Chubachu stream cleaning – Accelerating change

Water is a necessity to live, yet nearly 1 million people die each year from water, sanitation, and hygiene-related diseases and 771 million people in the world (1 in 10) lack access to it as per the World Water Organization.

Because water affects us all and we need collective efforts to take action at our own different levels to accelerate change in the way we respond to water and its related issues. This World Water Day, RSPN organized a cleaning campaign for our Chubachu stream which flows into the heart of the capital. With the collective efforts of 132 volunteers (stakeholders, offices, and institutions residing along the Chubachu stream), a total of 2667 kg of waste was collected, covering 2000 meters of stretch.

Through such campaigns, we expect to create awareness of the impact of polluting the water bodies by solid waste dumping, gray and black water into the river ecosystem, especially our streams and rivers nearby. Moreover, it encourages people’s participation to impart civic responsibilities in the conservation of water bodies because access to safe water can turn problems into potentials like enhancing education, economic prosperity, and improved health.

The event observed with the international theme: ‘Accelerating change to solve the water and sanitation crisis’ which was symbolized by the beautiful hummingbird, where in ancient stories, the hummingbird carries drops of water to put out a great fire. She was doing everything she could.

We would like to extend our gratitude to our campaign’s donors- WWF Bhutan, Bhutan for Life, and Bhutan Trust Fund for Environment Conservation for their continued support and to all our participants for their positive actions towards building a civic responsible society.

The list of stakeholders and participants was:

Stakeholders:

Bhutan Red Cross Society

WWF Bhutan

UN Bhutan

Ministry of Education and Skills Development

Tarayana Foundation

Royal Textile Academy

Bhutan for Life

Royal University of Bhutan,

Bhutan Power Cooperation

Bhutan Telecom Ltd.