Video Related To: Bhutan aims to be first 100% organic nation

Bhutan, a small country enshrined in the Himalaya's leads the way in the pursuit of holistic, inclusive and truly environmentally sustainable development. This commitment emanates from the visionary statement in the early 1970s, of His Majesty, the Fourth King of Bhutan, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, who said that Gross National Happiness was more important than the Gross National Product. This Sustainable Development philosophy has its roots in the Buddhist belief that there is more to life than material development. According to beliefs, true development happens when spiritual, social, environmental, and economic developments occur in harmony with each other. Since then all policies and laws in Bhutan need to be in line with the four pillars of Gross National Happiness, which are: Equitable socio-economic development, Preservation of culture, Conservation of the environment, and Good governance. This has become Bhutan's central development philosophy, and has made the country a champion in the pursuit of Sustainable Development. The joint UNDP-UNEP Poverty-Environment Initiative, PEI, is supporting the Royal Government of Bhutan's efforts in ensuring this greening effort is reflected in its development plans, programmes and budgets. In 2010, a Joint Support Programme with the Gross National Happiness Commission as the lead agency was implemented to enhance capacity of central and local government functionaries and officials including CSOs/NGOs to make sure that any <b>...</b>