Tenzin Jigme

Jigme Tenzin has been working with the Department of Forests and Park Services since 2009, starting programmes that can be considered a pioneer contribution to science in Bhutan. He holds a PhD (2016) in forest management from the University of Natural Resources & Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria. He also has a MSc in Forest Management from the Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy, Dehradun, India (2008) and a BSc in botany, zoology and chemistry from the Sherubtse College, Kanglung, Bhutan (2005). He has received awards and honours such as the Australian Leadership Awards Fellowship (2011) and the Netherland Fellowship Program Awards (NUFFIC), in 2013. In 2014 he was promoted to senior forestry officer and in 2018 to Deputy Chief Forestry Officer with the Watershed Management Division (DoFPS). He has also trained local leaders on the concept of watershed management. Bhutan has a rich biodiversity of forests, which makes it difficult to develop management models for every tree species. Tenzin has grouped local species easing their ecological management, providing a framework that allows the assessment of the forest structure, between "natural" and "semi-disturbed" areas.