Advancing Renewable Energy (RE)-powered lift irrigation systems in Bhutan

Organisers: Department of Energy, Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, Royal Government of Bhutan, ICIMOD and IDRC

About the event

The Department of Energy, Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, Royal Government of Bhutan in collaboration with ICIMOD is organising a high-level dialogue on Advancing renewable energy (RE)-powered lift irrigation systems in Bhutan as part of the Women’s Empowerment through Renewable Energy-Powered Lift Irrigation Systems in Bhutan (WERELIS – Bhutan) project funded by International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada.

The project aims to lay the groundwork for the broader adoption of renewable energy-powered irrigation systems by equipping decision-makers with evidence-based knowledge, practical tools, and scalable models, while also building technical capacity to integrate gender considerations into planning and implementation. This high-level dialogue builds on the project efforts by convening stakeholders to address key sectoral challenges, advance gender and social inclusion, and identify pathways for scaling innovative solutions.

Objectives

The high-level dialogue aims to foster collaboration among stakeholders from government, development agencies, civil society, academia, and the private sector to identify actionable strategies for scaling renewable energy solutions in irrigation. It will address key sector challenges, promote gender and social inclusion, evaluate project frameworks, and explore opportunities for grid-connected decentralized renewable energy systems—ultimately supporting reliable irrigation for agricultural transformation.

The event is expected to generate collective insights that help overcome existing sectoral challenges and chart a clear path to unlock the full potential of renewable energy in Bhutan’s irrigation sector.

Background

Agriculture employs 40% of the Bhutanese population, with women comprising more than half of the agricultural workforce. However, the sector’s contribution to GDP has been steadily declining due to a combination of climatic, environmental, and socio-economic challenges, threatening the country’s self-sufficiency in staple crops. Currently, only 20% of cultivable land is irrigated, highlighting a critical gap in agricultural productivity.

Bhutan’s traditional irrigation systems—mainly gravity-fed, open channels—are seasonal and increasingly vulnerable to climate change. The country’s mountainous terrain often necessitates lifting water from sources at a lower elevation, presenting both logistical challenges and opportunities. Bhutan’s abundant fast-flowing rivers present significant potential for renewable energy (RE)-powered solutions, such as decentralized lift irrigation systems—offering a sustainable and innovative path to expand irrigation infrastructure, particularly through sustainable and innovative solutions, and address pressing agricultural challenges. However, current efforts to harness this potential often overlook gender-inclusive and gender-responsive strategies, limiting the equitable participation of women and marginalized groups in the irrigation sector.

The WERELIS-Bhutan project seeks to address these gaps. This initiative aims to explore the scale and scope of RE-powered lift irrigation systems as a pathway to enhance Bhutan’s food self-sufficiency. It will assess the technological viability, contextual appropriateness, and gender-inclusive impacts of these systems, while identifying barriers that hinder women’s full and equitable participation in the RE transition.