Bhutan is a small Himalayan kingdom squeezed between China and India. It was the first country in the world to be officially declared carbon-negative - meaning its enormous forests soak up more greenhouse gas than the whole country gives off. Roughly three times more, in fact. Today Suriname and Panama have joined Bhutan in the carbon-negative club, but Bhutan got there first.
The country takes its trees seriously. Bhutan’s constitution actually requires that at least 60 percent of the land stays forested forever. Today the figure is over 70 percent, and cutting down a tree without permission can land you in real trouble.
Bhutan is also famous for measuring its own success in a strange way. Instead of focusing only on Gross Domestic Product like most countries, it also tracks “Gross National Happiness” - a survey covering health, education, environment, and how content people feel about life.
