The 2013 statute creating Bhutan's formal disaster-management framework, the National Disaster Management Authority, and dzongkhag-level disaster risk reduction obligations after the 2009 Mongar and 2011 Sikkim earthquakes.
The Disaster Management Act of Bhutan, 2013 is the principal statute governing disaster risk management in the Kingdom. The Act was enacted on 18 March 2013 and replaced the National Disaster Risk Management Framework of 2006, providing a binding legal foundation for disaster preparedness, response and recovery at national, dzongkhag and gewog levels.[1][2]
The Act establishes the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) as the highest decision-making body on disaster management, with the Department of Disaster Management (DDM) under the Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs serving as its Secretariat. It mandates disaster-risk-reduction obligations across central agencies, dzongkhag administrations and local-government bodies, and codifies emergency-declaration powers and post-disaster recovery requirements.[2][3]
The Act was passed in the aftermath of the 6.1-magnitude Mongar earthquake of September 2009 and the 6.9-magnitude Sikkim earthquake of September 2011, which together exposed institutional gaps in Bhutan's disaster response.[4][5]
Background
Bhutan's disaster management was previously coordinated through the National Disaster Risk Management Framework of 2006, an executive policy without binding statutory force. The Mongar earthquake of 21 September 2009 killed 12 people, damaged 5,967 buildings and caused economic losses of approximately Nu 2,501 million, with destruction including 91 schools, 25 health facilities, 281 monasteries and 7 dzongs across six districts.[4]
The 18 September 2011 earthquake centred in Sikkim caused one death, 14 injuries and structural damage worth approximately Nu 1,197.63 million in western Bhutan, with about sixty per cent of damage concentrated in Haa, Paro, Chhukha and Samtse. Joint rapid-assessment missions by the Government, the United Nations and the World Bank in 2009 and 2011 identified the absence of a binding disaster law, weak coordination between the DDM and dzongkhags, and gaps in building-code enforcement, school safety and contingency funding.[5]
The 2013 Act was drafted in response to those assessments, drawing on disaster-management statutes in India, Nepal and Sri Lanka and on the Hyogo Framework for Action.[1][3]
Key provisions
The Act creates the National Disaster Management Authority as the apex body, chaired by the Prime Minister and including line-ministry secretaries, the Chairperson of the Royal Bhutan Police and other members. The NDMA approves the Disaster Management Strategic Policy Framework, the National Disaster Management and Contingency Plan, hazard zonation and vulnerability maps, and structural and non-structural risk-reduction measures.[1][2]
The Department of Disaster Management within the Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs serves as the NDMA Secretariat, coordinates national-level disaster preparedness and response, maintains national emergency stockpiles, and supports capacity-building for dzongkhags and gewogs.[2]
At dzongkhag level, the Act creates Dzongkhag Disaster Management Committees chaired by the Dzongdag, with mandates to develop dzongkhag-level disaster management and contingency plans, conduct hazard mapping, oversee disaster-risk-reduction activities and lead local response. Gewog and Thromde-level committees handle community-level preparedness and first response.[1][3]
The Act prescribes procedures for declaring disasters and emergencies, for emergency expenditure under the Public Finance Act, for requisitioning resources, and for granting compensation and assistance to affected persons. It assigns sector-specific responsibilities for school safety, health-facility safety, hydropower and infrastructure resilience, and forest-fire management.[1]
It frames specific responses to glacial-lake outburst floods (GLOFs) — to which Bhutan is highly exposed — and to seismic risk, requiring the integration of GLOF early-warning systems, building-code enforcement and seismic retrofitting into national and dzongkhag plans. It prescribes obligations for record-keeping, post-disaster needs assessment and recovery planning.[2][3]
Implementing institutions
The National Disaster Management Authority, chaired by the Prime Minister, is the apex body. The Department of Disaster Management under the Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs is the operational arm. Dzongkhag Disaster Management Committees, Thromde Disaster Management Committees and Gewog Disaster Management Committees implement the Act at sub-national level. The Royal Bhutan Police, the Royal Bhutan Army and Desuups (volunteer Guardians of Peace) provide emergency response capacity. Line agencies — including the Department of Engineering Services, the National Centre for Hydrology and Meteorology and the Department of Forests and Park Services — discharge sectoral responsibilities under the Act.[2][3]
Amendments and reform
The Act itself has not been comprehensively amended. Implementation has been deepened through the National Disaster Risk Management Strategy (2018), the National Recovery and Reconstruction Plan for the 2009 Earthquake, the National Action Plan for School Earthquake Safety, the National Action Plan for Earthquake Safety of Health Facilities, and dzongkhag-level disaster and contingency plans now in force across all twenty dzongkhags. Sub-national capacity has been strengthened through training and through expansion of the Desuup volunteer programme.[3][6]
Implementation and impact
The Act has provided a binding legal framework for disaster management and supported a more coordinated response to subsequent events, including the 2015 Lemthang GLOF, the 2016 forest fires, the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2021 monsoon flooding in southern dzongkhags.[3][6]
Implementation has been criticised on several grounds. Independent assessments, including PreventionWeb and ADRC reports, have noted that dzongkhag-level capacity for hazard mapping and contingency planning remains uneven. Building-code enforcement in private construction has been faulted by the Royal Audit Authority and engineering professionals. GLOF risk in the Lunana region — particularly Thorthormi and the upper Pho Chhu — has expanded faster than mitigation works can be implemented, raising concerns about the adequacy of statutory response capacity for a low-probability, high-consequence event. Funding for disaster preparedness has historically depended on donor support, and the Act does not establish a dedicated standing disaster fund.[3][6]
References
- Disaster Management Act of Bhutan 2013 — IFRC Disaster Law database (full text link)
- Acts, Rules and Publications — Department of Disaster Management
- Disaster Risk Management Strategy: Safe, Resilient and Happy Bhutan — National Disaster Management Authority
- Republic of Bhutan Earthquake, September 2009 — Post-Disaster Needs Assessment, GFDRR
- September 18, 2011 Earthquake: Joint Rapid Assessment for Recovery, Reconstruction and Risk Reduction — GFDRR
- Department of Disaster Management Country Report 2013 — Asian Disaster Reduction Center
Test Your Knowledge
Think you know about this topic? Try a quick quiz!
Help improve this article
Do you have personal knowledge about this topic? Were you there? Your experience matters. BhutanWiki is built by the community, for the community.
Anonymous contributions welcome. No account required.