内容説明
Bhutan has a landscape of incredible beauty with stunning Himalayan glacier peaks, lavishly forested mountains and lush subtropical wetlands. The unique and vibrant culture of Bhutan is based on its main religion, Buddhism. Water has played an all-encompassing role in the lives of the Bhutanese, be it in religious rituals and ceremonies, in poetry and literature or in nutrition and hygiene. This fascinating book, with excellent photographs, provides heretofore unknown and remarkable insights into the management of water resources in the Bhutanese society. The book introduces the reader to the Bhutanese perceptions and understandings of water in their abstract as well as their actual worlds. The reader is given a glimpse of the incredible wooden and chain bridges constructed centuries ago over torrential rivers, and ingenious traditional irrigation schemes on which the people of these mountains depended for their sustenance. Water was seen as an inexhaustible free gift of nature. But today, modern drinking water schemes and massive hydropower projects reveal the considerable economic and political value of water in Bhutan. The book represents a colourful journey through the Kingdom of Bhutan and unravels fascinating aspects of its people and society. Through the role of water in the lives of the Bhutanese people, the book illustrates how a society in transition tries to cope in harmonising its religious and cultural heritage with the contemporary needs, regional politics and global influences.
