ABSTRACT
The project for preparing a Disaster Risk Management (DRM) plan for Punakha Dzong, a fortified monastery built in 1637, commenced in August 2019. The Cultural Heritage Bill of Bhutan 2016 prioritises preparing DRM plans for nationally important heritage sites. Floods, earthquakes, and fire mainly threaten the Punakha Dzong. This first-ever DRM plan for cultural heritage is to protect the large population in the Dzong, along with the irreplaceable cultural heritage. A series of workshops were organised including field surveys, tabletop exercises, and discussions, which outputs are presented in the plan.
The chapter underlines the following four approaches for preparing a plan that aims at a feasible and sustainable implementation:
Interactive stakeholder participation to enhance potential capacity, developing a sense of ownership to the plan and encouraging them to take actions proactively.
Engaging monks residing in the Dzong to identify their roles as the key management partner of the Dzong.
Combining DRM measures with the existing practice for seamless and consistent implementation.
Learning lessons from previous disasters, especially the fire incident of Wangduephodrang Dzong.
Lastly, the chapter highlights that the DRM measures would be sustainably instituted as a continuous process of interactions between stakeholders.