause,

I found it at last though, She could not keep it from me long, She was lonely and she loved me,

Strange feelings came over me, And thoughts forced upon me by some

secret power, Whirled round and round my brain,

And I pitied her, I knew she would soon go,

For weaker and paler she had become, But the midnight beauty I would miss,

Determined and resolved to kill myself, For many hours I thought of poison,

And then of drowning, And then of fire,

But at midnight that fateful night, She came to me,

Her eyes fixed on mine, I donot know how it was,

But they warned and frigntened me, And I quailed beneath them,

She rose from the floor, Still gazing fixedly and steadily on me,

I trembled; the dagger in my hand, She neared me but I could not move,

I was bounded forward, I drew the dagger to the heart,

and easily pierced it right through, And as she took my hand,

I fell into her arms, When I opened my eyes again,

It was morning- the next day, My body still breathing and my heart still

racing, I spent the whole day thinking why?

And when night crept in I waited for her, But she never came my love, my life,

So I waited every night, And I still do,

Hoping she would one day and some day,

Come to me and sit beside me, But that midnight beauty never returned.

- Rinchen Dema, 2nd Year,

BSc Sustainable Development

4 RESEARCH

October 2013

CNR presents a country paper at the SAARC Conference in Dhaka

The SAARC conference on the theme "National Agricultural Education Systems in SAARC countries: Comparative Analysis" was organized by SAARC Agriculture Centre (SAC) at Dhaka from 28-30th October, 2013. SAARC countries share common features, such as geographical and climatic conditions, and have common issues on socio-economic, cultural, and educational advancements of the people. Agriculture continues to be the mainstay of the people in SAARC region. Higher education, particularly agricultural education needs to be looked at closely to see that it addresses the educational needs of those involved in developing agriculture. Collaborative efforts are

required to remove many of

existing problems through

discussions and sharing of experiences and

constructive recommendations on various aspects of agricultural education and it is expected that through such common forums sound policies could be developed to bring effective change. Given the challenging milieu of tomorrow, agriculture and agricultural education in South Asia needs to be redefined and revolutionized. In regional forums, re-engineering of the agricultural education system has been echoed and new models of agricultural education are sought for better functioning in a wider parameter of multifunctional agriculture. In so doing, there is an urgent need for the region to diagnose the root problems of our existing system, examine its strengths and weaknesses and build

a responsive agriculture education system in the region. It is with this objective that the SAC initiated this activity to study the existing situation of agriculture education system, and identify the problems while also finding out ways to overcome the bottlenecks in the different member countries. Towards this end, each member country identified a focal person to write a country report. The Director of CoRRB was the focal person from Bhutan but since CNR is involved in providing agriculture education in Bhutan, CRDS was taken on board and the country paper titled: Agricultural Education system in Bhutan was prepared by Dr. Jamba Gyeltshen from CNR and Dr. Tashi Samdup from CORRB. The paper was presented by Dr. Jamba Gyeltshen in Dhaka.

Contributed by Dr. Jamba Gyeltshen, DRIL & Head CRDS

SEMINARS Continued from page 1

National Geographic Magazine. In the afternoon, Mr. Jigme Dorji, Manas National Park,

also a former student of the College gave a talk on his research “Impact of Hydropower on White Bellied Herone Habitat and Population”. This was also followed by talks on Impact of Climate change on bird diversity in Context of

Ecosystem Dynamics by Morgan Tinglay and Bird Diversity in Western Himalaya by Paul Ellen.  Mr. Tshering Dorji, associate lecturer from the Department of Forestry presented his findings on the project ‘Dragonfly Diversity and Conservation in Toebay Rongchhu Watershed’. His studied revealed 23 taxons of dragon fly. According to him, water abstraction is seen as a major threat to the dragonfly habitat. The project was funded by Ruffords Small Grants Foundation based in the United Kingdom.

Seminars at the college are being organized to supplement the curriculum learning, share new findings in the

scientific field and also to educate the staff and students on various other disciplines. Resource persons for seminars are invited from various walks of life to share their knowledge and experiences

Contributed by Tshering Gyeltshen, Assoc. Lecturer, Dept. of Animal Science

Mr. Jigme Dorji presenting his findings on the impact of hydropower on white bellied herone habitat & population

October 2013 ENTERTAINMENT

5

CNR organizes Open Basketball Tournament The 3rd CNR Open Basketball

Tournament was held at the College of Natural Resources from 12th to 14th October 2013. The tournament was organized by College of Natural Resources in collaboration with Bhutan Olympic Committee and Bhutan Basketball Federation. The tournament was aimed at keeping the youths engaged in useful activities and to promote the game in Punakha-

Wangdue valley. A total of 18 teams- 13 men and 5 women- participated in the tournament. According to Dawa Tshering, the organizer of the tournament, the entry fee for the participation were kept low so that all interested team can participate in the tournament. Each team has to pay an entry fee of Nu. 1500, while the entry fee for student teams was Nu. 1500. “However, the number of teams that

participated in the tournament was less than expected”, said Dawa.

“It is very difficult to organize such activities as the sum collected from entry fee is not sufficient”. “We will either have to look for sponsors or increase the entry fee, but increasing the entry fee would not attract many teams”, winded off Dawa. About Nu.

12,000 was provided by CNR in organizing the

tournament. The CNR Open

Basketball tournament is an annual event at the College.

Contributed by Tshering Gyeltshen,

Assoc. Lecturer, Dept.

of Animal Science

TRIP TO THE ROYAL BOTANICAL PARK “Life is short, live it. Love is rare, grab it. Anger is bad, dump it. Fear is awful, face it. Memories are sweet, cherish them.” – Unknown

On Saturday afternoon, the 05th of October, we made the exciting trip to the Royal Botanical Park in Lamperi. We travelled about an hour and half before we reached Lamperi Park. After reaching the guesthouse Dr. Rekha with the help of other friends got us yummy biscuits and steaming tea as the weather was chilly.

Braving the cold with warm tea we started to prepare dinner - collecting fire woods, cutting veggies and the like. Dinner was ready much before we anticipated. Soon after dinner we eagerly participated in various entertainments such as Tsang moo competition between ladies and the gentlemen, musical games (where the winner was Dr. Rekha) and fun-filled dance.

The following morning we hiked in and around the park. Amongst the many attractions in the park, the lake was mesmerizing. It was half surrounded by dwarf bamboo shrubs which attracted different species of birds. Whilst at the lake we also treated ourselves riding in tiny boats. It was a life time’s experience for many of us!

We also visited the visitor’s information centre where we saw fabulous creativities of different kind of arts and crafts of animals and so on.

After all the visits, we returned to the

guesthouse where lunch was waiting for us. It was as delicious as the previous dinner and breakfast, thanks to all the terrible chef colleagues!

With tummies full, we headed

towards Druk Wangyel Lhakhang at Dochula where we took time to make several rounds of the magnificent stupas.

As the afternoon sun started to sink behind the horizon, we took the ride back to our respective homes. And we snag all the way, some melodious, some plain loud nothings. The short excursion the first of its kind gave us the opportunity to forget the everyday chores of the real world. In short it memorable! All this was possible because of the support of the management and so on behalf of all the participants I thank our management and the Director General. I’m now already looking forward to the next such trip, which is likely to be in!!! So those of you missed the first one, please watch out!

Contributed by Tshering Zangmo, Librarian

The winning teams and runners up teams pose with their trophies

Team in search of peace and delightful moments at Lamperi

At Wangchuk’s one acre herb garden

Students at RNR RDC Yusipang MAP garden

6 CNR SPECTRUM

NEWSLETTER October 2013

Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Excursion Twenty six third cohort final year

B.Sc. Agriculture students who are taking the Medicinal and Aromatic Plants module visited the Renewal Natural Resources Research and Development Centre (RNR RDC), Yusipang, the National Institute of Traditional Medicine (NITM), Menjong Sorig the Pharmaceuticals (MSP) and the National Traditional Medicinal Hospital (NTMH) in Kawajangsha, Thimphu from 10 to 11 October 2013.

The visit was organized to identify high altitude medicinal and aromatic plants in RNR RDC Yusipang and also to observe the traditional health care system at NTMH and the traditional medicine manufacturing process at MSP.

The Medicinal and Aromatic Plants section at RNR RDC Yusipang has successfully domesticated over 30 native as well as exotic high altitude medicinal plants. Mr. Karma Pelden, senior researcher, MAP Unit, described some of these plants such as Ti-yangku (Dracocephalumtanguiticum), which was first imported from Tibet and is doing extremely well. The native Ruta (Saussurealappa) too is doing well. This plant whose roots have multiple therapeutic values (eye disease, lung ailments, blood building and so on) was nearly

extinct during 1980s. It is now successfully revived through the initiative of RNR RDC Yusipang.

Whilst in RNR RDC Yusipang on the first day of the visit, the students were also briefed on the history, importance and development of the tissue culture program in Bhutan. Mr. KezangTshering, program leader of the Horticulture Unit, also demonstrated the use of the tissue culture laboratory.

Another interesting highlight of the visit to Yusipangwas the herb garden run by Mr. Wangchuk Kuenga. In his early 30s, Mr. Wangchuk is neither an agriculture graduate, nor has any agriculture background, yet in his one acre leased governmentland he grows over 50 different exotic and native

herbs and leafy vegetables. Most of his produce, such as garden sorrel, dill, lavender, sweet fennel and rosemary have ready market, comprising high end hotels, such as Uma, Aman and TashiTaj. The

price of his produce ranges between Nu 50 to Nu 120 per

bundle (modest bundle actually!!). When asked, with a rather kiddish smile, he left us to guess his annual turnover from his farm on which he employs two farm workers! On the second day at NITM the students attended a lecture on medicinal hot water bath. The resource person, Mr. SangayWangdi, senior lecturer, explained the difference between the natural hot water bath and stone hot water bath. He also pointed out several health benefits of both these therapies, which include amongst others cure for arthritis, rheumatism, fatigues, insomnia and chronic wounds. To derive optimal benefit from hot water bath, he recommended the duration for soaking to be between 15 to 21 days. The talk on MSP by Mr. Nado, senior researcher, included activities carried out by MSP and future development prospects and dilemmas. Due to acute shortage of human resource and raw materials, the demand for traditional medicine is never met. Mr. Nado explained that as a result, MSP, has proposed for corporatization. The students were also apprised that before 2008, NITM, NTMH and MSP were all under the Ministry of Health (MoH). After the establishment of the Royal

Story continued in page 7

Students attending lecture at NITM

October 2013 CNR SPECTRUM

NEWSLETTER 7

Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Excursion Continued from page 6

University of Bhutan in 2008, NITM, which used to be known as Institute of Traditional Medicine Services was moved to RUB, whilst

NTMH and MSP (which was known as Pharmaceutical Research Unit) were retained under MoH.

In the afternoon of the second day, the students visited the facilities of

MSP where all traditional medicines

(about 90 plus) of the country

are manufactured,

using both sophisticated

and simple machines. The students also observed the

traditional health care system at

NTMH. On the way

back to the College, the assessment on the identification of 20 different high altitude medicinal and aromatic plants was conducted at RNR RDC Yusipang. The identification assessment included writing botanical names, common names, parts used and uses of each of the 20 different high altitude MAPs that the students observed the previous day. The two-day excursion is an annual feature of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants module. Besides otherobjectives, the excursion also provides a good opportunity for the students to interact with experienced personnel and specialists in MAP and MAP-related fields. Contributed by:

- Sonam Tashi, Sr. Lecturer,

Department of Agriculture

Delegations from Lao PDR & Scotland Visits CNR

A delegation of 10 members from Laos visited the College of Natural Resources on.18.10.2013. The team was on a visit to the country to familiarize with the five year planning of the country.

The team had an interactive session with Deans and Department Heads about the College and later on visited

the various college facilities in the campus.

Meanwhile, a couple, Dr. David Green and his partner Carola Bell, from Scotland, United Kingdom, visited CNR on 28th October 2013. Dr. David and Carola were on a visit to Bhutan. The couple attended to a presentation on CNR and BSc Sustainable Development programme at CNR and interacted with

Senior Management Team on various issues of concern to the college. The couple also discussed and shared their experiences on research, college funding, collaborations, technology development and community development.

Contributed by Tshering Gyeltshen, Assoc. Lecturer, Dept. of

Animal Science

Delegations from Lao People's Democratic Republic interact with the Deans and department heads at CNR.

Dr. David Green and his wife interacts with the Director General and the Senior Management Team

8 CNR SPECTRUM

NEWSLETTER October 2013

School for Wellbeing Studies and Research Delegation’s Visit to CNR

A seven-member delegation from

the School of Wellbeing Studies and Research led by Mr. Hans van Willenswaard and Mrs. Wallapa van Willenswaard visited the College of Natural Resources on 30th and 31st October 2013. The main purpose of their visit was to study the future prospects of collaboration and exchange programme that will be resulting from the Memorandum of Understanding to be signed between four institutions: the School of Wellbeing Studies and Research in Thailand, the Royal University of Bhutan, the Centre for Bhutan Studies and GNH Research, and Chulalongkorn University in Thailand. The main focus of the School of Wellbeing Studies and Research currently is organic farming. CNR will be the partner institute from the Royal University of Bhutan collaborating on programmes like student exchange, action research, capacity building, and technical support.During the visit, they met with the Director General of CNR, the Dean of Academic Affairs and lecturers. The Director General welcomed delegation and expressed that the college stands

to benefit from collaboration with university like Chulalongkorn. The Director General stressed the need for collaboration in the field of research since the research centre at the college is fairly new.

Mr. Sonam Tashi, Sr. Lecturer at the CNR coordinated the meeting between the delegation and the college. The delegation also met with final year B.Sc. Agriculture students to learn about the agriculture practice and experience they had in the field as Agriculture Extension Officers in the gewogs.

On the second day, the delegation visited the students’ Mini-expo on Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Products in the campus and interacted with the student exhibitors. The delegation lauded the traditional architecture of the building and the curriculum.

Contributed by: - Kuenzang Lhaden, CBS and GNH

The delegation poses for a photo session with Mr. Sonam Tashi

The delegation interacts with students selling organic vegetables in the campus 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT We would like to thank everyone who has contributed articles and news for success of CNR spectrum. Further we would like to request everyone to continue supporting the spectrum. Send feedback and suggestions or contribute articles and news via spectrum@cnr.edu.bt