Measuring Happiness in Bhutan

Have you ever heard of Bhutan? It's a tiny Himalayan country that I know about because friend of mine dreams of traveling there. Long isolated from the rest of the world, it's in the midst of great change economically and culturally. On March 24, 2008 the Bhutanese held their first democratic election to install a new parliament, pass a new constitution and dilute the powers of their king. What a Monday!

In the midst of all of this change and seeking economic growth, there is an effort to protect the environment and preserve their ancient culture. One player in this effort is the Gross National Happiness Commission, led by Karma Tshitseem. He is charged with creating a national happiness index that can be tracked over time. So he's asking the same question I've been asking about work: What is happiness and how do you get there? Here are some of the current answers and proposals in Bhutan:

• create economic growth policies that won't disrupt the traditional way of life
• incorporate cultural traditions, such as a dress code the requires traditional robes in government buildings
• require 60% of the country to be covered in forests
• ban public smoking
• stay largely agrarian to protect the environment
• reduce the birth rate by almost two-thirds over the next 15 years

As Karma Ura, head of the Center for Bhutan Studies which has been devising a survey to quantify happiness, puts it, "Everybody must have meaning in his life. A long life isn't necessarily a happy life." For more, see the Commission's report: "Bhutan 2020: A vision for Peace, Prosperity and Happiness"