A new stone path enables 80-year-old farmer Ms Dema to visit her adult children with less chance of a fall but also covers a new rainwater run-off drain and sewage system that promises to protect the health of her and the residents of some 100 homes in Drinchengang, which means ‘Gratitude Village’ in Bhutan’s local Dzongkha language. Less than two hours from the capital Thimphu, the residents feel they have much to be grateful for in this nationally recognized heritage village and tourist favorite.

Small-scale, locally identified infrastructure projects can be transformative, just as here in Drinchengang, where the UN Capital Development Fund, through the Local Climate Adaptive Living Facility, delivered this sanitation solution and footpath with just under US$ 25,000 in funds from the European Union.

“It was very uncomfortable to walk. It was slippery. It was always muddy,” said Ms Dema, sitting her front-step, a buffalo skull hanging over her front door to ward against evil spirits. “Now with the walking path, it is much better. Before with the mud on the walking path, we would slip and fall.”

LoCAL has been channeling finance to local government authorities across Bhutan for over ten years, enabling communities to identify and implement adaptation investments that best meet local needs. To date, LoCAL has made over 350 adaptation investments in over 100 local governments across the country with pilots implemented in Bhutan providing the foundation for today’s international and standard mechanism, which is presently being implemented or designed for implementation in 34 countries across Africa, Asia the Caribbean and Pacific.

The standard, issued by the International Standard Organization, ISO 14093, and launched at COP27, offers an internationally recognized country-based mechanism to increase local government access to climate finance for adaptation. In Bhutan, the LoCAL mechanism is currently being integrated in the country’s budget planning system as the primary means of implementing adaptation at the local level across the country.

Across the world, countries battling with some of the most severe impacts of climate change are taking action at the local level with LoCAL. Across Bhutan, climate-related changes to rainfall patterns have seen a rise in periodic bursts of heavy rainfall, overwhelming traditional pathways used for rainwater run-off and, in Drenchengang, flooding walkways with untreated sewage.

“Before the mud-path was not safe for the people to walk around. During the monsoon season it was very slippery and it was not very friendly for the elderly people and the kids,” said Sarita Gurung, Gewog Administrative Officer in Thedtsho Gewog, or Commune. "With the project, we now have the footpath with stone slabs. We made it like a two-in-one kind of thing where we have the drainage system going underneath and above it we have the pavement with the footpath and the stones slabs. It has immensely benefited the public.”

For Tshering Penjor, the LoCAL Coordinator for UNCDF in Bhutan, the investment is a success, not just for the ease of moving through the steep mountain streets, but due to the improved health and sanitation provided by the sewer and drainage system that lies underneath the walkway.

“You see these are traditional toilets extruding from the houses. The waste from all these houses is now collected in the drain – the path is clean and safe and now [the community has] improved sanitation,” said Mr Penjor. (Photo above)

The residents of Drinchengang and the surrounding villages, live mostly as farmers, growing rice in artfully constructed terraced paddy fields that swirl across the green mountainsides. Though their status as a national heritage village and relative proximity to the capital, mean that Drinchengang, is also firmly on the tourism map. Visitor number have dropped of lately, and with them additional earnings, due to strict COVID19 travel restrictions.

“In regard to households we have 100 houses [with residents] living here and they mainly depend on paddy cultivation. As you can see, things are very green right now and the unique thing about this village is that they do that [rice] cultivation twice a year and so their main livelihood depends on the paddy,” said Ms Gurung.

The Gewog, or local government, has many aspirations for the village now that it has a clean path and improved sanitation system. Villagers hope to soon be welcoming returning visitors following the September 2022 lifting of COVID19 travel restrictions, which prevented tourists from entering the mountain nation for over two years. Known for its natural beauty and ancient Buddhist culture, tourists are now returning to Bhutan and Drinchengang residents expect to benefit economically as a result.

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Photos: Cedric Jancloes 2022