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TRIN-GYI-PHO-NYA: Tibet's Environment & Development
Digest
October 5, 2004, Vol. 2, No. 5
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Trin-Gyi-Pho-Nya
Index
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| I. Editorial: Save Tiger Leaping Gorge
of the Three Parallel Rivers World Heritage Site The United Nations Educational Science and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Committee and the World Conservation Union (IUCN) must urge China to halt the Tiger Leaping Gorge dam project that threatens the integrity of the Three Parallel Rivers World Heritage Site in Yunnan Province. Local people, non-governmental groups and visitors including local and international journalists are outraged at the blasting and construction workdigging of holes that has started recently at a gorge known to the local Tibetans as “Tak Chong Gak” and to the people of China as “Hutiaoxia.” Tak Chong Gak is one of the most spectacular and awe inspiring natural formations in the area. With the support of provincial leaders who stand to benefit from the project, construction work has started without proper approval. The project was approved on July 27, 2004, without several project reports required by Chinese law. If the Chinese central government does not stop the project, it will once again find itself in the position of having to support a poorly planned, environmentally disastrous initiative simply because it has already been built. In reality, the Hutiaoxia dam project will be a huge blow to the efforts by China’s third generation of leaders’ in crushing corruption and steering the country towards sustainable economic development. Speaking for the local people in a signed petition from 9 Chinese organizations, “[t]he local people are not rich but can enjoy basic living.” “Under the high-dam proposal, nearly 100,000 people would be forced to resettle. If the plain is inundated, people will have to move to the high mountain slopes and grassland. This will substantially reduce agricultural production and living standards. The elderly and disabled would face impacts to the livelihoods and subsistence, which would affect the social stability of ethnic minority communities in the region.” “This area, which contains the first bend of the Yangtze River, witnessed some major historical events in ancient China. Ethnic minority groups like the Naxi, Zaxi (Tibetan), Bai, Yi, Miao (Hmong) and Lisu have … lived here since ancient times and created a shining cultural past. Cultural heritage sites are distributed across the riparian river valley. Once the dam is built, these will be inundated under water. The damages will be irreplaceable,” implores the petition. An inconsistent and unscientific resource management policy practiced throughout China is allowing short-term, profit-driven disruptive projects inside designated protected areas of natural and cultural significance. This practice now threatens Tiger Leaping Gorge and the first bend of the Yangtze River, key features of the Three Parallel Rivers region. If actions are not taken, the dam will silence the Yangtze River’s natural roaring flow in one of the most spectacular gorges on Earth. [Readers may directly contact the World Heritage Committee and the World Conservation Union to urge China to save the Tiger Leaping Gorge at the following addresses: World Heritage Committee, The World Conservation Union - top of page - |
| II. Feature: Tibet Justice Center Prepares
For Bangkok IUCN Conference This November, Tibet Justice Center will send a four-member delegation to the World Conservation Congress in Bangkok, Thailand. The Congress, which is the general assembly of IUCN, The World Conservation Union (formerly known as the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) brings together more than 70 states, 100 government agencies and more than 750 civil society members in order to debate and dialogue on how best to ensure that any use of natural resources is equitable and ecologically sustainable. These numbers make this the single most important forum on the planet dedicated to environmental conservation, and the only place in the world where governmental and non-governmental bodies have an equal voice on environment and development issues. “Tibet Justice Center is the only group advocating for Tibetan concerns at this international forum where China is also a member. Our goal is to allow Tibetans to directly engage Chinese and regional governmental and non-governmental delegation members on substantive environmental issues relating to Tibet,” said Tashi Tsering, Delegation Head and Director of TJC’s Environment Program. An active member of IUCN, Tibet Justice Center has set many precedents including the negotiation and agreement with China on two international environmental resolutions for the protection of Tibet’s environment. In the last World Conservation Congress, two Tibetan delegates from Tibet Justice Center negotiated face-to-face with Chinese government representatives and came to an agreement on an issue of mutual concern, keeping hope alive that a Tibetan-Chinese dialogue on broader issues is also possible. “Our delegation to Bangkok will continue these diplomatic and substantive efforts on behalf of Tibet, Tibetans, and the broader region,” said delegation member John Isom, a veteran Tibetan environmental advocate from the 1992 Rio Summit to the 2002 Johannesburg Summit. “This year, I am pleased that two aspiring Tibetan environmental advocates—Ngawang Legshe and Thinley Norbu are also attending the Congress. Mr. Norbu and Mr. Legshe will receive practical training in international environmental legislation and advocacy on behalf of Tibet, in addition to an opportunity to develop their own personal interests,” said Isom. Highlights of Tibet Justice Center goals for the 2004 IUCN World Conservation Congress are to: • Dialogue directly with the Chinese government and representatives
of civil society groups and find avenues for cooperative work. “Tibet Justice Center is excited to provide training in environmental
advocacy to a new generation of Tibetans,” said Chris McKenna,
Executive Director of Tibet Justice Center. “The IUCN Congress
provides an ideal platform for Tibetan environmental leaders to
learn a gamut of skills—from lobbying at the Secretariat level
for protection of Tibet’s environment to face-to-face diplomacy
with Chinese delegates to coalition-building with other NGOs.” - top of page - |
III. OP-ED: Eastern Tibet: Development
and the Reality on the Ground If you travel west on the road from Dartsedo toward Lhasa, it quickly becomes apparent that the Chinese government is sparing no expense to “develop” the towns and villages of Kham into cookie-cutter copies of their eastern relatives. Multi-story buildings are springing up with the requisite stalls underneath selling the same varieties of hardware, auto parts, foodstuff, clothing, and pharmaceuticals. Workers are brought in for the construction. Merchants follow to set up their shops and restaurants. What is missing in all of this activity is any kind of participation by the local Tibetan population. As one heads further and further west, there is a distinct split between the Tibetan farmers and nomads who populate the region and the mostly Chinese businessmen and women who own the stores, restaurants, and hotels that garner the majority of the cash flowing through the area. Tibetans are once again being left behind, and will soon be completely excluded from the development picture. While we on the outside spend a considerable amount of time and energy discussing the finer points of participatory, sustainable development, the harsh reality is that inside Tibet, the Tibetans are about to lose their last chance to be participants in an economy, rather than victims of it. Is this Chinese-style development desirable? Absolutely not. Should the Tibetans have the right to decide how their land and their resources are developed? Absolutely so. What is more important now, however, is that the Tibetans actually survive. And now, their very survival is imminently endangered in the eastern regions of Tibet, where the Chinese government’s “development” machine is steamrolling right over them. The only thing that will prevent the extinction of Tibetans as a distinct people is a massive effort to educate them. Without adequate education, Tibetans are doomed to subsistence living in one of the most unforgiving environments on the planet. Much as we glorify the traditional lifestyle of Tibet’s nomads, there is nothing romantic about living in a smoke-filled yak-hair tent for months at a time at 35 degrees below zero. Neither is their traditional lifestyle sustainable under current Chinese rule, unless you count merely getting by as an acceptable state of affairs. A good number of the children in Kham are malnourished. They suffer and die from illnesses that are easily preventable with basic hygiene and vaccinations. The young men spend considerable time drinking, gambling, or playing street-side pool. The young women resort to sex work to make a living. Their lives are neither happy nor comfortable, and there is no sign that the “development” going on in Kham and in other regions is going to change this. If the Tibet support community wants to help Tibetans participate
in development in a meaningful way, the single most important thing
to do is to support efforts to educate Tibetans inside Tibet, so
they have a fighting chance against the far more powerful and plentiful
Chinese population. All of this must be done in subtle ways, by
supporting the people and organizations already working there, so
that the Chinese government isn’t tempted to curtail these
efforts. If we fail to help the Tibetans inside improve their lives
in ways that support their participation in economic development,
gaining Tibet’s freedom will be nothing more than a Pyrrhic
victory. - top of page -
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| IV. Do Not Forget To Use Scientific Practice
And National Ethnic Policy To Guide Development by Liexie [English translation by Dolker Tenzing. The original Chinese language article was published in 8-09-2004 issue of "Renmin Zhengxie Bao," a CPPCC Daily. CPPCC is equivalent to the Parliament/Congress of China.] The current hydropower construction craze on Dadu River [Gyarong Ngulchu in Tibetan] is a new phenomenon and raises different issues. This makes us rethink at least two issues. First, pay attention to past experiences. The western Sichuan region is one of the largest natural forest areas in China as well as the largest protected area for the natural integrity of the Yangtze [Drichu] River headwaters. The 1998 flood disasters caused by indiscriminate logging in western Sichuan is still fresh in our memories. Implementing rehabilitation projects like the Natural Forest Protection (Tianbao) project and returning agricultural land to forest have helped restore local ecosystems in west China. However, this did not last long. Today, we are facing another potential disaster, driven by the improper objectives and improper development methods of hydroelectricity construction in western China. Scientists, environmentalists and experts point out that planners have neglected environmental costs of water resources development in western China. Investors and concerned authorities only see the short-term economic gains from hydropower but do not see the long-term negative impacts on local social and environmental aspects. The damage to the Western environment by constructing a dam will be far more than the damage caused by cutting down trees. Even now, some people still hold the concept of “man conquers nature” and try to exploit natural resources without considering consequences. Secondly, national ethnic policy needs to be implemented in the Western Development Campaign. Western development is a great work plan designed by the Central Government, gaining support from all walks of people in China. Many big projects have been implemented based on respect for ethnic policy and ethnic culture. Everyone knows that great achievement has been made in the recent years. But the crazy and out-of-control situation of the hydroelectric projects on the Dadu River in the Ganzi [Kartse] Tibetan prefecture has drawn our [Chinese journalists’] attention. Dadu River areas are considered the Ethnic Corridor, inhabited by Yi, Tibetan and Han nationalities. The Ganzi prefecture is especially a predominantly Tibetan area. Historically and traditionally, ethnic people live peacefully with the natural environment. They preserve the environment and protect animals. The Tibetan people deeply believe that local ecosystems are an inseparable part of the Tibetan culture and way of life. The environment in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau has little disruption
of human activities. The majority of natural resources are still
in a primitive condition. The environment and way of living has
great value for social, economic, historical and cultural studies.
This not only is a great asset for China but also for the whole
world. At the same time, we should understand that the environment
in western Sichuan region is very fragile. Once it is destroyed,
it will be very difficult to recover. So, the model of economic
development in ethnic areas should be different from those in the
central and east part of China. Many facts show that natural resources
development in ethnic areas is hard work and a delicate matter that
requires more time spent in the planning stages. - top of page -
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V. Destroying Natural Treasure in the
Name of Progress Mugecuo lake, known to local Tibetans as [Megoe Tso] Yeti lake, remains one of China's few untainted ecological treasures. Situated in the Ganzi Tibetan autonomous prefecture of Sichuan province, it is surrounded by other pristine glacial lakes, primeval forests, and hot springs. The area is home to more than 1,000 species of rare tropical plants and 2,000 varieties of animals and birds. But this unspoiled land has been targeted for a hydroelectric dam project, pitting Huaneng Power International - China's largest independent power producer, headed by the son of former premier Li Peng - against environmentalists and locals. The battle has intensified in the past months, especially after the new Chinese leadership took over in March. Both Huaneng and opponents of the project hope to get support from President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao. [Huaneng’s] stated intention to generate electricity to meet increasing demand due to the region's rapid economic expansion may be legitimate. But the worry is the lack of a public hearing or debate. In recent years, pressure has been building within the Chinese government to be more accountable to the people. Mr Hu and Mr Wen have spoken extensively about the importance of running a transparent government. If we apply this to the Mugecuo project, it follows that the public - especially experts and local Tibetans - should be allowed to participate in the decision-making process. Moreover, the newly revised Chinese environmental impact evaluation law, which comes into force next month, requires all dam developers to incorporate the views of experts and local residents into the evaluation and review process. For bigger projects, the law requires public hearings to be held. The Mugecuo project should not be an exception. The Mugecuo region is considered one of the world's richest areas of biodiversity. Surely, an international committee, comprising Chinese and foreign experts, should be set up to review the project's environmental impact. Moreover, if the government's goal of building this dam is to improve local economic conditions, the people should be consulted first. Officials in Sichuan told the China Youth Daily that tourism in the Mugecuo lake region, a government-designated national park, has begun to take off and residents are directly benefiting from the unique ecological resources. On top of this, local officials say there are already a number of hydroelectric power stations in the area and power supplies are plentiful. If this is the case, ploughing ahead with the project, without hearing or considering the feelings of the local Tibetans, could further exacerbate racial and ethnic tensions. Tang Xueshan, a professor at the Forestry University in Beijing,
was a member of the review committee. He says he understands the
government's priority of promoting economic development and ethnic
unity in the Tibetan region, but believes preserving China's ecological
resources is equally important. "No other country in the world
allows a dam to be built in national parks," he told the China
Youth Daily. Once these precious ecological resources near Mugecuo
are gone, he continued, "it would be irreparable". - top of page -
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| VI. News-in-Brief (Prepared by Dolkar Tenzing*) 1. Tibetans Arrested for Protesting Against Mining
Activity The three Tibetans – Dejor (age 40), Tsering Dawa (age 40)
and Thartsok (age 33) -- were arrested on September 4, 2004 in Sari
Village of Sog County for protesting against Chinese mining activity,
according to India based Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy.
In July 2004, local Tibetans of Sari Village had protested and managed
to stop the mining activities of Nagchu Mining Department. The arrests
came as a result of heated exchanges between the Tibetans and the
officials over the mining issue. In the aftermath of the arrest,
a group of local Tibetans appealed to the authorities to release
the three Tibetans citing their protest solely as a concern for
the environment. However, the authorities had dismissed the appeal
on the grounds that they suspected political motivations behind
the protest. All of them are currently reported to be in Nagchu
Prefecture Detention Centre. 2. Canadian Company Commences Exploration of Gold Mines
in Amdo Inter-Citic Mineral Technologies Inc., a Canadian gold exploration and development company operating in the Tibetan and Mongolian regions of China, has announced the commencement of exploration on its 275 square km. Dachang gold mine project in Chumarleb (ch: Dachang) county in Qinghai’s Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. According to its press release, Inter-citic has so far commited CDN$3 million to the Dachang project which until now, has been inactive due primarily to a lack of investment capital. Company documents say that Inter-Citic will acquire 90% interest in the project once its total investment commitment of CDN$5.4 has been paid. In 2001, during a Team Canada trade mission to China, Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien announced a partnership between Inter-Citic, the China Non-Ferrous Industrial Trading Group (formerly Minmetals International) and Henderson China Holdings of Hong Kong. The partnership created China Metals Net, the largest e-commerce metals trading marketplace ever to be built in China. Exploration at Dachang will require the construction of a 30-man
camp to house the Canadian geologists and drilling experts who will
form the exploration team. But Inter-Citic has pledged to also work
towards the betterment of the local community, stating on its website
that “As we gain a further appreciation of the circumstances
of the local people through ongoing dialogue and engagement we become
better able to target locally the social benefit of our work”.
Critics of the project fear, however, that such claims will do little
to address the environmental impact of its mining operation. The
Inter-Citic project is situated within the 152,300 square km. nature
reserve park established by the Chinese State Council in February
2003 to conserve wetlands and wild life habitat and to encourage
environmental protection. 3. China Guodian Group Issues Corporate Bonds to Fund Dams China Guodian Group has issued US $ 483.09 million worth of corporate bonds this month. A significant portion, US $ 362.32 million, of the proceeds raised from the sale of bonds will be used for the funding of Pubugou Hydropower Dam Project, that is expected to displace more than a hundred thousand people, including Tibetans and people of 16 other “minority nationalities.” The project is being constructed on Gyalrong Gyalmo Ngulchu river (Dadu He in Chinese) since April this year, in western Sichuan Province near the southeastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau (approx. 103 degrees longitude and 29 degrees latitude). Guodian Group is one of five major power companies in China (the
other four being Huaneng, Datang, Huadian and China Power Investment
Company). Pubuguo Dam, Guodian’s first project on Dadu River,
is estimated to cost more than USD 2 billion, with a total installed
capacity of 3.3 million KW and a capacity to produce 14.58 billion
KW of electricity annually upon completion in 2011. The multi-purpose
project is designed to generate electricity and prevent flooding
and silt flow into downstream dams such as the Three Gorges Dam. 4. Tibetan Government-in-Exile Releases Its Integrated
Development Plan for 2004-2007 The Central Tibetan Administration in Dharamsala, India, released
its second Integrated Development Plan (IDP) for the Period of 2004-2007,
at a “high level Executive Meeting” of members of the
Kashag (Tibetan Cabinet) and other officials. According to a press
release issued by Dr. Kunchok Tsundue, Chief Planning Officer of
the Planning Commission of the CTA, “[i]t took over 13 months
[to prepare the 2004-2007 IDP] since its pronouncement on 10th July
2003 when the background and guidelines to this plan was released.
During the formulation process, all stakeholders were involved in
the various stages of the plan in a participatory way. The plan
comes at a time when the Tibetan population in exile is undergoing
a major demographic, socio-cultural and economic and political change.”
However, the success of this plan depends largely on the availability
of funds to implement the selected projects. The IDP 2004-2007 focuses
on 534 projects and programs with a total budget of US $ 23.2 m,
out of which more than US$ 15 million needs to be raised. 5. New Hydro-Power Station in Luding According to an agreement signed between Kartse (Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture and Huadian Corporation, preliminary phase study of Luding Hydro-power station project will be conducted under the auspices of the two parties. Huadian, the controversial power company that proposes to build a series of 13 dams on Salween River, “will invest in the design, construction and operation of the project.” The project is being pushed forward as an important component of the “Go West” Campaign and the West-East Power Transmission Project. 6. China to Establish Atmosphere Observation on Jomolangma According to a Xinhua report, China will set up a scientific research station on the Mount Everest (Jomolangma) next year, to study atmospheric and environmental changes on the Tibetan Plateau. The station will be established on the flat floodplain near the Base Camp, which is 5,200 meters above the sea level on the northern slope of the Jomolangma. “The station will be mainly used for studying the relationship between the atmosphere on the plateau and the global atmosphere, the exchange between ground atmosphere and tropospheric atmosphere and global environmental changes,” reports Xinhua. According to John Isom, a member of Tibet Justice Center’s
Environment Committee, “The research will add to two growing
data sets. The first deals with climate and environmental change
on the Tibetan Plateau and in the Hindu Kush / Himalaya mountain
complex. These systems drive the annual summer monsoon winds and
the rains that bring agricultural productivity to Pakistan, India,
and SE Asia. The second data set deals with the role of the Tibetan
Plateau in generating regional climate phenomena known as "teleconnections."
While they occur over a region, they influence seasonal weather
trends and extreme events -- such as the number and strength of
hurricanes -- around the world. Other teleconnection centers are
the SW Pacific Ocean, where changes in water temperature bring about
the phenomenon known as "El Nino" several thousand miles
away.” 7. Chinese Expert Expresses Concern Over Lhasa River Hydropower
Development According to an Interfax report, an “assessment meeting” has given a “green signal” to Lhasa River Hydropower Development Report, a development plan for the main stream of Lhasa’s Kyichu River. Reminding all mountains and lakes are holy to Tibetans, Mr. Fan Xiao, the general engineer of Sichuan Geological Prospecting Bureau, who has previously participated in prospecting work for Tibetan hydropower projects, said that there might be same degree of public concern about the new projects as there has been over the hydropower project at Yamdrok Tso (Yangzhuoyong Lake). Electric power supply is currently sufficient in Tibet, so the power generated might be exported beyond the region in order to aid cross-regional development, said the report. 8. Danger of Landslide-Dam in Tibet Caused Anxiety in India A possible landslide-created “dam” rupture on Pareechu River in Tibet caused much anxiety and speculation in India recently. Thousands of Indians living downstream were evacuated to safety and many hydro-power stations were shut for weeks, causing much economic loss to India. “In addition to providing this warning of goodwill, China should have immediately allowed Indian scientists and members of civil society to investigate conditions,” said Tashi Tsering, Director of Tibet Justice Center’s Environment and Development Program. In response, Indian media ran increasingly exaggerated interpretations of the limited information that came from China, supported by bits of “classified information” from satellite images and human intelligence, including the far-flung possibility of a “environmental weapon” that China might “test.” Affected local Tibetans were not discussed in any report. “To avoid such unwelcome circumstances in the future, the two countries must come to an agreement to share scientific information on Pareechu River. However, due care must be taken not to impinge on the livelihoods of local Tibetans in whose sacred lands the Pareechu-monitoring stations would be set up,” said Mr. Tsering. 9. PetroChina Goes Solo on Gas Pipeline With the reported deadlock of negotiations between PetroChina and Royal Dutch Shell and ExxonMobil and Russia’s Gazprom over legal contracts, PetroChina’s US$ 14.5b West-East gas pipeline project goes on its own due to differences between the parties on the tenure of the joint venture and the distribution of shares. PetroChina is also active in Tibet, having completed a gas pipeline from the Tsaidam Basin on the Tibetan plateau to Lanzhou in Gansu Province in 2001. Tibet Support Groups fear that these two gas pipelines will link up in the future to meet demands for energy in eastern China. Ever since the signing of the joint venture between PetroChina and foreign consortium led by Shell on July 4 2002, many Tibetan rights groups have deplored the joint venture to build the controversial 4,000km West-East natural gas pipeline from East Turkestan (Xinjiang) to Shanghai on the grounds that China is exploiting resources from illegally occupied lands, and that the project is part of China's Western Development Plan designed to consolidate political control of Tibet and East Turkestan. Shell has then maintained that it could still withdraw from the project if the findings of a Social Impact Assessment conducted by UNDP-China reveal conflicts with Shell’s ethical criteria. [*Thinley Norbu is a founding member of Tesi
Environment Awareness Movement (TEAM), a Tibetan non-governmental
environmental organization based in India. Mr. Norbu may be contacted
via e-mail at thinor221@yahoo.com]
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