Assessment of forest ecosystem services in Khaling Gewog, Bhutan

Communities inhabiting fragile mountain ecosystems of high Himalayas are constantly exposed to threats of growing environmental change. The ecosystem services assessment can determine the locations of ecosystem production sites and also quantify the ecosystem services and goods. Such assessment can estimate changes in service provision over time and also understand the impact of patterns of land use, climate and environmental variation on the production of ecosystem. The main objective of the study was to determine the most frequently used ecosystem goods in Khaling gewog. Amount of ecosystem services accessed in the past one year prior to study period was also quantified. Ecosystem valuation was conducted using some of the quantified ecosystem goods using market based approach. Water and fuel wood was the most utilized ecosystem goods. The estimated annual economic value of some ecosystem goods produced by forest ecosystem in Khaling gewog was Nu. 21.6 million (1US$ =54 Nu. Bhutanese currency).