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TRIN-GYI-PHO-NYA: Tibet's Environment & Development
Digest
December 7, 2005, Vol. 3, No. 5
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Trin-Gyi-Pho-Nya
Index
of Past Issues
| Inviting Apocalypse: India to support
China’s plans to harness the Brahmaputra River By Tashi Tsering* The recent news about certain Indian leaders planning to buy power generated by Chinese dams planned along Nygangchu, a major tributary of Yarlung Tsangpo (Brahmaputra river) represents the height of short-sighted international economic diplomacy. While Chinese Communist leaders see many politico-economic reasons to harness the water resources of the Brahmaputra watershed within their territory, it is mind-boggling that certain Indian leaders would support the gagging of the very precious water resources on which the livelihood of millions of their people depend. This preposterous decision by the Indian Ministry of Power and Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd can be likened to the Indian tale of a rustic simpleton chopping off a tree branch by sitting on its outer end, only to fall to the ground himself except, in the case of this transnational act, the implications could be catastrophic for millions of people. The mighty Brahmaputra supports a diversity of ecosystems and millions of people from its sources in the northern slopes of the Himalayan mountains in Tibet to the hilly regions of eastern India, to the world’s largest delta in Bangladesh. Downstream, Indian and Bangladeshi groups have repeatedly expressed concerns about large scale Chinese water control projects. Two years ago, the Indian state of Assam’s Union Ministry of Water Resources expressed serious reservations about the possibility of a major water diversion and hydro-electric project at the “Great Bend” of the Brahmaputra, where the river takes a sharp U-turn to flow into India. The current insensibility of certain Indian leaders providing an international velvet glove for the selfish interests of Chinese water industrial complex reverses this position, with potentially disastrous consequences for the environment and populations who depend on the river. If you were to tell a local Tibetan about the Chinese-Indian partnership and ask what might happen because of that, the “backward” local people will most likely predict some kind divine wrath that will cause apocalyptic fate to millions of people. To the Tibetans, the Brahmaputra watershed arguably constitutes one of the most sacred natural landscapes in the universe. Tibetans Buddhist cartographers have rendered the sacred landscape of Brahmaputra as the body of Dorjee Phagmo, female consort of Padmasambhava (Guru Rinpoche), with the various important physical locations such as mountains and lakes coinciding with parts of the deity’s body such as her knees and breasts. This landscape includes Mt. Kailash (Ghang Rinpoche) and Lake Manasarovar on the western tip of the watershed, the meditation caves of Milarepa in its central parts, and Padmasambhava’s (Guru Rinpoche’s) meditation caves and the magical “hidden lands” (Beyul) on the eastern end of the river. Any large-scale development of the sacred waters of mighty Yarlung Tsangpo for profit or “development” would be vehemently opposed by Tibetans, if only they weren’t disenfranchised and silenced. Interestingly, many scientists and experts also echo the Tibetan opposition. Contrary to the common assumption that Tibet is a rich, inexhaustible source of freshwater for many Asian countries – the “Water Tower of Asia” – Tibet is actually an arid region and most of its freshwater resources are fed by the melting of snowy mountains or glaciers. Numerous authoritative scientific studies on the impact of climate change on the Himalayan glaciers have been conducted, almost all of which point to the conclusion that Tibet’s water resources will be exhausted in three to four decades if current rates of glacial retreat continue. If these international and Chinese scientific studies on the impact of climate change on Tibet’s glaciers do in fact hold any weight, then India is supporting, and betting money on, the future of a dying resource on which its eastern regions depend. (For a related editorial, see “Let the Brahmaputra Flow,” http://www.tibetjustice.org/tringyiphonya/num4.html)
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| An essay on Tibetans wearing pelts of endangered
animal on their traditional dress By Tashi Lhamo, a XIth grade student at Central School for Tibetans, Bylakuppe, India. This essay is one of the winners of an essay competition organized by Dharamsala based Tibetan environmental NGO, Tesi Environmental Awareness Movement (www.ecotibet.org) A large number of Tibetans, particularly in eastern Tibet (Kham and Amdo) are wearing pelts of endangered wild animals like Tigers, Leopards and otters trimmed on our traditional garment, “chupa.” In my opinion, I think it is not an important aspect of our culture and tradition. In fact, wearing pelts of endangered wild animals is not a part of our culture. It is important to keep our tradition and culture alive but not by killing animals for their skin. It may look impressive when somebody wears pelts of endangered wild animals but what these animals were feeling when they were caught by the hunters? What feelings were they having when the butcher was sharpening his knife? What feelings were they having when they were cut off? All of these injustices and sufferings just to keep our culture and tradition? I think it is not fair killing animals especially when they are endangered. If using animal products has become a part of our culture, what will happen when all these animals are exhausted or finished? What we will use for our culture and tradition? better to use modern technology sooner than later to substitute some of these products. Then only we might be able to protect these endangered wildlife. They will not become a part of history like dinosaurs and Godzilla’s. I heard that Dinosaurs and Godzillas used to live on Earth once upon a time. Unfortunately, we cannot see these magnificent animals these days. If we keep hunting certain wild animals then these animals will surely become extinct one day. Some people are killing these animals just for greed i.e. money. Hunters in India kill their magnificent national animal Tiger knowing that Tibetan people will buy them. They sell these animal skins at very high price. And Tibetan People also engage in these illegal transactions, wrongly believing it is their culture. None of them think about the poor animals, their feelings, their lives, their suffering. This buying and selling goes on leading to eventual extinction of wildlife. If we Tibetan people stop buying animal skins, then money-minded hunters will definitely stop killing these animals. So it is all in the hands of Tibetan people. Since, we are now living in 21st century, I think anything can be made in factories or modern technology. Artificial pelts of animals, for example, can easily be made. There should be separate company in Tibet producing duplicate pelts or skins of animals and we should also adopt wildlife sanctuaries in Tibet. Animals are exhaustible. For only to keep our culture and tradition we can’t kill the animals, we can’t take their lives. I think just as we take care of ourselves, our lives, animals also have the same feelings like that. I heard that Tibetan people are generally compassionate in nature. But where is their compassion during hunting of animals? Where is their compassion when they wear remnants of a murdered animal on their dress? Life is precious to all, including wild animals. We Tibetans do much prayer to wash off our sins but killing the animals or causing their death by using their products means increasing our sins. Then there is no use of doing prayer. We don’t have any rights to take the animals’ lives. In our prayers, we students always recite: Semchen thamchey dhewa dhang Dhewey gyu dhang dhen par gyur
chig [May all sentient beings get happiness and those that cause happiness We are not following these prayers. I think reciting these prayers
have become more of ritual or show. I think the second line is very,
very important. We shouldn’t only pronounce this but also
follow these prayers. To practice the deep meaning of prayers, I
would like to say ‘live and let live’ to all my brothers
and sisters who are living inside and outside Tibet. - top of page -
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Bombardier’s involvement in the
Golmud-Lhasa railway Bombardier’s complete about-face came as a surprise given that China’s transparent motivation for this project was to facilitate the occupation of Tibet. Former Chinese president Jiang Zemin has publicly admitted that building the railway was a “political decision.” Even the World Bank, with its “increase trade, improve human rights” rhetoric, has recognized Tibet as a disputed territory and a highly politicized region. In 2000 the World Bank’s Inspection Panel found that Tibetans inside Tibet live in a “climate of fear” so great that it is impossible to determine their true opinion of any Chinese government-led development project. In April 2005 the International Tibet Support Network launched a campaign demanding that Bombardier end its involvement in the Golmud-Lhasa railway. Since then, Tibetans and supporters have sent over 5,000 letters to Bombardier CEO, Laurent Beaudoin. At the company’s Annual General Meeting in June 2005, representatives of the Canada Tibet Committee and Students for a Free Tibet appealed directly to Bombardier’s shareholders. Outside of the hotel, where the meeting was taking place, activists staged a large protest with one supporter hanging a Tibetan flag from the roof of the hotel. Bombardier’s responses to our appeals have been arrogant at best. They claim they are not responsible for the railway’s ill effects because they are not actually laying its tracks and insist that they do not have an obligation to resolve political conflicts between Tibet and China. But we know our efforts are having an impact. Bombardier recently issued a memo to their managers in advance of the International Day of Action on November 3rd, which targeted Bombardier offices around the world, informing their staff to prepare “for possible protest activity by Tibet support groups at Bombardier Transportation sites worldwide.” The memo advises staff "not to speak with or accept leaflets from the protestors.” Bombardier must recognize that even their own employees won’t support the company’s quest for profits at the expense of the Tibetan people as countless hundreds of Bombardier employees took our fliers and some even signed our petitions. Members of the Canadian Government, from which Bombardier receives large subsidies, have also responded to our campaign and expressed concerns about Canada’s role in the building of the railway. Within the next month Bombardier is expected to testify before a parliamentary committee of the Canadian Foreign Affairs department. Bombardier is being taken to task for their participation in the Golmud-Lhasa railway and they will have to publicly defend their involvement in this highly controversial Chinese Government project. China announced the completion of the railroad on October 15th, 2005. But our campaign has brought and continues to bring critical global attention and scrutiny to this project and Western businesses involved. We’ve put the Chinese Government on the defensive; they recently responded directly to our campaign in their state run media. By continuing to increase pressure on Bombardier, we can mitigate the negative impacts of the railway for Tibet and show Western corporations that doing business in occupied Tibet is unacceptable. There is no profit margin in helping China destroy Tibet. [*Kate Woznow is the Canadian national coordinator
of Students for a Free Tibet (SFT) and Lhadon Tethong is the SFT
International Executive Director. They may be contacted via e-mail:
kate@studentsforafreetibet.org
or lhadon@studentsforafreetibet.org]
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| From the desk of Tibetans for a Vegetarian
Society 1st October, 2005 was an important occasion for three reasons. Firstly, it marked World Vegetarian Day. Second, it was the inaugural day of the IXth European Vegetarian Congress. And third, Tibetans for A Vegetarian Society (T4VS) was able to register as the first ever Tibetan veggie group’s participation in any such international meeting. The IX European Vegetarian Congress was held in Riccione, Italy, from 1-7 October, 2005 and was hosted by the Associazione Vegetariana Italiana (AVI) under the auspices of the European Vegetarian Congress. We Tibetans have so many different organizations an have been represented in many gatherings around the world over the years, highlighting the various aspects of our tradition and struggle. However, on the Vegetarianism front, since 1967 when our community, led by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, participated in the World Vegetarian Congress held in India, no such attendance has ever been repeated. Being primarily a Buddhist community that adheres to the root teachings of compassion and love for the universal well being of all sentient beings, T4VS felt it was crucial for Tibetans to be represented in such events and to put ourselves shoulder to shoulder, hand in hand with the rest of the world community in the global effort to make our one precious world more healthy, happy, and humane. Therefore, it was a privilege for two of our members – Ms. Tsering Lhamo and myself – to attend the European Vegetarian Congress. Since T4VS has very limited funding, all the expenses were borne personally by the two of us. The conference consisted of a six-day retreat filled with various programmes from morning to late evening covering different aspects of vegetarianism, as well as other related themes. Since our goals for the Congress were modest – to register our presence, to observe, to learn and to interact – it was a practical and satisfying meeting. During my stay there, I was able to learn many do’s and don’ts about the promotion of vegetarianism. We also had a chance to exhibit the Tibetan counter and distribute flyers and other printed matter, and to show photos from our albums regarding T4VS activities. Most of the Conference participants were friendly and open-minded. At the conference we met many wonderful people from different continents and interacted with them. We felt fortunate to see and meet certain well-known vegetarian advocates like Tina Fox of The International Vegetarian Union, Stephen Walsh of The UK Vegan Society, Hiran Kara of PETA India, Tom Regan of North Carolina State University, Dr. George Guimaraes of Sociedade Vegetariana Brasileira, Renato Pichler of The European Vegetarian Union, Alberto Manganaro of Vivere Vegan, and others. We even came across a few non-vegetarian Italians who attended the meeting. They were joyful in meeting us, appreciated the way in which T4VS embraces everyone - vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike – and concurred that even if people were to just reduce meat consumption or contribute in any other way positively for the cause, it would make a positive difference.
Participation in the European Vegetarian Congress was an inspiring experience for us. We thank all our dear friends and well-wishers across the world for their continued support and love that immensely inspires us. We sincerely look forward and pray that with the kind blessings of Kundun we are able to impart more positive roles unceasingly for the benefit of the society in general. Lastly, Tibetans for a Vegetarian Society would like to congratulate our government, along with the Norbulingka Institute, for hosting the first Vegetarian Kalachakra at Amravati, this January. We are pleased to learn that this measure will be strictly implemented during the Kalachakra and that those who will engage in polluting the sanctity of the occasion by selling meat will be handed to the local police. T4VS completely supports and welcomes such virtuous decisions. A vegetarian Kalachakra will add to the blessings of the Kalachakra initiation by saving thousands of helpless innocent animals that would otherwise die as food during these holy periods. T4VS bows to such wonderful initiatives. Sincerely, Tenzin Kunga Luding [Tibetans for a vegetarian society (t4vs) is the
first Tibetan vegetarian and vegan organization and is a registered
non-profit charitable trust. Visit their website at www.t4vs.com,
or e-mail: t4vs@rediffmail.com] - top of page -
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| A brief report on the meeting of the Tesi
Environmental Awareness Movement members Submitted by Yangchen Dolma Kinga* From September 19 to 21st, 2005, the members of the Tesi Environmental Awareness Movement [the first and only environmental NGO in the Tibetan diaspora] held its first assembly to "Revive, Revisit and Revitalize" their visions, aims and objectives. TEAM is a newly established Tibetan environmental NGO that aims to revive the ecological consciousness of the Tibetan people. During the three-day assembly, TEAM members also revisited their past activities and discussed future action plans. Members were in unanimous agreement that they should stress the education component of environmental awareness building for the first three years, focusing on schools, monasteries and nunneries. TEAM will help build the capacity of existing environmental clubs or help start new ones in Tibetan schools, as well as establishing “Engaged Buddhist” groups in monasteries and nunneriesin India and Nepal. Members also agreed to develop their expertise in traditional Tibetan ecological concepts and practices, as well as Buddhist ecology. Farmers are the other main target group for TEAM. Although the Tibetan Government-in-Exile (TGIE) has provided many workshops and trainings on the importance, efficacy, and implementation of organic farming, there are few actual farmers currently growing organic crops. TEAM felt that having a two-way and multi-track discussionand coordination between farmers on the one hand, and government representatives, AEO’s, cooperative societies on the other,will help remove suspicions about the lack of commercial viability of organic farming.. In next three years TEAM plans to hold several public hearings and forums to reconnect farmers and policy makers in order to prompt the Tibetan organic revolution. In 2006, TEAM will release a report which shares their knowledge and experience of organic farming in Tibetan communities. Members also discussed the various tools and approaches of environmental education such as multi-media (VCDs and DVDs) and print materials, documentaries on select issues such as state of waste disposal in monasteries and schools, activity and games-oriented resources for teachers which complement school textbooks on the environment, training workshops for teachers and environmental leaders, reports, and development of general educational materials on specific issues such as hazards of modern products like plastics, paints, pesticides, and genetically modified crops, and the creation of a Tibetan glossary on environmental terms and concepts. TEAM members also brought in the following local Tibetan resource persons to act as consultants in areas such as project planning and implementation: from the CTA Planning Commission staff, Tenzin Loden la; team building exercises from Tibetan Center for Conflict Resolution staff, Sonam Dechen la, environmental education in Tibetan schools from TCV staff, Phuntsok Tsering la, and addressing members of monastic community from Institute of Buddhist Dialectics member, Dhakpa Tsundue la. TEAM is preparing to lead around 40 school-going children, many of whom have no homes to go to during winter vacation, to the Amravati Kalachakra 2006 for a month long intensive environmental leadership program. A series of "Earth Steward Workshops," that include practical hands-on environmental work, will be given to the students to help make Amravati a trash-free Kalachakra Over a lakh pilgrims are expected to gather at Amravati for two weeks in January 2006. The main goal of this month-long project is to affect the ecological consciousness of the Tibetan pilgrims through youth empowerment and service training in clean-up and environmental education initiatives. [*Yangchen Dolma Kinga is the project officer of
Tesi Environmental Awareness Movement, the first and only Tibetan
environmental NGO in diaspora. Yangchen may be contacted via email
at anchen@rediffmail.com] - top of page -
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| Nepal Makes Tibetan Refugees’ Life
More Difficult (Source: Nepal News, phayul.com, Oct 24) For the last several years, under diplomatic pressure from China, Nepalese authorities have been curtailing Tibetan activities that China deems sensitive, such as the celebration of the Dalai Lama’s birthday or the commemoration of Tibetan National Uprising Day. In yet another blow to Tibetan (and Bhutanese) refugees in Nepal, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has officially approved a policy that denies issuance of travel documents to refugees. According to Nepal News, this policy “could be a result of the ‘China Card’ that the royal government is playing as part of its ‘new foreign policy’, particularly after the political change of 1 February this year.” On October 13, 2005, Nepalese police arrested four Tibetans (Wangdue M20, Ngawang Yonten M22, Dawa M25 and Tsekyi M23) at the Nepal-Tibet border town of Rawosa, according to Voice of Tibet. These refugees were later fined over ten thousand rupees each on charges of illegally entering Nepal and traveling without documents. “If they fail to pay the penalty on time they will be sentenced to more than two years in prison. On payment of the penalty, the accused will be handed over to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees,” reported phayul.com. According to Robert Sloane, of Tibet Justice Center and author of the seminal report, “Tibet’s Stateless Nationals: Tibetan Refugees in Nepal,” “Nepal is entitled to have and enforce its immigration laws, but incarceration for failure to pay a fine violates the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Nepal has ratified.” In 2003, in one of the most deplorable violations of the customary
international legal norm of “non-refoulement” Nepalese
authorities arrested eighteen Tibetan refugees, including eight
minors, who had all made an arduous journey on foot over the Himalayan
mountains to flee Tibet, and returned them back into the hands of
Chinese authorities. According to Sloane, “Under customary
international law, it is unlawful for any country, including those
like Nepal that have not ratified the Convention Relating to the
Status of Refugees or its Protocol, to return ("refouler")
refugees to a state where they have a well-founded fear of persecution
based on their race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or
membership in a particular social group. As a matter of protocol,
all refugees should be evaluated by UNHCR or national authorities
to determine whether they fall within the international definition
of a refugee, and if so, turned over to UNHCR immediately.” |
| China Bans Placer Gold Mining in Tibet Autonomous
Region (Source: Asia Pulse, Oct 10) The regional government of TAR has issued a public announcement that placer gold mining will be banned starting from January 1, 2006. Placer gold is the gold which has already eroded out of the rock in which it was originally formed, and now lies in stream beds (or former stream beds) awaiting discovery. The easiest gold to find, placer gold can be found by anyone with patience to sift through pebbles on a river bed in order to sort the gold from everything else. According to Gabriel Lafitte, an advisor to Trin-Gyi-Pho-Nya editorial board, “there are a few reasons why placer deposit extraction might be banned. One is that it causes an uncontrolled rush not under official control, and the profits go to poor and lawless miners who bribe and bully their way to the gold, rather than allowing higher authorities the chance to get wealthy. Secondly, rushes encourage lawlessness, prostitution, gambling, the cutting of any nearby forest and other environmental damage, with no-one to hold responsible. And thirdly, the existence of placer gold is often a signal that a much larger deposit, not yet eroded from the host rock in which it formed, is located upstream, awaiting industrial mining. If the placer deposit is quickly removed, the signs pointing to an upstream source are destroyed, making it much harder for large-scale operations to be planned. So we need not suppose environmental protection is the main motive. In fact the Chinese announcement does mention the slogan of the day, a stable and harmonious society, and that is likely to be the reason.” Gold has risen in price by 80 per cent globally in the past year,
making Tibetan deposits much more attractive, both to official enterprises
and to unofficial seekers of instant wealth. Tibet has much gold,
in many locations, and much is not placer gold but finely disseminated
particles spread throughout the host rock, so small it is invisible
to the human eye. These so-called Carlin deposits occur all along
the China-Tibet border and if they are mined, it will likely be
done by large industrial enterprises, and probably with foreign
investors as partners and suppliers of advanced technology.
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| Tibet's mountain gods have a way of preserving
nature (New Scientist magazine, Nov 26, Issue: 2527, p. 18. Directly quoted from Phayul.com) Conservationists have reason to be grateful to the Tibetan god Kawa Karpo. Places that Tibetan Buddhists revere as the dwelling places of deities nurture more types of plant species than nearby unhallowed ground. Danica Anderson of the Missouri Botanical Garden in St Louis and colleagues compared plants growing in the "Medicine Mountains" in the north-west of China's Yunnan province with those in non-sacred areas. The sacred spots abounded with rare plants both in types and number, and also in plants Tibetans use for everything from household brooms to traditional medicines (Biodiversity and Conservation, DOI: 10.1007/s10531-004-0316-9). There are several possible explanations, says co-author Robert
Moseley of the Nature Conservancy in Yunnan, China. "Did the
people who set up this sacred landscape choose areas that were inherently
richer? Or are the areas less used?" Local people observe different
hunting and tree cutting restrictions in sacred areas, which could
afford protection, and the finding presents a conservation opportunity,
says Moseley. "Preserving the cultural landscape and biodiversity
are in sync." Local Yunnan officials are starting a pilot programme
to fold sacred sites into conservation efforts.
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| Update on Railway Line to Lhasa (By Taryn Firkser, intern Tibet Justice Center) The controversial railway line stretching between Golmud and Lhasa was officially completed on October 15, 2005. The occasion was marked by celebrations at the Lhasa Railway Station which were attended by such dignitaries as Vice Premier Huang Ju. At the event, official sources hailed the railroad project as an “unprecedented triumph” highlighting China’s “success in making the impossible possible.” The rail line, which stretches nearly 2000 km across the Tibetan plateau, has been touted as the world’s highest railroad, traversing territory over 5000km in altitude at some points. Test runs are scheduled to begin in July 2006. The Chinese government has also announced plans to extend the railroad further into Tibet over the next five years. Tibetans and supporters have been concerned about international
support for this railway project. Recently Bombardier, a Canada-based
rail industry leader, has been the target of such concern due to
its commitment to supply railcars for the railway line. Due to pressure
imposed on the company, Bombardier has been ordered to defend its
investment in the project in front of a parliamentary committee
of the Canadian government. So, while Chinese officials celebrate
their success in laying the final tracks of the railway line, others
around the world are continuing to apply pressure to prevent international
investment in the rail line and to publicize the implications of
the rail line for Tibetans. - top of page -
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| Shahtoosh Case Won in the Supreme Court
of India (Source: Wildlife Trust of India, November 23. Courtesy: Taryn Firkser) In its recent decision
in the case of Ashok Kumar vs the State of Jammu and Kashmir, the
Supreme Court of India ordered the State of J&K to ban the manufacture
and trade of shahtoosh shawls. These shawls, which often sell for
several thousands of dollars, are made from the fine hairs of the
Tibetan antelope, despite the fact that the antelope is an endangered
species protected by numerous acts, including the J&K Wildlife
Protection Act. The shawls are often exported internationally despite
the fact that international trade in shahtoosh has been prohibited
under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species
of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) since 1979. Although questions were
raised about protecting the traditional livelihood of the shahtoosh
weavers, the panel of three judges made the point that if they continued
to weave these shawls, the Tibetan antelope would soon be extinct
and the shahtoosh trade would therefore end in any case. Although
Mr Ashok Kumar, Vice Chairman of the Wildlife Trust of India, was
happy with this decision to protect the antelope from extinction,
he noted that it remains to be seen whether enforcement of the ruling
will be successful. - top of page -
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| Wither EIA of Salween Dams Project? (Source: Three Gorges Probe, Oct 19; Wen Wei Po, Oct 11; Salween Watch) China’s plan to build a series of 13 large dams on the Salween River (also called Gyalmo Ngulchu in Tibetan, Nu Jiang in Chinese and Thanlwin in Burmese) - southeast Asia’s longest major river, as of yet uninterrupted by dams - has attracted serious concerns from environmentalists and community leaders from all the riparian countries. According to reports, an appeal letter representing ninety Thai and Burmese environmental and community groups was sent to Beijing urging the Chinese authorities to keep the pristine international river free from dams. Many of these groups have been campaigning since 1999 to prevent the construction of big hydropower projects on the Burmese and Thai sections of the river. Now, also concerned about upstream dam plans of the Chinese government, the Thai-Burmese letter supported the demands and concerns expressed by 61 Chinese groups and 99 individuals in a separate letter that was issued earlier, on August 25, 2005. According to The Three Gorges Probe, by October 19, 2005, the August 25 letter has been endorsed by 87 Chinese organizations and 380 scientific experts, environmentalists, journalists and other individuals. These letters mainly demand the disclosure of the environmental impact assessment report, but so far no one seems to know which governmental department office -- the State Environmental Protection Agency, the Yunnan provincial government or someone else -- has these documents. The 13 dams are expected to drastically affect several endemic
fish populations and permanently displace about 50,000 people, with
the highest and the northern-most Song Ta Dam displacing 3,600 people
in Tibetan inhabited areas. Apart from the environmental and human
concerns, the project also attracted concerns about its impact on
UNESCO World Heritage Sites from the UN as nine of the thirteen
dams reportedly fall within World Heritage Sites. Recently, Hong
Kong newspaper Wen Wei Po reported that Mr. Xu Jialu, the Deputy
Secretary-General of the Standing Committee of the National People's
Congress revealing that the final approval for the project has to
be “probably” approved by the Central Political Bureau
of Chinese Communist Party. - top of page -
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ICT criticizes Beijing’s adoption
of the Tibetan Antelope as Olympic mascot - top of page -
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Solving the mystery of the Tibetan Plateau A University of Alberta physicist who helped solve the mystery of how the Tibetan Plateau became so elevated is still uncovering information about the region. Several years ago Dr. Martyn Unsworth and a team of scientists from China and the United States used low-frequency radio waves to discover the mid-crust of the plateau is like a big waterbed. The hot, molten rocks supporting the plateau are less dense than cold rocks, which means they slowly rise. That discovery provides an explanation for how the whole of Tibet might rise over millions and millions of years. Unsworth has since learned that geological makeup is typical of
the whole length of the Himalaya, not just a small region. Dubbed
the roof of the world, the plateau contains not just Mount Everest,
but nearly all of Earth's territory higher than 13,125 feet. The
area, formed when India rammed into Asia about 50 million years
ago, is considered a showcase of plate tectonics. Unsworth's latest
findings appear in the current edition of the scientific journal
Nature. - top of page -
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Export Oriented Hydro-electric Dams
on Yarlung Tsangpo During October 11 and 24 period, the China Water Resources and Hydropower Design and Planning Institute sent a team of experts to explore and survey the hydropower resources in the middle reaches of Yarlung Tsangpo River (Brahmaputra). They aimed at exploring how to utilize the hydro resources in this section of the river. It is said that the theoretical hydropower capacity is as high as 200,000 MW and the technically feasible capacity is also as high as 110,000 MW, which is already one-fifth of the national total capacity. The team did a comprehensive survey, including the design of the reservoir, the cost, the machinery, and the geological and biological environment, in nine selected sites, including Laohuzui, Wolong, Binzhong, Jiangzhong, Jiangmula, Langzhen, Laohukou, Cangmu and Zhaxue. The power generated from these dams are mainly designed for supply
through ‘West to East Energy Transmission Project’ to
Chinese cities, however recent reports indicate that China has found
a new customer – India. According to Hindu, China Electricity
Council, a consolidated organisation of China's state-owned power
enterprises and institutions, is favorably considering to sell power
generated from Nyangchu dams to India, after a series meetings with
high-level energy related delegations from India. - top of page -
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Eighteen Tibetans jailed in Nepal As the winter sweeps in, the flow of tibetans across the Himalayas from Tibet is increasing and Nepalese government continues to play tough on them. Late November, 18 Tibetans who crossed the Nangpala pass and entered nepal through Solokhumbu were arrested somewhere in Bara district on a highway enroute to Kathmandu. They were taken to the immigration office in Kathmandu and sentenced to eleven months in jail on 28th of November. The Authorities in nepal say these people have entered Nepal without any legal papers and fined NRS. 8500 per head which if they could pay will reverse the sentence. Among the eighteen Tibetans jailed, three are from what China calls Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) and rest of them are from Tibet's eastern region Amdo. They are young energetic Tibetans from the age range of 16 to 30. The United Nations refugee office in Nepal and the Tibetan Reception
Center have worked hard to release those 18 Tibetans but in vain.
Such incidences have been frequent in the recent years. There was
a “Gentleman’s Agreement” between the Nepalese
government and the United Nation's refugee office that tibetans
escaping from Tibet should be handed over to the UNHCR, but that
seems to be loosing it efficacy. |
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