Historical Roots, Spiritual Significance and the Health Benefits of mKhempa-lJong gNyes Tshachu (hot spring) in Lhuntshe

Bhutan is a country blessed with many rich natural medicinal resources such as minerals, animals, plants, sman-chu (medicinal waters) and tshachu (hot springs). While minerals, animal parts and medicinal plants are used by the Institute of Traditional Medicine Services (ITMS) for compounding herbal medicines to provide health care services in Bhutan, tshachu are popularly used by the public as an alternative curative therapy for treating various diseases. Given such inherent health benefits that the tshachu reportedly have, the ITMS has carried out research on seven popular tshachu in Bhutan with a view to document, identify, validate and classify them according to the therapeutic properties described in the gSo-ba Rig-pa texts. Amongst all the seven tshachu studied, Kurtoe mKhem-pa lJong gNyes tshachu (in Lhuntshe-located in the north-east of Bhutan) was found to have profound religious, spiritual and historical significance, supported in many texts going back as far as the 8th century. It was reported that this tshachu was blessed by Guru Rimpoche and for the benefit of all sentient beings his manifestation Terton Pema Lingpa revealed it in the year 1475. Mainly for these reasons, it is considered the most sacred tshachu in Bhutan and people believe that it also cleanses one's defilements and sins. The literature reports the presence of nine related pools in the mKhem-pa lJong gNyes areas. However, only three pools in close proximity, called Guru tshachu, Tshe-dpag-med-tshachu and mKha'-'gro'i tshachu exist today. The users of this tshachu are mainly the people of Kurtoe, Kurman, Mongar, Tashigang, Tashi Yangtse and Bumthang. It is estimated that every year about twenty groups of at least 10 people each, visit this sacred tshachu. The study carried out by ITMS in 23rd January 2001 identified and established the main medicinal substances as well as the therapeutic properties of these three pools. The identification was based on their organoleptic properties

OPPORTUNITIES AND CONSTRAINTS TO COMMUNITY FORESTS FOR LOCAL INCOME GENERATION AND LIVELIHOOD: A CASE STUDY OF FOUR COMMUNITY FORESTS IN BUMTHANG DISTRICT, BHUTAN

Bhutan has had an active community forestry program since 2000. A key feature of the nationally organized program is the devolution of forest management and use to local residents who participate in a “Community Forestry Management Groups” (CFMG) for managing nearby community forests (CF) according to rules developed by the Department of Forests. These groups are responsible for developing and implementing community forest management plans that entitle them to use locally valuable forest products (fuel wood, construction timber, mushrooms, bamboo etc). Most recently CFMGs have been given the right to sell forest products from their CFs that are not needed locally with the goal that community forestry can contribute to rural poverty alleviation in Bhutan, in addition to sustainable forestry. While studies have been conducted on the relative achievements of community forests at the community level, few report on the dynamics of the program on individual household livelihoods, especially in the context of other food and income generating activities. The objective of this study is to examine the actual contribution of community forests to rural livelihoods in Bhutan including the relatively new goal of income generation to alleviate rural poverty. Four community forests were selected as case studies, all in Bumthang district or dzongkhag. Two community forests were selected in two different blocks including one long established and one recently established, and one with relatively good and another with relatively degraded forest conditions. These include Shambayung CF established in August 2003 and Lhapang CF established in April 2010 in Tang block and, Ziptangzur CF established in December 2003 and Dechen Kinga Choeling CF established in July 2010 in Ura block. To understand the contribution of community forests to individual household livelihoods, face to face interviews using a semi-structured questionnaire were conducted by the author with CFMG member households in the four case study community forests. Interviews were also conducted with individuals who had not joined a community forest management group to compare their livelihoods as well as reasons why they have not joined a CFMG. Interviews were also conducted with extension forest officials in each block for background information on community forests. Policy documents and secondary data from office records were also used for additional background and comparative information. Key results are that CFMG households in all but Shambayung CF get their staple food through market purchase, mostly from selling agricultural products (especially potatoes). In Shambayung 17 % of the respondents obtain their food from agricultural farm labor, labor for collection of fuel and construction wood, from collection of wild mushroom (Auricularia sp) and from remittances from Bhutan or from abroad. Only Shambayung CFMG members report getting all (100%) fuelwood and construction wood from their CF, while only 3.8% meet their fuel wood needs from the Ziptangzur CF in Tangsibi village. In the other two CFs, which were newly established and yet to implement the management plan, 100% obtain their fuel wood and construction wood from government forest. Easier access to forest products as well as protection of their community forests from illegal outside use are the two main reasons for joining CFMGs. The main reason households do not join a CFMG is because they are unable to contribute the labor required for CF activities (i.e., to attend meetings, conduct boundary demarcation, silviculture treatments and making fire lines, and patrol forests). To date, community forests do not provide households with significant income. In Shambayung CF, records indicate there is sufficient timber beyond local use which could be available for sale but lack of a good access road has limited sale of excess timber. The Ziptangzur CFMG is just beginning to collect and sell wild mushroom (Auricularia sp)

Who should be responsible for our general well-being? A Gross National Happiness approach to promoting a responsive and sustainable business community / Dorji Wangchuk and Thinley Tobgay

Roles and responsibilities of the business community towards society are underexplored and least understood by the business community as well as by the society in general. In the absence of any guideline on the societal responsibilities of the business community in Bhutan, an intellectual gap possibly exists between the ideology of Gross National Happiness and the roles of the business community. Thus, this review explores the tangible societal responsibilities of the business community. It also discusses the long-established arguments on the roles of business to society beyond profit-making and maximizing its financial well-being. Using keywords such as the business community, well-being, social responsibilities, Buddhist economics, western economies, and sustainable business, 114 articles were retrieved from the web-based resources. The data generated thus were analysed using the constant comparison analysis of QUAL approach. The finding indicates that the societal responsibility of the business community is an oxymoron conceptually. The paper also addresses the principles of Gross National Happiness as an approach to promoting an active and sustainable business community. However, indepth research is necessary to understand the roles and responsibilities of the business community in the context of Gross National Happiness

On the Identity and Authenticity of the *Sarvadharmacaryopadeśābhisamayatantra : A Tantric Scripture Associated with the Vikramaśīla Tradition

Relationship between Tantric and Non-Tantric Doctrines in Late Indian Buddhism / Editor-in-Chief 馬場 紀

Royal Manas National Park, Bhutan: A Hot Spot for Wild Felids

The non-uniformity of the distribution of biodiversity makes allocation of the limited resources available for conservation of biodiversity a difficult task. Approaches such as biodiversity hotspot identification, endemic bird areas, crisis ecoregions, global 200 ecoregions, and the Last of the Wild are used by scientists and international conservation agencies to prioritize conservation efforts. As part of the biodiverse Eastern Himalayan region, Bhutan has been identified as a conservation priority area by all these different approaches, yet data validating these assessments are limited. To examine whether Bhutan is a biodiversity hot spot for a key taxonomic group, we conducted camera trapping in the lower foothills of Bhutan, in Royal Manas National Park, from November 2010 to February 2011. We recorded six species of wild felids of which five are listed on the IUCN Red List: tiger Panthera tigris, golden cat Pardofelis temminckii, marbled cat Pardofelis marmorata, leopard cat Prionailurus bengalensis, clouded leopard Neofelis nebulosa and common leopard Panthera pardus. Our study area of 74 km(2) has c. 16% of felid species, confirming Bhutan as a biodiversity hot spot for this group

Water-based therapies of Bhutan: current practices and the recorded clinical evidence of Balneotherapy

Medical water therapy (also called medical hydrology) is practiced worldwide both for relaxation and treatment of diseases. While this practice is still thriving in Bhutan, there is a lack of proper documentation and critical study. Therefore, the current study reports on the water therapies practiced in Bhutan and their health benefits. We used four-stage process: (1) a review of literature on balneotherapy (both traditional textbooks and scientific papers); (2) listing and surveying the hot springs, mineral, and holy spring waters; (3) reviewing the health records of the patients maintained at the traditional hospitals and interviewing traditional physicians and patients about health benefits; and (4) reviewing available literature to identify existing clinical trials data to provide evidence for hydrotherapies. We found three main forms of hydrotherapies are practiced in Bhutan, which comprises herbal bath therapy, balneotherapy, and spiritually empowered waters.The most popular hydrotherapies are herbal bath and hot spring therapies. Herbal bath therapy needs traditional physicians' prescriptions, while hot springs do not require it. Through field surveys, ten different hot springs (tsha-chu) and 17 medicinal water or mineral springs (sman-chu), and 17 holy spring-waters (sgrub-chu) were identified. In general, medical water therapies are used by the Bhutanese people to treat various ailments, including gastritis, neurological disorders, arthritis, dermatological diseases, and rheumatological and musculoskeletal disorders. Even though a lack of scientific evidence makes it difficult to draw concrete conclusions on their traditionally claimed efficacy and safety, there are clinical evidences documented from other countries

Malaria elimination in Bhutan: asymptomatic malaria cases in the Bhutanese population living in malaria-risk areas and in migrant workers from India

In 2018, Bhutan reported 54 cases of malaria, of which six were indigenous, 14 introduced and 34 imported. Considering the continuous reduction in the number of indigenous cases, Bhutan plans to eliminate malaria by 2025 under the Bhutan Malaria Elimination Strategy. The study was conducted to assess the presence of asymptomatic plasmodial infection in both, Bhutanese population living in malaria-risk areas and in migrant workers to guide the elimination strategies. A cross-sectional study was conducted from April to May 2016 in 750 Bhutanese people and 473 migrant workers. Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax infections were investigated by using a rapid diagnostic test (RDT) and the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Prevalence of asymptomatic plasmodial infection based on PCR was 0.27% (95% CI: 0.05–1.07%) among Bhutanese people with a mean age of 43 years old. The proportions of males and females were 45% and 55%, respectively. Among migrant workers, the prevalence of asymptomatic plasmodial infection was 0.42% (95% CI: 0.07– 1.69%) with a mean age of 30 years old. The majority of migrant workers were from the neighboring Indian State of West Bengal (57.51%), followed by Assam (12.26%). RDT in both study groups did not detect any plasmodial infection. The presence of a low prevalence of asymptomatic plasmodial infection indicates that the current elimination strategies and interventions are effective

Special Sensory Function Deficit among Patients with Post-COVID-19 Visiting a Tertiary Care Centre

Introduction: Several patients who recover from COVID-19 infection continue to have persistent symptoms even after recovery from the disease. The special sensory functions such as taste, smell and hearing are affected by COVID-19 infection even after recovery from the illness. The aim of the study was to find out the prevalence of special sensory deficits among patients with post-COVID-19 visiting a tertiary care centre. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among adult patients who recovered from COVID-19 visiting a tertiary care centre from 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2022. After obtaining ethical approval from the Research Ethics Board of Health, data on patients who were diagnosed with COVID-19 one year ago was obtained from the surveillance register from the Ministry of Health. They were contacted by phone call and invited to the centre to participate in the study. Appropriate clinical examination and tests were carried out to assess the special sensory deficits. A convenience sampling technique was used. The point estimate was calculated at a 95% Confidence Interval. Results: Among 271 patients, the prevalence of sensory function deficit was 39 (14.39%) (10.21-18.57, 95% Confidence Interval). Conclusions: The prevalence of special sensory deficits after recovery from COVID-19 infections was found to be similar to the findings of other studies