December 2011: The Global Environment Facility (GEF), through its Least Developed Country Fund (LDCF), has reported on its support of an initiative with the Ministry of Trade and Industry of the Government of Bhutan to reduce climate change induced risks and vulnerabilities from glacial lake outburst in two of the country’s most vulnerable areas.

The initiative, managed by the UN Development Programme (UNDP), focuses on strengthening Disaster Risk Management capacities in the Punakha- Wangdi and Chamkhar Valleys; implementing an artificial lowering of Thorthomi Lake waters; and installing an early warning system for the Punakha-Wangdi Valley.

According to the GEF, an inventory of Glacial Lakes and Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs) reveals a total of 24 glacial lakes posing potentially high risk for outburst floods in Bhutan. The country has already experienced a number of climate-induced disasters, in particular due to the impacts of climate change on glaciers. [GEF Project Webpage]