31 July 2022: The Action Plan for Golden Mahseer conservation was launched by His Excellency Lyonpo Yeshey Penjor, Minister for Agriculture and Forests, during the observation of World Ranger Day on 31 July 2022.
Bhutan has propelled into the 21st century as the champion and leader in environmental conservation, owing to the conservation efforts guided by our visionary monarchs. Today, more than 50% of the country is secured for conservation by designating them as protected areas, surpassing the global goal of protecting 30% of the planet by 2030.
Until recently, conservation efforts were mostly concerted towards safeguarding the terrestrial ecosystems and charismatic mammalian species such as tiger, snow leopard, and elephants. In 2015, Bhutan embarked on a new journey to study the movement and ecology of Golden mahseer, and the results revealed many interesting facts about this endangered, magnificent freshwater fish. Those findings renewed our approach towards conservation of the Golden Mahseer and riverine ecosystems in general and this plan, the first of its kind targeting aquatic species in Bhutan, is expected to further bolster our overall conservation efforts substantially.
This conservation action plan, which has a planned duration for the next ten years (2022-2032), will serve as a guiding document to address the multifarious threats and challenges faced by the Golden Mahseer and aquatic biodiversity alike. The plan is developed through consultative discussion amongst the stakeholders with funding support from Bhutan For Life project.
