Why Gross National Happiness (GNH) ?
There is considerable interest worldwide in developing indices for wellbeing. Over the past 10 years or so, international conferences on Gross National Happiness have been held in Bhutan, Nova Scotia, Thailand and Brazil. Numerous public and private sector entities have found that pursuing happiness as a strategy has multiple benefits. Recently, Brazil, Britain and France have instituted their own versions of a Gross National Happiness Index. Given the growing interest in this area, Bhutan’s leadership and experience developing the GNH index is of primary interest for future exchanges between mountain regions.
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GNH Challenges
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In addition to the climate change issues mentioned earlier there are very severe personal challenges to their lifestyle being faced by the mountain and indigenous communites that are the traditional custodians of these vital resources. The migration of the young to cities and as migrant workers abroad has threatened both traditional knowledge and how business is conducted in these communities. In addition there are problems with an aging community that cannot rely on the same family support that would have been expected in the past. All this at a time when Globalisation has opened communications and made everyone aware that we need to support eachother to face these challenges that affect us all in one way or another.
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