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TRIN-GYI-PHO-NYA: Tibet's Environment & Development
Digest
May/June 2005, Vol. 3, No. 2
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Trin-Gyi-Pho-Nya
Index
of Past Issues
| Integrating Legitimate Tibetan Rights
into the “Yangtze Forum" (Tashi Tsering*) In a remarkable precedent-setting meeting of Chinese leaders last month in Wuhan (capital city of Hubei Province), provincial governors and key ministers from different sectors such as water, environment, forest, and agriculture gathered to develop a common strategy and action plan for protecting the Yangtze River (Drichu in Tibetan, “Changjiang” in Chinese) within a river basin framework of management. From an environmental policy perspective, this high level discussion of Chinese leaders – the “Yangtze Forum” – to integrate the agendas of different government agencies, in order to manage the river within its natural boundary, is indeed refreshing news. States around the world, especially in rapidly developing countries like China, find the task of sustainable management of resources difficult because of the compartmentalized and autonomous nature of government agencies. This is exacerbated by states’ contradictory responsibilities of being both the developer and protector of the environment. As such there is often the bias toward the development agencies which usually are more far powerful and often overrun the efforts of those who are charged with the task of environmental protection. Such is the case in the management of the Yangtze River. The headwaters of the Yangtze has been designated as a “state-level protected nature reserve,” to such a degree that the government began, in 2004, to forcibly relocate 40,000 Tibetans in an effort to make “core areas” of the Yangtze, Yellow and Mekong rivers into a “non-human zone” by 2009. However, this desperate, undemocratic effort by the Chinese government to protect the river is scheduled to be shattered by the dam building agenda of some of its own agencies – powerful bureaucracies like Ministry of Water Resources, Ministry of Machine Building and Ministry of Construction. Work preparatory to building some of the world’s tallest dams in lands of ethnic Tibetans, who have been relocated in the name of environmental protection, is already underway. One dam is planned on the Ngagchu (Yalong River) with a height of 175 meters, another on the Thogthon Chuwo (Tongtianhe in Chinese) with a height of 302 meters, and a third on the Gyarong Ngulchu ( Daduhe in Chinese) with a height of 296 meters – with an overarching goal of diverting water into central China. In China, the need for an integrated river basin management system, whereby the voices of all the legitimate stakeholders are balanced, is particularly pressing given the severe water shortages, pollution problems, and the increasing number of massive protests by dam relocatees and by farmers over water for irrigation. A representative system of resource management is increasingly recognized as the legitimate approach to sustainable development around the world. The Chinese leaders of the Yangtze Forum, who are concerned with the legitimacy of their work, should include the voices of leaders of the otherwise disenfranchised communities, like upstream Tibetans, in the discussion of the issues in order to demonstrate their concern for just water governance and should not let this auspicious initiative become yet another exercise in bureaucratic greenwashing. *Editor: Trin-Gyi-Pho-Nya. Tashi Tsering is also the Environment and Development Program Director of Tibet Justice Center. - top of page -
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| A Vietnamese refugee as health worker in
rural Tibet UN News Center – April 28, 2005 On the eve of the thirtieth anniversary of the fall of Saigon, the United Nations refugee agency today highlighted the success story of one of its veteran alumni, a 6-year-old Vietnamese boy who fled in his pyjamas aboard a dangerously overcrowded boat and now works as a doctor improving childbirth practices on the Tibetan plateau. Tran Nguyen Toan left his homeland on 17 November 1977 in the family’s eighth attempt – the others failed because the fishing boat failed to arrive or the police showed up – after his father, a businessman, realized that under the new communist regime things would be extremely difficult and became a fisherman to get the chance to leave. What was meant to be a relatively short journey to the Philippines turned into a two-week odyssey in which the their boat, capable of carrying 40 but with three times that number, was buffeted by three huge storms southwards towards Malaysia, the only one of nine craft that left in that period to make it. After they hit the shore of Terranganu on Malaysia’s east coast, ethnic Chinese found them on the beach and gave them clothes and food, but the police came, beat up the village leader and took the refugees to a UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNCHR) camp on Palau Besar, an island off the coast. After nine months there, Toan, his father and sister were accepted as refugees by Switzerland where his elder sister was studying in Lausanne. The first thing the family did was to file the papers to get Toan’s mother to join them. That took four long years. After post-graduate work at McGill University in Canada, he continued with family medicine in Utah in the United States, working with deprived Latino immigrants for three years. When he had the chance to work on the Tibetan plateau for a non-governmental organization (NGO) called One Heart, focusing on maternal and child health around the time of childbirth in nomadic and rural populations, he seized it and has been working there for four years. His choice surprises many of his relatives who wonder why he doesn’t live in the US, practice medicine, buy a big car and home – the Vietnamese refugee dream. But being a refugee creates a bond. “I feel so deeply for them and those in Tibet,” he says. “I meet ex-refugees who’ve returned from India and we spend a lot of time talking about things – this connection of being immigrants and vagabonds and sharing our lives. I have a deep level of compassion for them … I [also] love provoking people in high society and showing them that immigrants and refugees are not parasites of society.” - top of page -
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China’s Development Of My Fatherland:
Progress Or Destruction? (Palden Kyab*) Tibetans have always had a close relationship with nature – respecting and preserving nature is a principle theme of Buddhism. Through the Buddhist prism of interdependence, Tibetans believe that the environment in which we live sustains our existence. We believe that there are other sentient beings – animals and invisible sentient beings such as “Lha” (gods) and “Lu” (naga’s) – that live around us, sharing the same environment. If we are not careful with our treatment of nature, we might unintentionally hurt these sentient beings. As a result, respecting nature became a part of traditional Tibetan livelihood; it is largely due to our devotion to Dharma, which is based on “Jhangchup Sem” (Boddhicitta) or compassion towards all other sentient beings. Not only is the environment at large protected, but also the precious minerals accumulated by natural forces are left unexploited. Today, while the environment of Tibet is being indiscriminately damaged, the Tibetan people and the animals on the plateau are facing danger of extermination by the profit-driven Communist China. In fact, Tibet’s vast land and unexploited rich natural resources are key factors that lured China to invade Tibet. China’s hunger for timber, for example, led to official destruction of Tibetan forests, especially in eastern Tibet (northern Yunnan and western Sichuan provinces). Trucks loaded with old-growth timber were shipped to China day and night for decades until the logging ban that was imposed after the 1998 Yangtze flood in China. Today, mountains are barren without any trees. Nomadic and semi-nomadic people, and farmers in particular, suffer famine in many different rural areas. Rainfall has become more scant, and natural rainfall patterns have changed due to drastic man-made changes to the environment. After decades of searching for precious minerals like gold and copper, China has now begun large-scale exploitation with the help of foreign technology and capital. This is causing tremendous destruction of the whole landscape of Tibet. Soil erosion, poorer pasture for animals, landslides, and other drastic changes in the environment are forcing some villages to migrate to other places. In addition to deforestation and mining, there is another growing menace to the fragile ecosystems of Tibet – Chinese pharmaceutical companies’ hunger for Tibetan medicinal plants. The commercialization of Tibetan medicine not only endangers the sustainable harvesting of rare medicinal plants but is also contributing to major soil erosion and landslides. China’s recent rush to develop the west regions (Go West! campaign) and the construction of the railway line from Golmud to Lhasa, not only pose environmental problems but also create problems for local Tibetans such as forced relocation and uncompensated land use for the railway line, and so on. Who knows what kind of environmental problems will arrive once the railway service is in full service? Will China be able to prevent railway passengers from throwing garbage like plastics and cans? Will China be able to stop pollution of the oxygen-sparse air of Tibet? Will China listen, let alone compensate local Tibetans for the exploitation of their lands? [Palden Kyab is a student at Berea College, Kentucky. He may be reached via e-mail at freelance_for_tibet@yahoo.com] - top of page -
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| The Tibet Railway Nears Completion; Western
Companies Jump Aboard (Freya Putt*) China’s official news agencies do not always generate a lot of factual news, but they do give insight into the issues important to the government. The Tibet Railway is ranking high these days, garnering eight articles from People’s Daily and Xinhua in April 2005 alone. The railway is the symbol of China’s control over Tibet and Tibet’s future. It frightens and frustrates Tibetans and Tibet supporters, while Chinese leaders are desperate to have it finished. Construction began in 2001, shortly after the Tibet movement’s major victory in forcing the cancellation of the World Bank loan for population transfer in Amdo, and the Tibet movement was geared up for another challenge. Unfortunately, it has been a hard one to rise to. We have sought effective points of leverage and not found them, as the Chinese government, pouring in cash and churning out propaganda, plows ahead and the railway creeps inexorably towards completion. The Chinese government’s mega-projects are known for going overtime and over-budget, but it is clear that in this case, finishing on time is a priority for them. The railway was originally scheduled for completion in 2007 – in time for the Beijing 2008 Olympics – but the date has slowly inched closer. Beijing recently announced that it would be pumping in another 5.5 billion yuan ($0.6 bn US) to ensure construction of the railway by October 2005. Test runs are scheduled to begin in July 2006. Now, three Canadian businesses have announced their involvement in the railway. Bombardier, a Montreal-based manufacturer of airplanes, recreational vehicles, and rail transportation equipment, will lead a consortium that includes Power Corporation of Canada, a financial holding company, and China South Locomotive and Rolling Stock Industry (Group) Corporation, to supply the Chinese Ministry of Railways with 361 specially designed rail cars for the Tibet line. Nortel Networks, a global telecommunications provider, will supply a digital wireless communications network (GSM-R). These companies, along with GE, which will provide the locomotives, are the only foreign entities known to be directly assisting with the railway. The three Canadian companies are founding members of the Canada-China Business Council, unabashed China supporters who have benefited immensely from close business ties with China. Nortel has worked extensively with the Chinese government to develop surveillance technology for use on Chinese citizens. The CEO of Power Corp exclaimed a few years ago at a trade conference that the 21st century promises to be "glorious" for China. The companies are already facing scrutiny in the Canadian media for their involvement in the railway. As China races towards the finish line with the project and western companies obligingly jump aboard, a coalition of Tibet Support Groups has formed, determined to slow down the completion of the railway and discourage non-Chinese investment in other Western Development projects in Tibet. We have a short timeline, but it is essential that we organize. We may not be able to stop the railway, but we can stop the countless other projects that make up the Western Development Plan, the backbone of China’s colonization of Tibet. The Tibet movement has shown that it can be a force to equal and even overcome the power of Beijing. Now is the time to demonstrate that force again. *Freya Putt is the Program Coordinator of Students
for a Free Tibet (www.studentsforafreetibet.org). She may be contacted
via email: freya@studentsforafreetibet.org - top of page -
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| Water crisis looms as Himalayan glaciers
retreat World Wide Fund for Nature* Himalayan glaciers are among the fastest retreating glaciers globally due to the effects of global warming, and this will eventually result in water shortages for hundreds of millions of people who rely on glacier-dependent rivers in China, India and Nepal, warns WWF, the global conservation organization. The warning comes on the eve of a two-day ministerial roundtable of the 20 largest energy using economies in the world, followed by a G8 meeting of development and environment ministers focusing on climate change and on Africa. Both meetings are hosted by the UK government in London from 15-18 March. A new WWF report “An Overview of Glaciers, Glacier Retreat and Subsequent Impacts in Nepal, India and China” exposes the rate of retreat of Himalayan glaciers accelerating as global warming increases. The report states that glaciers in the region are now receding at an average rate of 10-15 meters per year. “The rapid melting of Himalayan glaciers will first increase the volume of water in rivers causing widespread flooding,” said Jennifer Morgan, Director of WWF’s Global Climate Change Programme. “But in a few decades this situation will change and the water level in rivers will decline, meaning massive economic and environmental problems for people in Western China, Nepal and Northern India.” The report highlights the risk for two of the meeting’s participating countries, China and India, where the retreat of glaciers has already had significant impact in terms of water shortages, more frequent flooding, retreating wetlands and unstable river systems. In a letter sent to participating ministers, WWF stresses the need to recognize climate change as an issue that seriously threatens security and development prospects. “The good news is that solutions are at hand to meet the challenges of climate change, energy security and development needs, but ministers need to work together to make progress,” said Jennifer Morgan. “Ministers should realize now that the world faces an economic and development catastrophe if the rate of global warming isn’t reduced. All countries must understand that crossing the 2° C ceiling* is truly dangerous.” Himalayan glaciers feed into seven of Asia’s greatest rivers (the Ganges, Indus, Brahmaputra, Salween, Mekong, Yangtze and Huange He), ensuring a year-round water supply to hundreds of millions of people in the Indian subcontinent and China. As glacier water flows dwindle, the energy potential of hydroelectric power will decrease causing problems for industry, while reduced irrigation means lower crop production. Nepal has an annual average temperature rise of 0.06° C per year. The report shows that three of Nepal’s snow-fed rivers have shown declining trends in discharge. In China, the report shows that Qinhai Plateau’s wetlands have seen declining lake water levels, lake shrinkage, the absence of water flow in rivers and streams, and the degradation of swamp wetlands. In India, the Gangotri glacier, which supports one of India’s largest river basins, is receding at an average rate of 23 metres/year. For more information, contact WWF’s Communications
Manager: t + 41 79 347 2256, email mhiller@wwfint.org - top of page -
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| Chinese scientists count 1,091 lakes in
Tibet (Source: Xinhua. May 9) Tibet has the world’s largest “lake group,” according to Zhu Liping, a researcher with the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Institute under the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Chinese scientists have counted 1,091 lakes larger than one square kilometer in size on the Tibetan Plateau, totaling 44,993.3 square kilometers in surface area and 608 billion cubic meters of water reserve. According to Xinhua, Tibet’s lakes represent 70 percent of China’s total lake water reserve and 49.5 percent of surface area. These statistics add to the portrayal of Tibet as “China’s biggest water region” that ought to be dammed for electricity and diverted to water-scarce areas of the northern China. Yet another aspect of reality is that the Tibetan Plateau is a very arid region, receiving far less rain than lowland China. To add to this, almost all authoritative scientific studies on the main source of Tibet’s water resources, i.e., glaciers on high mountains of Tibet, predict an apocalyptic image of the future due to global warming. Therefore, while Tibet currently has substantial freshwater resources, China’s developers ought to consider long term sustainability implications of their development plans on the plateau.
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| Environmental education for community-led
ecotourism in Gyalthang (Source: WWF-China Newsletter, Vol. 2 No. 1) Local villagers of Gyalthang area in Kham (“Shangri-la” or Zhongdian in Yunnan Province) “are working with WWF to develop community led ecotourism projects that will help conserve the habitat of the endangered black-necked crane, while at the same time provide direct financial benefits for the local economy. Conducted by the renowned Chinese ornithologist, Han Lianxian, and facilitated by WWF, over 40 locals, including representatives from village communities, nature reserves and local travel companies, recently attended a workshop to learn how to identify native bird species. The initiative is part of a WWF China’s Shangri-La sustainable Community Initiative, which is using education to empower Shangri-la’s local communities to manage their natural resources in a way that conserves the environment, maintains cultural diversity, and provides them with an equitable share of the benefits.” For more information, Alex Marston’s e-mail is alex@wwfchina.org
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| China to make Pare Chu river safe for India (Source: Tibet Information Network. May 2.) Water Resources Minister P.R. Dashmunsi told the Indian parliament that China will take steps for the controlled release of water into the Pare Chu river that had threatened to flood areas of Himachal Pradesh in 2004. This follows an agreement between the two countries during Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao's visit to India in April. According to the minister, Beijing has agreed to take measures for the controlled release of water accumulated behind a landslide dam as soon as conditions permit. Major rivers such as the Sutlej, Lohit, Subansiri and Indus flow into India from Tibet. China has agreed to provide information on a real-time basis on any abnormal rise or fall of water levels that could lead to floods. The two sides also agreed to continue discussions to finalise similar arrangements for the Yarlung Tsangpo and Lohit (Zayul Chu) rivers that are tributaries of the Brahmaputra.
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| 4. Direct bus service links Lhasa and Kathmandu (Source: China Tibet Information Center, April 26; nepalnews.com, May 1) Direct “top quality” bus services between the capital cities of Tibet and Nepal -- Lhasa and Kathmandu – has recently become operational. The 1,044 km trans-Himalayan bus service is a three-day journey. According to China Tibet Information Center, outbound Tibetan passengers can buy tickets straight after going through passport and visa procedures while overseas passengers can buy tickets via tourist agencies. According to reports, the buses are running once a week and may eventually increase the number of trips. Tickets are priced at 70 US dollars, permitting five kilograms of personal effects and 15-kilograms of consignment free of charge. Extra baggage is charged at one US dollar per kilogram. Many stateless refugee Tibetans in Nepal and India want to avail themselves of this new and convenient service to visit their Phayul (“fatherland”) but face the dilemma of having to accept Chinese citizenship.
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| Railway project: Tibetans appeal compensation
over loss of homes, land (Source: Radio Free Asia. May 9) Residents of Dongkar, in Toliung Dechen county near the regional capital of Lhasa, have tried to petition the local authorities regarding the relocation plans to make way for the Golmud-Lhasa railway line but to no avail. "The Tibetan farmers went to different departments, including the Tibetan Autonomous Region government, to appeal but nothing really helps," an elderly woman from the affected area told RFA. According to the same source, a local Party secretary who had tried to speak out on behalf of his community had been stripped of his post. "So nobody dares to speak out," she said. Chinese officials had already been to measure her house and land, with scant interpretation provided in the Tibetan language for local residents, few of whom speak Mandarin, she said. While the authorities had promised to relocate them, locals would still have no means of making a living in the new location, according to Radio Free Asia. Apparently, there are also some Tibetans who are trying to take illegitimate advantage of the government’s relocation and compensation offer.
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| Notice: First conference in Exile to form
Tibetan Chamber of Commerce (Source: Tibet Support Group e-mail listserve) The Department of Finance of the Central Tibetan Administration
will organize the first Conference of Tibetan Enterprises in Exile
for two days on 18th and 19th of June 2005 at Golden Huts Resorts
on Delhi-Jaipur Highway in India. “The main theme of this
conference is the formation of Tibetan Chambers of Commerce. Through
this body [the] department would undertake promotional activities
to enhance the business interests of the members.” “Last
date for accepting application has been extended to 15 May 2005.
Since seats are limited, selection will be done on the first come
first serve basis. People are therefore advised to apply as soon
as possible to enable us to book seats for you and confirm your
participation.”
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| New report sheds light on the controversial
dam on Kham’s sacred lake, Megoe Tso (Report available online: http://www.tibetjustice.org/enviro/megoetso.pdf) Tibet Justice Center released a comprehensive new report on the controversial dam project on the ecologically pristine lake in eastern Tibet called Megoe Tso (or Mugecuo in Chinese). The new report provides an assessment of the project’s current suspended state within the context of recent regional developments and China’s larger dam building trends. It also addresses the putative benefits and costs of the project based on assertions made by project proponents as well as the counterclaims made by expert Chinese and Tibetan environmentalists. It points out that the Chinese government has yet to account for the traditional Tibetan values and views surrounding environmental protection and the local people’s relationship to nature. Researchers and analysts curious about the controversial dam project will appreciate the report's two appendices: a “Megoe Tso Timeline,” which chronicles the important events related to the project, and a bibliography and list of internet resources of relevance to the project.
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| “Large disputes” among Chinese
experts over Tibet-China water diversion project (Source: www.h2o.china.com, March 26. Translation: Dolkar Tenzing) A seminar on the feasibility of the Western
Route of the South-North Water Diversion Project of China was held
in the city of Chengdu, Sichuan Province, on March 24. Li Guoying,
the director of Yellow River Conservancy Committee attended the
seminar along with other experts. There were “large disputes”
among the experts participating in the conference. The water diversion
project (from Tibet into China) concerns the economic development
of six provinces along the construction route. The first phase of
construction is expected to result in diversion of 4 billion cubic
meters of water from Sichuan Province alone, changing the current
condition of water resources distribution and bringing significant
effects on social, environmental, social and economic conditions.
Western Route will also result in shortage of water for Chengdu
city and Mingjiang river.
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| Two Tibetans and one Nepali arrested
in India with 44 Leopard and 14 Otter Skins (Source: Care for the Wild International. April 7) The Indian police in Delhi had seized 44 fresh leopard and 14 otter skins and arrested two Tibetans and one Nepali in connection with the seizure on the same day. According to reports, the three men were planning to smuggle the skins into Nepal and China “by using an overnight bus service which links the Tibetan settlement Majnu Ka Tila in India directly with the Boudha in Katmandu in Nepal.” “This is yet another reminder of the need to take urgent steps to raise awareness levels about the devastating consequences of wildlife crime on wild populations amongst Tibetans”, said Dr Barbara Maas, Chief Executive of Care for the Wild International. On April 6, His Holiness the Dalai Lama had joined a campaign to curb Tibetans’ participation in the trade of endangered species products by the Wildlife Trust of India and Care for the Wild International, and others such as Dharamsala based Tibetan environmental NGO named Tesi Environmental Awareness Movement. “
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| Forced construction of houses for
"town development" (Source: Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy. March) According to a refugee who arrived Nepal from Chamdo (Tibet) on December 10, 2004: “In 2002, the Tibetan head of Sartsa Village was asked to quit the post and a Chinese was appointed as the new village head. Around late March 2002, 30 families living in Dawonang area near Sartsa Township were issued an order to built double storey houses on their fields. The order came as part of the town development plan whereby the towns were to be given a fresh look of development and modernity. The families approached the officials expressing their inability to built homes on their fields as they do not have enough money and also because the field was their source of income. However, the authorities dismissed the appeal and instead advised the families to give their houses for rent to cover the expenses. The authorities said that a new village office would be opened as well in the new area. It was also declared that anyone who does not abide by the order will be deemed as harbouring “separatist” views as both “the land and the sky belong to the Communist Party.”” “The Tibetans were left with no choice than to follow the orders from the authorities and built houses on their fields. Each family had to spend around ten thousand Yuan to built a house. Some other adjacent fields to the construction site were confiscated for future development plans. Four families in particular lost huge fields. They were the Thagatsang, Kartsotsang, Sonam Tentsang and Khigetsang. On completion of construction, the authorities went back on their words and didn’t allow the Tibetans to give their newly built houses for rent.”
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| Mysterious death of 180 bar-headed
geese at Tso-Ngon (Lake Kokonor) (Source: China Daily, May 10, 2005; Audubon, November-December 2000) According to China Daily, Chinese scientists are baffled at the cause of death of nearly 180 dead bar-headed geese, “a State second-class endangered animal” near Tso-Ngon in Amdo, also called the Qinghai Lake, over the past week. “Staff with the Qinghai Lake Nature Reserve in Northwest China's Qinghai Province first found 19 dead geese at Bird Island near the western side of the water last Wednesday. Over the following four days larger numbers of dead geese were found on the island and in nearby areas.” Li Sandan, director of Qinghai Forestry Bureau has ruled out severe infectious diseases, such as bird flu, as the cause death after laboratory studies. No other birds were found dead around the lake. Lily Whiteman, writing for the Audubon, a world renowned scientific magazine on birds, reports: “Every spring, flocks of bar-headed geese – the world's highest-altitude migrants – fly from their winter feeding grounds in the lowlands of India through the Himalayan range, sometimes even directly above Everest, on their way to their nesting grounds in Tibet. Then every fall these birds retrace their route to India. With a little help from tailwinds, they may be able to cover the one-way trip--more than 1,000 miles--in a single day.” According to Wen Bo, China Program Director of US-based Pacific
Environment and co-founder of China's first student environmental
network, “Human activities have greatly changed the living
environment of wild birds and affected their breeding activity.
Pesticides and hunting are two major factors blamed for the mass
death of migrant birds.”
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