by Jigme Tashi Tsering

 

Table of Content

Introduction
Background
Geography
Environment
Economy
Kyoto Protocol
Energy
Strategies to reduce fuel wood demand
Building Designs
Use of energy saving devices
Strategy for energy conservation
Transport
Strategy for transport sector
Water Demand
Strategy for water sector
Planning
Strategy to improve the life of the community
Solid Waste
Strategy for solid waste sector
Sewerage
Strategy for sewage sector
Conclusion

 

 

 

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Introduction

 

The rapid growth of cities has become the most striking feature of human civilization. Cities have depleted earth’s resources by draining the fertility without replenishing it. They have exhausting the forests, watershed and in the process discarding vast quantities of waste and pollution.

Sustainability needs to be addressed if mankind is to continue to live in cities and continue to flourish on this planet. We need to find a viable relationship between cities and the living world – a relationship not parasitic but symbiotic, or mutually supportive (Girardet, 1992).

 

In this essay an attempt has been made to describe the situation of Thimphu city and the type of strategies that will make the city sustainable. While the city will never be entirely sustainable this attempt at reducing use of natural resources, reusing resources, use of additional renewable energy source  aims to reduce the impact of the city on the environment  and in the process also combat climate change.

 

Background

 

Geography

 

Bhutan is a land-locked country in the Himalayas having a population of 672,425 people (PHCB, 2005). Bhutan has an area of 38,394 Km2 and borders China in the North and India in the South, East & West.

The Capital City Thimphu is located in the western region with a population of 98,676 (PHCB, 2005).

 

Environment

 

The Government has a policy of maintaining 60% of areas under forest cover. In 2005, 68% of total area was under forest cover (NECS, 2002).

 

Economy

 

The back bone of the economy is hydropower. Export of hydropower to India accounts for 60% of total revenue.

 

Kyoto Protocol

 

Bhutan is a signatory to the Kyoto protocol under the United Nations Convention on Climate Change. Bhutan’s annual emission of CO2 per-capita was 0.2 ton as compared to the world average of 4.5 ton in 2004 (UNDP, 2007).

While no targets have been set for reduction of Carbon Dioxide, Bhutan is committed to reducing GHG (NEC, 2000). Mitigation programs currently being implemented:

 

  1. Renewable energy technology options
  2. Improved technology to reduce fuel wood consumptions
  3. Introduction of fuel-efficient vehicles
  4. Improvement of imported fossil fuel quality

 

Bhutan has till date successfully constructed and commissioned a 70 kW Clean Development Mechanism micro hydropower project in Chendebji village with the objective to reduce GHG. The project commission in 2005 has reduced CO2 emission by 593 tons, by replacing the need of kerosene, firewood and diesel by the villagers.

 

Energy

 

Bhutan generates about 1488 MW of electricity from hydropower of which it consumes 152 MW (BEA, 2005). However with global warming and glaciers receding fast, there is a need to depend on other renewable energy sources in the future.

According to the Population and Housing Census 2005, the main sources of fuels are firewood (37.2%), electricity (30.6%), LPG (25.5%) and the remaining from other sources.

 

While Bhutan has an abundant clean source of energy there is still abundant use of fuel wood. Even though Carbon dioxide is a GHG, fuel wood burning is not considered a GHG as it is absorbed when trees are planted. However, the burning of wood results in deforestation which damages the environment, effects the water shed (water source) and at the same time reduces the carbon sink potential.

 

It was found that most of the 6,982 households and over 1000 institutions in Thimphu still use fuel wood for cooking and heating purposes. For example on an average each school consumes about 15 truckloads of firewood every year (GEF, 2006).

 

Strategies to reduce fuel wood demand:

 

 

Building Designs

 

Houses in Thimphu are poorly designed. Improving the designs of house can result in saving of energy and money in the long run.

One of the main sources of CO2 is energy required for space heating. Improvements in building design can reduce energy consumption. In a new house, windows typically account for 15% to 30% of the total heat loss. With good design, large areas of glass window can save energy through passive solar heating gains. While initial cost of glazed window is high they will eventually pay for itself – for example, window with low energy coating cost about 10-15% more than conventional double glazed units, but they reduce energy loss up to 18% (Woolley, T & Kimmins, S. 2000).

In the same way using advance insulation materials can actually reduce the energy consumption of buildings by as much as 90% (Girardet, H. 1992).

 

Bhutan has a strict procedure to approve building designs prior to construction. In addition to checking structural integrity, the government agency should encourage eco-friendly practices. While initial cost might be more, building with good energy saving features can be viewed as an eco-friendly house and will eventually have greater market value as energy saving would compensate for the higher investment. This is in contrast the current practice of poorly insulated houses being constructed at the lowest possible cost. The result is that building owners also charging minimal rent but energy consumption of individual households are high. While the financial outcome may be same, there is more energy use in the latter.

The documentation of design and materials used in building now, is a good practice. This provides the ideal opportunity for incorporating building efficiencies. In addition during demolition of buildings it helps in efficiently sorting materials which can be later be used for recycling (Lawson, B. 1996).

 

Use of energy saving devices

 

Most buildings in Thimphu use incandescent bulbs. Switching to use of low-energy fluorescent light can save 70% power. Although they cost more initially they last longer and soon pay back the extra cost in the energy saving they make (Elliott, D. 2003).

 

Strategy for energy conservation

 

Environment preserved by:

 

Social

Economic

 

Transport

 

Bhutan imported about 70,047 metric tons of oil equivalent in 2005 which were used for transportation, lighting, cooking and heating purposes (DOE, 2005).

 

With inadequate public transport, cars have been an essential means of mobility by which individuals commute. As per the Road Safety and Transport Authority (RSTA), there are 19,000 vehicles in Thimphu in 2008 with the number increasing at 17% annually (RSTA, 2003).

A major source of air pollution in Thimphu is the combustion of fossil fuels from vehicle emission.  Study conducted by the National Environment Commission (NEC) found that emission levels was found to be high in vehicles with 60% of petrol and 96% of diesel engine vehicles not meeting Indian emission standards (BSoE, 2001).

 

In fact, it was found that pollutants of vehicle as one of the main causes for acute respiratory tract diseases in Thimphu. A health study showed that acute respiratory tract disease had increased from 10.08% in 1990 to 14.02% in 1998 (BSoE, 2001).

More cars mean more pollution. In addition use of cars has a disadvantage to community. Cars not only pollute the atmosphere but also take away valuable space. It is estimated that “one hundred people in a bus need only 40 square meters of road space” whereas “one hundred people in cars travelling by themselves need some 2000 square meters” (Girardet, 1992).

 

Car based planning are destroying public spaces, and detaching bonds within community. High volume and speeding traffic causes people to retreat from street-based community. This results in social disintegration and isolation. Reliable public transport is therefore the only option to give back more public space to the community. 

 

Vehicles not only need resources for production but also needs energy during operation. Pendakur (cited in Girardet, 1992) reports that “cars use 1860 calories per passenger mile, bus 920, rail 885, walking 100 and bicycles 35 calories per passenger mile”. Hence we can see that the bus uses much less energy than car and should be the mode of travel.

 

From Pendakurs report we can see that bicycles use the least energy. To encourage bicycle usage, and to ensure that it is save and convenient as possible, it is vital that roads and facilities are of suitable standards. Hence Roads Authorities should constructed or rebuilt road with minimum recommended lane width so the bicycles can be safely included in the general flow of traffic (Healey, K. 1996).

The strategy for a sustainable city aims to reduce energy demand, reduce pollution & free more space for the community.

 

Strategy for transport sector

 

A good public transport for Thimphu can be a bus or tram system that runs on electricity as the source of energy from renewable hydropower is within Bhutan.

 

Economic

 

Socially

 

Environment

 

Water Demand

 

With a population of 98,676 people (PHCB, 2005) and with water demand at 125 liters per person per day (DUDES, 2006), Thimphu required 12,335.5 cum of water per day.


Thimphu’s two water treatment plants supply of 15,000 cum per day is more than adequate currently.

However with the population growing rate of Thimphu of 10% per annum (NEC 1998), the current water supply of 15,000 cum per day will only be able to provide water for a population above 120,000. Hence water conservation measures have to be taken to ensure that water is available in the future.

 

Strategy for water sector

 

 

Planning

 

Thimphu was establishment in 1955 as the capital of Bhutan. Since then Thimphu has undergone many changes. The town plan of 1998 was to make Thimphu a dream city with a vibrant culture which is people and environment friendly.

With rapid increase in automobile numbers and pressure on public health infrastructure in the town centre, a new plan called the Thimphu Structural Plan was implemented in 2003. This plan after implementation would ensure Thimphu to be a sustainable and livable city.

This new structural plan put restriction on plot coverage as well as building height. While the objective was the reduce pressure at the center this also allowed for other considerations:

 

The structure plan being implemented is aimed at improving the access of people to services. This structural plan requires the creation of 15 urban villages which is created through participatory land pooling. All villages will have its own village square with shopping centers, playground, gardens and an express bus link connecting it to the urban centre.  This ensures a local communal environment where all activities are close together and walking and cycling can be the mode of transport (DUDES, 2003).

The urban villages provide communal public areas which are essential for people to interact. Young people especially require public meeting space where they can strengthen their links with people around them. Otherwise they may turn to crime and increasingly to suicide (Healey, K. 1996).

 

Strategy to improve the life of the community :

 

The establishing urban villages are being implemented. As the urban villages get completed the villages remove the pressure on the urban center, which will allow the city centre to also become more livable.

 

Solid Waste

 

Thimphu has grown rapidly in the last few decades. With rapid urbanization, rural-urban migration, change in consumption habits and the high population growth rate have resulted in increase of waste generated.

 

Thimphu which generated 10 tons of waste daily in 2000 (USPS, 2000) is currently generating 64.5 tones of waste daily (Penjor, 2008). The waste generation of 0.3 kg per capita per day in 2001 (BSoE, 2001) has risen to 0.56 kg per capita per day in 2007 (Penjor, 2007). These wastes are being disposed of at Thimphu’s only landfill site.


The tariff charged by the Municipal Corporation for the disposal of Solid waste is low. There is no limit restriction to the amount of waste disposed. Being a cheap method for waste disposal, there is no incentive for other viable economic methods of waste management.

As per a survey by Penjore (2008), the composition of waste by weight was 25% organic, 14% cardboard, 12% paper, glass 10%, plastic 5%, metal 4% and other the remaining. This revealed that recycling of waste at household level was minimal. In addition organic and green wastes are not composted. The decay of organic matter in absence of air also releases methane a harmful GHG.

 

The success of management of solid waste is crucial in the attitude and behavior of humans to the environment. The strategy for solid waste management should be to reduce waste to the landfill:

 

Strategy for solid waste sector

 

These methods will:

 

Economic

 

Social

 

Environmental

 

Sewerage

 

As per L. M Austin and S. J. Van Vuucen, human being excretes 500 liters of Urine and 50 liters of faeces per year.

While 50 liters of faeces is not difficult to manage, the mixing of faeces and urine when flushed with water as sewerage becomes a problem. That means 50 liters of faeces becomes 550 liters of polluted and unpleasant sewage.

The sewerage of Thimphu is piped into a sewerage treatment plant which currently has a treatment capacity of 3,060 m3/day (TCC, 2005). With increase in population, there is increase in demand of water for flushing and increase in energy needed for treating sewage.

 

 

Strategy for sewage sector

 

One strategy to reduce water demand for flushing in toilets and reduce energy demand for treatment of waste is to introduce the Urine Separating toilets (UST). What UST does is that, it separate urine (nutrients N,P,K) from mixing with faeces matter.

 

Advantage of the UST is:

 

Based on calculation presented in Annexure A, there is potentially a saving of 2250 m3 of water per day. In addition there is a reduction of 2250 m3 of sewage that does not require treatment per day and hence less energy use.


In addition to water saving and energy reduction, a life cycle analysis of different removal and recovery technology (Table 1) found that nutrients can be recovered energetically at source more efficient that either their removal at the Sewage Treatment Plant or from new production from natural source (Maurer et al. 2003).

 

Nutrients

Specific Energy required (de-nitrification and precipitation) at Sewage Treatment Plant

Specific Energy for production of traditional fertilizer

N

13 kWh/kg

13 kWh/kg

P

14 kWh/kg

8 kWh/kg

Table 1: Comparison of energy required for treatment at Sewage treatment plant & production of fertilizer
Source: Maurer et al. 2003

 

Hence, nutrient segregation at source is the most environmental friendly approach as it require the minimal energy demand, which  reduces GHG emission which otherwise would be emitted during the sewage treatment or during production of new fertilizers.

In effect UTS closes the nutrient circles as nutrients can again be put back into the fields as fertilizer.  

 

Economic

 

Social

 

Environmentally

 

Conclusion

 

According to the International Union for the conservation of Nature, “sustainable development improves people’s quality of life within the context of the earth’s carrying capacity’.

 

While Thimphu is a relatively small city by modern standards, the demands and impacts of the city’s existence is clearly visible. This essay has identified issues that are crucial in making the city more sustainable:

 

 

By reducing the demand on the natural resources and improving the living condition of people, the city will not only have a circular metabolism existence for sustainability but also have a livable city where people can live in harmony with the environment.

 

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contact jigme

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Jigme Tashi Tsering

e-mail: jig_tt@hotmail.com
mobile: +975-17140911



 

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