Last week marked a proud moment for Geoneon as our CEO, Roxane Bandini-Maeder, had the honour of meeting His Excellency Tshering Tobgay, Prime Minister of Bhutan. The meeting was an inspiring and important exchange about the critical role of forest fire management and sustainable forestry in safeguarding Bhutan’s unique environmental heritage.
As a nation that leads the world in environmental conservation and sustainability, Bhutan continues to set an example of how to balance economic development with ecological well-being. The discussion emphasised Bhutan’s commitment to preserving its forests and biodiversity while enhancing its climate resilience and disaster risk management capacity.
This meeting builds on Geoneon’s ongoing partnership with the Bhutanese Government and international development organizations. Since 2022, Geoneon has been working alongside the Department of Local Governance and Disaster Management (DLGDM) and the Department of Forest and Park Services (DoFPS) to help Bhutan strengthen its resilience to climate-related hazards.
Through the Climate Innovation Challenge, funded by UK Aid and the World Bank and administered by the Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre (ADPC), Geoneon was selected to assess the exposure of Bhutan’s critical infrastructure to landslides, floods, rockfalls, and debris flows. The project provided actionable insights to enhance the safety of key regions such as Gelephu and Phuentsholing-Pasakha.
Following the success of this project, Geoneon was selected by ADPC to scale its technology nationally. Collaborating closely with Bhutanese agencies, Geoneon developed and implemented the Bhutan Forest Fire Exposure Index, mapping the exposure of over 400,000 buildings, including monasteries and heritage sites, to potential forest fire impacts.
This initiative has provided Bhutan with a powerful tool for long-term fire preparedness and disaster risk reduction. Additionally, Geoneon delivered capacity-building workshops to over 10 Bhutanese government officials and academics, enabling them to independently operate the model and integrate it into national planning efforts.
Bhutan, often described as the “Land of Happiness,” is globally renowned for putting well-being and environmental stewardship at the core of its national development strategy. Geoneon is proud to contribute to Bhutan’s pioneering approach to climate resilience, supporting its vision for sustainable forestry and disaster risk reduction.
We extend our gratitude to the Royal Embassy of Bhutan for facilitating this important meeting and for their continued support of our collaborative projects.
Geoneon looks forward to further strengthening its relationship with Bhutan and supporting the country’s efforts to protect its people and environment from the growing impacts of climate change.