Australia Awards South and West Asia

To mark this year’s World Environment Day, we highlight the leadership story of Rinchen Dorji, a Senior Forestry Officer working at Bhutan’s Department of Forest and Park Services under the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources. In 2023, Rinchen was selected to attend the Australia Awards Regional Short Course on Integrating Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction to Reduce Vulnerability.

During the course, participants were introduced to Australian best practices regarding disaster mitigation measures and preparedness. In addition, participants had the opportunity to share regional knowledge and experiences among themselves. Upon completion of the course, the cohort developed individual ‘Return-to-Work Plans’. Rinchen’s Return-to-Work Plan focused on developing a community-based forest fire management plan to combat Bhutan’s climate-impacted disaster risks in Lhuentse District as a pilot project.

Rinchen was able to build on his Return-to-Work Plan when he received an Australia Awards Alumni Engagement Grant in March 2025. With the grant funding, Rinchen is working towards empowering local communities to prevent and manage forest fires in Lhuentse District, a high-risk area for forest fire because it is covered with highly flammable chirpine trees. Rinchen has initiated advocacy programs in the district to educate local communities and raise awareness of the impact of forest fires. In addition, he is building the local communities’ capacity to respond to fires in three of Lhuentse’s sub-districts. In collaboration with Block administrations and the Forest Range Office, Rinchen has also trained over 300 members of the local community about the causes and impacts of forest fires, emphasising human-induced forest fires and their impacts on the environment, economy and society. Furthermore, he has made dedicated efforts to ensure inclusive participation by local communities, resulting in achieving gender parity among the training participants.

Rinchen (standing fifth from the right with a badge) with participants from Minjay Block during an advocacy training session.

For the next phase of the project, Rinchen intends to develop a forest fire management plan and establish community-led forest fire management groups in the district by providing trainings on safe and effective use of firefighting tools and equipment; introducing local fire response plans and protocols; and promoting coordination and collaboration between communities, government agencies and other stakeholders.

Considering the growing threat of forest fires across the country, Rinchen’s initiative is both timely and relevant to contributing towards Bhutan’s Thirteenth Five Year Plan, which emphasises sustainable forest management and community-based forest management to address climate change adaptability and increase the economic value of Bhutan’s forests.

Rinchen says, “The Short Course on Integrating Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction to Reduce Vulnerability significantly enhanced my understanding of strategies for disaster risk reduction in the context of climate change and environmental conservation. The program particularly deepened my insight into the impacts of forest fires and the imperative for developing effective mitigation solutions. This experience has induced a long-term commitment to addressing forest fire incidences in the country. I will continue to explore technologies and engagement strategies to prevent forest fires.”