Six Years in JSWNP: Leaving with sensational memoirs

In the January of 2013, the sky over Thimphu valley was adorned with magical clouds and passes of Dochula got wrapped with the first snow fall of the year. It was a moment where people rejoiced in snow but I was to take a long ride, crossing the passes of Dochula and Pelela, to land at Tshangkha, officially joining the management of Jigme Singye Wangchuck National Park as a civil servant. Referring back into my blogpost, it read that I had quite boring days in the beginning without knowing what I should do in the office, but my pace of exploring JSWNP gradually picked up and nothing really seems to have left unexplored as years rolled on. January 2019 marks the completion of my 6 years in JSWNP and out of blue, we had one of the chilliest evenings and crystalline flakes have started falling, though it didn’t whiten the ground. Today I am to finally part from JSWNP and it is coincidentally auspicious that my joining JSWNP and leaving JSWNP had the heavens showing me with white crystalline flakes, an angelic synchrony.

Last image from JSWNP

Six glorious years in JSWNP! I can only feel that JSWNP has shaped me into a better public servant owing to the exciting working environment, the vast opportunities for professional development, and the wonderful support and guidance from the management, though some odds are obviously inevitable. I joined JSWNP at a time when Park Manager was the lone official with degree higher than Bachelors and officials documentations concerning writing and publication was lacking much behind. As the first Forestry Officer to assist the park manager, I got ample opportunities to contribute towards conservation works in JSWNP, of course, through many trials and errors. From updating the much awaited Conservation Management Plan for the Park to framing project proposals to implement the Management plan, transforming the tiring efforts of frontline staffs into official documents to exploring every nook and cranny of the park with much endurance, I feel I did I am supposed to do as a young officer. Yet, all the feats that has been achieved were only possible due to the collective effort of the colleagues and constant guidance from the Chief, without which I could not have developed myself professionally to where I am today, a civil servant with six years of full experience. Above all, I am glad to have received my first promotion while I am still serving in JSWNP.

Fellow awardees during my first Promotion

As I leave JSWNP today, I am not sure what good traces I am leaving behind with, but I am definitely leaving with sensational memoirs. Being the first office I served with, I will always have an emotional attachment with the park itself and of course with the wonderful colleagues that I have worked together here. Most of our friends are not only good human beings but dedicated civil servants, whose continued service can lead JSWNP further on the conservation ladder, making it the real conservation jewel in the country. While good things are too numerous to jot down here, I leave JSWNP with three messages;

1. A message of gratitude: Words are not enough to express my gratitude to the wonderful support given by my Chiefs and colleagues I have worked together. I only feel that you all have shaped me into a better civil servant, and whatever good traits that are developed in me, its because of you all. Thank you from the core of my heart.
2. A message of apology and forgiveness: Having worked together for long, in one way or the other, I would have hurt the sentiment of many of my friends, mostly out of my ignorance, therefore, I apologize for my wrongs and seek your forgiveness.
3. An urge to serve with humility and dedication: Whatever we have attained today, be it professionally or personally, it is all because we have a tag, “civil servant”. While many of our friends in JSWNP are dedicated servants, I urge my friends to not become complacent in delivering the services. Get constantly reminded of the messages that His Majesty the King has conveyed, not to follow the 70:30 trap, be SMART (Sincerity, Mindfulness, Astuteness, Resilience, and Timelessness) servants and have a sense of belonging and accountability. We all have a have responsibility in Nation Building.

 

Last Family of JSWNP I lived with

As I bid farewell to JSWNP and join my new office at the Nature Conservation Division, I am hopeful that great experiences that I have acquired from JSWNP will remain a cornerstone for my future endeavours and I look forward to contributing the best to whatever responsibilities I am handed with.

Thank you and Tashi Delek

Letro