Mainstreaming locally led adaptation delivers long-term benefits in Phobji Gewog where hundreds of children have attended school and six villages have accessed local markets as a result of a climate-resilient bridge constructed over a decade ago. The bridge is an investment realised with one of the first ever Local Climate Adaptive Living Facility grants and provided a model for locally led adaptation that today is being replicated in 34 countries worldwide.

Each weekday for the last ten years, some 150 children walk and run to school across the Phobjikha Bridge. For them, and their farming families, the bridge is a vital link between their modest mountain homes and basic public services and markets where they sell their new produce, which is in increasingly high demand: potatoes.

A LoCAL bridge in Phobji Gewog. The Phobjikha valley is an important eco-tourism site, where the rare and endangered black necked cranes come to rest every year. The valley hosts numerous cultural heritage sites and the surrounding mountains are a hikers’ paradise.

"This bridge is very important to the community and to the students. Over 60% of my students come from that side of the river. [Otherwise] they only have a temporary wooden bridge that is very risky for the students," explained Yeshi Jamtsho, Principal of Rameychen Primary School.

"Some walk nearly an hour to reach the school. Without the bridge most of these students would not be able to attend the regular classes and there would be a lot more absentees."

The LoCAL Facility was first piloted in Bhutan in 2010. Today, the performance-based mechanism is being adopted as an integral part of the decentralized approach to adaptation and, with EU funding, is scaling up nationwide with more than 344 small-scale investments have been realized through LoCAL’s Performance Based Climate Resilience Grants, delivered in 100 Gewogs. Furthermore, some 34 countries across Africa, Asia the Caribbean and Pacific are following Bhutan and Cambodia’s lead and implementing or designing their adaptation initiatives using LoCAL, which has an ISO standard published earlier this year.

Typical investments in Bhutan include bridges, farm roads with slope stabilization of landslide-vulnerable areas, drainage systems, rural water supply schemes, irrigation systems, soil conservation and erosion prevention, stormwater drainages and culverts to mitigate flood and landslide risks to farmlands, schools, homes and other public and private properties in rural areas.

The elected representatives of Phobji Gewog in Zhemgang, where the Phobjikha Bridge is located, selected investments that meet the needs of the most vulnerable in their community. Old wooden log bridges have been replaced with bigger, sturdier and more durable climate-resilient metal bridges. Due to the increasing frequency and severity of climate change impacts, traditional wooden bridges that would normally be replaced every eight years were now being damaged every second year. More intense rains and sudden surges in water levels made it impossible for people to cross the river. At times, the water levels would rise so high that the bridges were submerged and taken away. Children could not attend school; crops were stuck unsold on one side of the river.

The location of the first bridge was a hotly debated community decision. Farmers wanted a bridge to transport their harvest to the nearest market. Others wanted it located nearer the community school so children could walk to class more easily (photo below). In the end, the community opted to put education first and the bridge was built close to the school, ensuring a whole generation has had access to education.

The bridge is over 20 metres long and nears four metres wide. It directly connects two villages - with over 70 households on each side of the river. The bridge also connects to a network of smaller farm roads.

But as Mr Jamtsho, the school principal, underlines, climate impacts continue to be a concern. The bridge was build to sustain water levels two meters higher than the norm but recent water surges are above those expectations, damaging one of the bridge embankments in 2019. Thanks to the climate-proofed design, impact remained limited and repairs quickly carried out.

Scaling for added resilience

With this successful pilot, more climate grants were channeled to the Gewog through subsequent budget cycles, and soon a three kilometre-long farm road was constructed, connecting two more villages to the bridge near the school and a second bridge (photo above), this time more convenient for farmers taking goods to market and also co-funded through LoCAL. For the Head of the Gewog, Mr Jamtsho, these climate-proofed investments came at the right time for the farmers.

“LoCAL definitely helps us respond to climate change, for instance without bridge, when it rains heavily, the river swells, and our basic infrastructures remains vulnerable. Before when there was no bridge, even cattle were washed away by this stream. It causes lots of trouble to people and now with LoCAL’s support, this bridge benefits us a lot and where are grateful for the support,” added Mr Jamtsho, Head of Phobji Gewog.

Tshering Penjor, LoCAL coordinator for UNCDF in Bhutan, adds: “Without the bridge, the farmers had added overhead costs. They had to rent tractors to cross the river and then also rent trucks to ferry their goods on either side of the river…Crossing the river with the harvest was risky and at some times of the year it was simply not worth to attempt crossing it. Now they can earn more and spend less," said Mr Penjor, adding: “But this bridge is not the only one LoCAL did for farmers. Higher in the valley there are other bridges - they are smaller but they are strategic for the farmers.”

In late autumn, it’s harvest season and dozens of small tractors are racing up and down the hills carrying their heavy loads of potatoes. As they drive down into the valley, they pass over a number of bridges, smaller than the iron structure at Phobjikha, these concrete and stones structures are just as vital and also funded through LoCAL grants.

“As the government priorities evolved,” said Mr Penjor, “the [LoCAL] investments refocused on smaller schemes like these stone bridges and also small irrigation schemes that have a strong impact on livelihoods.”

Next to one of the bridges, two tractors unload and transfer their goods to a truck waiting at the junction. As the farmers are about to go back up the mountain, they explain how things changed for them:

“In the olden days we used to carry the potatoes on horse back to this road point. Then the roads came, but there were no concrete bridges so as result we would carry the potatoes by tractors to the road point and transfer into the truck but now the trucks can come directly to the villages. We are very happy with the bridges, it is very convenient for us. We can load the goods directly from our doorstep!” said Mr Phob Dorji, a farmer in Phobjikha valley.

The waiting truck is piled high with bags of potatoes for shipping to the capital later in the day. The quality of these potatoes is highly prized in the city and they will fetch a good price. The deal is done and the farmers head back up the hills on their empty tractors.

Building on Lessons Learned

Phobji Gewog, one of the pioneer pilot districts for LoCAL, has graduated through all three phases of LoCAL’s phased implementation cycles. At the Gewog office, elected representatives and the Gewog Deputies meet with central government agencies visiting to monitor the progress. The meeting focuses on lessons learned and challenges.

“One of the important lessons learned from the scaling up of LoCAL is the need to conduct regular awareness building trainings with local governments as it is still new for most and there is a strong turnover,” said Sangay Dorji from the Department of Local Government, who has seen LoCAL in action for almost a decade.

Every four years there are elections that might deliver new Gewog representatives who need to be sensitized on climate change and learn how to integrate climate change adaptation in to local decision-making processes.

“Capacity building and awareness on climate adaptation is key,” said Mr Dorji. “When the Gewogs and the elected representatives are made aware about climate change, they respond to it.”

L-R: Mr Sangay Shedar MoF GNHC, Mr Tshering Penjor UNCDF LoCAL, Mr Jigme Dorji DPO Wangdue Phodrang and Mr Sangay Dorji DoLG inspecting stone bridges made to extend access to previously isolated rural communities, greatly enhancing the livelihoods of farmers exposed to climate impacts.

In the second phase of LoCAL in Phobji Gewog, a three kilometer long farm road was made to connect the bridge to 2 villages further up the mountain, easing access for schoolchildren and farmers alike.

Article edited by Sarah Harris Simpson, reporting photos and video by Cedric Jancloes with Tshering Penjor © UNCDF LoCAL

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