One of the largest challenges concerning both Bhutan?s youth and natural environment today is the rapid rate of rural-urban migration, which is the highest in South Asia, nearly double the rate of internal migration in neighboring India. Rural-urban migration is resulting in alarming environmental effects and threats, such as waste management challenges, air and water pollution, increasing loss of biological diversity, reduction of forest area, and degradation of ecosystem services. Given that over 50% of the total population is under the age of 25 years, youth rural-urban migration will continue to pose a serious threat to the long-term sustainability of Bhutan?s urban, rural, and natural environments. It is a therefore a top priority to curb rural-urban migration and protect the natural environment through providing rural youth with culturally-relevant livelihood skills and employment provided within their own communities.
As such, the YDF is now launching the My Gakidh Village Stewardship Project to empower unemployed youth across over 20 rural communities in Toep Gewog, Punakha, to curb rural-urban youth migration through cultural and environmental stewardship, meaning to preserve cultural heritage in the area and conserve biodiversity. The project will revitalize a cultural heritage eco-tourism trail, known as the sacred trail of the divine madman Lam Drukpa Kinley, that connects across the 5 clusters of villages, including Goemkha, Begana, Thinleygang, Renakha, and Menchuna. The project will also offer meaningful community tourism products, such as homestays and sustainable forest tea products, and develop a community-based ecotourism training programme for youth as local guides. The My Gakidh Village Stewardship Project activities promote social inclusion and reduce communities? carbon footprints by encouraging sustainable forms of community-based ecotourism as alternative economic incentives for environmental conservation.
My Gakidh Village is a joint initiative of YDF?s Empowerment for Employment programme and Aide et Action International, with the overall goal to curb rural-urban youth migration by providing livelihood skills and opportunities within their own rural communities. Within its first three years of the project duration, more than 20 villages and unemployed youth will benefit economically. The project focuses on three main areas, which are: (1) creating community-based eco-tourism and environmental conservation projects, (2) reviving tradition arts and crafts through entrepreneurship programmes, and (3) providing IT literacy and livelihood skills development programmes to 150 community youth. The initial funding of Nu. 8 million for the project?s educational components like the IT Lab was provided by Aide et Action International. Aide et Action International is a development organization founded in France and headquartered in Geneva, which funds and supports education projects in more than 28 countries across South East Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America, and Caribbean.
Considering that YDF already has other aspects of the My Gakidh Village project in place funded by Aid et Action International, including baseline data on these villages from an assessment study, an established community center and IT lab, a village-based consumer shop, engaged youth volunteers and cooperative members, an identified trail fo revitalization, and organizational capacity, the My Gakidh Village Stewardship Project is being launched on a co-finance basis with GEF Small Grants Programme, UNDP to complement these activities and achieve the following outcomes: conserving biodiversity, creating youth employment, sustaining cultural heritage, and curbing rural-urban migration. It is a very noble approach to addressing these issues in an integrated way. On the whole, this project will also contribute to the development philosophy of Gross National Happiness, in particular the three pillars of (1) sustainable and equitable socio-economic development, (2) environmental conservation, and (3) cultural promotion and preservation. The total cost of the project is US $70,000 with the YDF co-financing roughly 1/3rd or 33% of the total cost.