UN Climate Change Summits: With or Without Tibet

*By Zamlha Tempa Gyaltsen

Introduction

The 23rd Conference of Parties (COP23) or the UN Climate Summits will be organized by the government of Fiji. But due to logistic issues to accommodate tens of thousands of delegates from 197 member states, the conference will be held in Bonn, Germany from 6-17 November 2017. This mega event is the world's biggest climate conference attended by heads of states, government delegates, climate scientists, environment researchers and activists from across the globe.

Fiji, which is home to over 870,000 people, is frequently hit by cyclones and floods as a result of climate change. Rapid sea-level rise has threatened the island nation and forced villages to move to higher grounds.

Tibet the Roof of the World

Located far away form the pacific island nation of Fiji, the Tibetan Plateau is another region that is facing the brutal brunt of climate change. A small team of Tibetan delegates, though unrecognized as a sovereign member delegates, have been faithfully attending the UN climate summits since 1992 to voice its plight. His Holiness the Dalai Lama was the first ever Tibetan to speak at such summits on Tibet's environment.

Why Tibet need to be at the UN Climate Change Summits

Tibet, known as the “Roof of the World”, is an environmentally strategic area and critical to the health of the planet. As the world focuses on climate action at COP23 and beyond, Tibet must be central to any progress made on climate change.

The Tibetan Plateau, with an average elevation of more than 4000 meters above sea level and covering an area of 2.5 million square kilometers, is the highest and largest plateau on earth. Tibet is also the head source of Asia's greatest rivers[1] supporting livelihood in 10 most densely populated nations in the world, such as Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and China

After the Arctic and Antarctic, the Tibetan Plateau with 46,000 glaciers, is home to the third largest concentration of ice on earth. Hence is rightly referred to as the planet’s 'Third Pole' and any drastic land cover change on the third pole will resonate across Asia and beyond.

But due to its vast surface area at an extreme elevation, the temperature rise on the Tibetan Plateau is twice more the global average.  This has led to rapid glacial retreat and permafrost degradation. According to an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, 82% of glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau have retreated in the last fifty years. If the current rate continues, then 2/3 of all glaciers on the plateau would be gone by 2050 (Tandong Yao). The fast thawing of permafrost on the plateau would result in the release of vast quantity of carbon into the atmosphere. This could further exacerbate the rising temperature and cause extreme climatic conditions across the world. The plateau not only influences the timing and intensity of Asian monsoons but the increasing heat waves in Europe are also linked to the decreasing glaciers on the Tibetan plateau.

The rapid melting of glaciers would cause sudden surge in river flows in the next few years, causing floods and landslides. But the river volume could reach peak by 2030 and then would start to decline, causing unimaginable difficulties across Asia.

History of Tibetan Participation at the UN Climate Change Summits

His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet

His Holiness the Dalai Lama was the first ever Tibetan participants at UN climate summits when His Holiness was invited at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. His Holiness spoke on the issue of the Tibetan Plateau and its environmental significance.  Around the same time the Environment & Development Desk (EDD) of the Central Tibetan Administration also came into existence. Since then, EDD has been working on Tibet's environmental issues to understand the environmental conditions in Tibet, to highlight the global significance of the plateau and work for the protection its environment.

After His Holiness's presence at the Earth Summit, the second batch of Tibetan delegates to attend such summit was in 2009 when a strong team of Tibetan delegates led by EDD attended the COP15 in Copenhengen. The successful Tibetan presence at Copenhengen resulted in the continued participation of Tibetans at the subsequent UN climate conferences. The Tibetan participants, despite without negotiating rights, sincerely devoted their presence at UN climate conferences on environmental issues in whatever little possible way they could.

After 10 years of His Holiness's presence at the Rio Earth Summit, a lone Tibetan participant at 2012 Rio+20 Earth Summit was a memorable experience for this writer. The experience instilled sense of hope and desire to do whatever little one can in protecting Tibet's environment and contributing to the success of UN climate negotiations. 

Tibetan delegates with Climate Action for Tibet pose at the COP21 UN Climate Summits in Paris

The 2015 participation at the COP21 UN climate summit in Paris was probably the biggest and most successful Tibetan participation. Seminars and side events were held, Tibet Climate Action slogans resonated across the globe. His Holiness the Dalai Lama delivered a powerful and passionate video messages for the world during COP21. In the message, His Holiness said "this blue planet is our only home and Tibet is its roof".

Therefore, the world need to fix the leaking roof instead of playing politics on non-political issues like environment.

Possible Partners: Tibet, China and the World

Environment is an issue that concerns us all. It knows no political boundary as His Holiness the Dalai Lama rightly said in his COP21 message. His Holiness also emphasized that the environmental issues of Tibet is something that concerns not only the Tibetans but over a billion human lives in China, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and other southern regions of Himalaya. Tibetans have always lived in harmony with nature and protected the environment in which they lived, as they have great love and respect for nature.

Tibet witnessed unprecedented number of natural disasters across the plateau with glacial avalanches, droughts and mud floods in 2016. This signaled a drastic climatic shift and a new weather pattern on the plateau. This year the situation got worse with simultaneous floods across much of the South-eastern regions of Tibet, clearly indicating urgent need for action.

There has been some positive environmental changes in recent years and months as the world unitedly signed Paris Agreement in 2015 and Chinese President Xi gave great importance to environment in his opening speech at the recently concluded 19th National People's Congress. There seem to be a common desire among all, the Tibetan people, the Chinese government and the international community to collectively work for a greener and more sustainable future. This is absolutely possible and necessary.

Beautiful Tibet

It's time the Chinese government and the world live up to their pledges and promises in combating global warming and protecting the environment. For a genuine effort in combating global climate, the protection of the Tibetan plateau is paramount. According to V Ramanathan, an atmospheric scientist 'our understanding of global climate change would be incomplete without taking into consideration what's happening to the Tibetan plateau'.

Environment should be considered an apolitical issue that Tibetan people and the Chinese government can work together. We must respect and consult each other on any environmental issues that concerns the Tibetan plateau.

The United Nations Framework Conventions on Climate Change (UNFCCC) should

•          Launch a scientific research studies to better understand both the impact of climate change on the Tibetan Plateau and the Plateau’s critical role in reversing the effects of global climate change. Such studies would inform and enable Tibetans, the Chinese government and the international community to protect, mitigate and adapt to climate change on the Tibetan Plateau.
•        Recognize the global significance of the Tibetan Plateau and world leaders gathering in Bonn must make Tibet central to global climate change discussions.

To avoid a socio-environmental catastrophe, the world need to set political games aside and  act now to protect the Tibetan Plateau’s fragile ecosystem. For which, the Tibetan participation at such climate summits are important and Tibetan voices at climate debates are necessary.

 *The author is an environment Research Fellow at the Tibet Policy Institute

---

[1]  Drichu/Yangtze, Machu/Yellow, Zachu/Mekong, Gyalmo Ngulchu/Selween, Senge Tsangpo/Indus, Yarlung Tsangpo/Brahmaputra),  

Tibetan Researchers speaks at the Biodiversity and environment conference in South India.

Two Environment Research fellows form the Tibet Policy Institute presented their papers at the International Conference on Biodiversity, Climate Change and Environmentl Science 2017, in Coimbatore, South India.

Around thirty different papers were presented at the two day conference. Most of the participants were young Indian scientist and researchers who presented their new finding of their respective field works.  Some of the participants even introduced new data apps that can quickly map biodiversity in a particular region.

Zamlha Tempa Gyaltsen, an environment research fellow at the Tibet Policy Institute (TPI) presented his paper on ‘Climate change on the Tibetan Plateau: Looking at increasing cases of natural disasters on the world’s highest plateau’. 

Mrs Dechen Palmo, environment research fellow at the (TPI) presented her paper on ’China’s strategic interest in the Yarlung tsanpo (Brahmaputra river)’. The talks on Tibet’s environment by the two Tibetan delegates were very warmly received by the organizers and the audience as highly informative. An information that people in this part India has very little knowledge of.

There were some very interesting papers such ‘Rapid urbanization influencing remnet-ecosystem, changing biodiversity in certain areas in West-Bengal’, ‘prioritization and conservation of biodiversity hotspots in western ghats of Maharashtra’.

The conference was organized by the Department of Botany, Nirmala College for Women in Coimbatore, in collaboration with the International Multidisciplinary Research Foundation (IMRF).

The two TPI researchers would also give a talk on Tibet’s environment at the Dalai Lama Institute of Higher Studies, Bengaluru on September 11, 2017 another talk at USI in Delhi on September 15, 2017.

Flooded Tibet: Struggling to adapt to the new reality

Golok Machen Rabgya landslide

On 30 August 2017, a massive landslide buried nine people in Golok Machen region of north eastern Tibet. The horrifying disaster occurred in the early hours of the day (4:30am) while residents were still in bed. The day could have been, otherwise, a beautiful summer morning with nomadic melodies echoing across the valley as residents carry on their daily chores. But life on the Tibetan plateau is no longer the same. According to Science Daily (9 December 2016), climate change may now be affecting the once stable regions of the Tibetan Plateau.

The impact of climate change is evident with unprecedented number of natural disasters across the plateau since 2016, mostly floods and landslides due to torrential rainfall.

As such in 2016, an unusual glacial avalanche in (Aru) Ruthok County of Ngari killed nine people and buried more than 110 yaks. Mud floods and landslide in Labrang, Sangchu, Tsolho and other regions of Amdo injured more than 30 people and caused huge damage. Thus clearly signals drastic shift in the climatic pattern on the Tibetan Plateau.

The shift was apparent as 2017 saw simultaneous floods in many parts of parts of Kham in Tibet.

There is growing worry of the increasing natural disasters and their imminent threat to life of millions. This writer published an article titled 'Natural disasters in Tibet: Is it the new normal' on 8 August 2016, asking the People's Republic of China (PRC) to make necessary arrangements to minimize the impact of increasing natural disasters. The PRC should be applauded for the massive drive to plant trees across Tibet which would have an immense benefit in the future.

Jomda Flood July 8, 2017

But the recent flood damages in Golok, Dege, Jomda, Sokzong and Rongdrak could have been avoided had the Chinese government proactively pursued a policy of safety first in any infrastructure development in Tibetan areas. The government has been forewarned of increasing natural disasters including landslides, torrential floods, snow disasters and forest fires in a 2015 scientific Assessment Report by the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research under Chinese Academy of Science in Beijing. The question is, has the relevant governments taken any measures or framed any policy guidelines to face the new challenges.  Who should be accountable for the loss of life and damage to property?

The plateau is witnessing a rapid rise in both temperature and precipitation in recent years. This inevitable change caused by climate change cannot be avoided but damages could be easily reduced if impact of climate change is taken into consideration while framing any development policies.

To frame any such policy, a thorough study should be done to understand the factors or the causes behind recent natural disasters in Tibet. So following are the few possible causes as per the understanding of this writer.

Climate Change

Climate change is certainly the primary cause for increasing natural disasters in Tibet. The plateau has been witnessing consecutive rise in both temperature and precipitation, especially in recent years. At 0.3–0.4°C per decade, the temperature rise on the Tibetan plateau is twice the global average. This has led to massive permafrost degradation in northern regions of Tibet, resulting in increased water flow as frozen grounds quickly melts and degrades into desert.

According to Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the temperature rise has also caused 82% of glacial on the Tibetan plateau to retreat in the past 50 years.  In many parts of Kham and Amdo, glacials are drastically retreating and mountain slopes are dangerously thawing. As mountain slopes thaw and frozen ground loosen, villages and towns located on hillsides and in narrow valleys are in constant danger from impending landslides.

The situation is further exacerbated by the increased rainfall, especially in the eastern regions of Tibet. This is evident from the Tibet Summer Climate Report (2016) which stated that Tibet experienced higher than average temperature and highest record of monthly total precipitation in the same historical period.

 Rapid Urbanization

Chamdo City

Rapid urbanization has led to land grab as most of the towns and cities in Tibet are located in narrow valleys with little space to extend in either direction. This has led to construction of high rise buildings and over congestion. According to a Chinese government report, the number of towns and cities in Tibet increased from 31 to140 between the years 1990 to 2013.  China has set target of reaching 60% urbanization by 2020 from its 56.1% in 2015. The so-called Tibet Autonomous Region plans to reach its urbanization rate at 30% by 2020 from its 25.7% in 2014. This is 0.4% faster than overall target rate pursued by the Chinese government.  The rush for urbanization is apparent with cluster of buildings coming up in every Tibetan towns and cities.

Chamdo, Shigatse, and Nyintri were declared prefecture level cities. Soon all of the 18 prefecture headquarters across Tibet would be upgraded into prefecture level cities. There are around 150 county level towns that could also grow  into cities.

Poor construction

From the recent floods in Jomda and other Tibetan areas clearly demonstrated poor construction standard. Collapse of many of the buildings could have been avoided had they been built with better standard to withstand floods and earth quakes.

Location or Topography

Most of the towns and cities in Tibet are located in narrow valleys along major rivers, such location are highly prone to floods and landslides. As these towns grow in size, homes cram up on the steep slopes or encroach into the river banks, thus exacerbating the situation to a point where even a small natural event could cause massive damage.

Lack of Adaptation

Lack of adaptation is apparent as both the government and the communities were unprepared when disasters struck. There has been no climate change impact awareness program as both the government officials and general public are unaware of the socio-environmental impact of climate change. Hence natural disasters are taken as local events.

Conclusion

The summers are the best time of the year for Tibetans. People celebrate summer with festivals and picnics. Such a joyful occasion could turn into a nightmare if natural disasters continue to strike. Climate change is a global phenomenon but impacts vary from place to place. The magnitude of climate change related damages depend on how individual governments proactively pursue policies and take measures.  Adaption and Mitigation are the two universally accepted principal solutions in facing the new climatic reality. Lack of awareness weakens any effort in dealing with climate change; hence both the government official and general public should be educated on the possible impacts of climate change

The increased number of natural disasters occurred in the last two years were primarily due to climate change, but it was also partly due to rampant mining, rapid urbanization and irresponsible development works. Necessary mechanism to deal with natural disasters should be put in place for quick response.  A thorough post disaster assessment should be carried out to both understand the causes and to hold those responsible accountable. 

For any future development policies in Tibet, impact of climate change and local socio-ecological conditions should be taken into consideration

Author

Zamlha Tempa Gyaltsen is an environment research fellow at the Tibet Policy Institute. 

Dalai Lama on Environment

On the 82nd birthday occasion (July 6, 2017) of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the Environment  and Development Desk (EDD) of the Tibet Policy Institute brought out an updated 6th edition of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama's speeches on the importance of environment protection titled 'Dalai Lama on Environment,' a collected statements from 1987 till June 2017.

The book highlights the consistent effort by His Holiness on environment protection and makes His Holiness's speech on environment protection for the last 30 years available to the world.

The EDD dedicates the book to millions of people across the world striving for a greener, healthier and more sustainable future for our planet.

download the book here

Following are few extracts from the book:

The three main commitments of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama are promotion of human values, promotion of religious harmony, preservation of Tibet's spiritual heritage and protection of its environment.

Peace and the survival of life on earth as we know it are threatened by human activities which lack a commitment to humanitarian values. Destruction of nature and natural resources results from ignorance, greed and lack of respect for the earth's living things.

This lack of respect extends even to earth's human descendants, the future generations who will inherit a vastly degraded planet if world peace does not become a reality, and destruction of the natural environment continues at the present rate. Our ancestors viewed the earth as rich and bountiful, which it is. Many people in the past also saw nature as inexhaustibly sustainable, which we now know is the case only if we care for itྲ

-His Holiness message for World Environment Day, June 5, 1986

I often joke that the moon and stars look beautiful, but if any of us tried to live on them we would be miserable. This blue planet of ours is a delightful habitat. Its life is our life; its future our future. Indeed, the earth acts like a mother to us all. Like children, we are dependent on her. In the fact of such global problems as the greenhouse effect and depletion of the ozone layer, individual organizations and single nations are helpless. Unless we all work together, no solution can be found. Our mother earth is teaching us a lesson in universal responsibility.

-His Holiness address to Parliamentary Earth Summit,

Global Forum of the UN Conference on the Environment and

Development, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil June 7, 1992

'This blue planet is our only home and Tibet is its roof. The Tibetan Plateau needs to be protected, not just for Tibetans but for the health and sustainability of the entire world'

-His Holiness the Dalai Lama's message for the

COP21-UN climate Summit in Paris, 2015

"Human beings are social animals and heavily interdepended. Climate change threatens us all. It's one of those natural challenges that teach us that we must work together, making a common effort to reach a common goal. A more peaceful world and a more peaceful century require that we rely not on weapons but developing a widespread inner peace."

-His Holiness keynote address at the commencement ceremony for the

Class of 2017, University of California San Diego, US. June 17, 2017

Pika: a misunderstood victim of grassland degradation

*By Jamyang Dolma

Humans emerged as the most dominant species in the world, influencing both the survival and extinction of many species.

Modern civilization with development in many aspects has made people more educated, civilized and ironically more ruthless. We hunt wild animal for their skins, organs, and worst kill them for being pest.

Unfortunately, pika (abra in tibetan ) , small and furry wild animal, scurrying on the Tibetan plateau was the target of a large scale eradication since 1962, as pikas were considered pest causing immense damage to the local ecosystem.

Extensive research on the role of pika on the rangeland of the Tibetan plateau has given rise to two contradictory result:  while some consider them as a keystone species of Tibet's rangeland, others blame them as a factor for declining alpine meadow condition. Finding the actual role of pika on Tibet's rangeland might be too late and the species could soon be in the threatened red list of the international union for conservation of nature (IUCN).

Human footprint is the main cause of Tibetan plateau degrading rangeland. As George Schaller stated in his book, Tibet wild, "pika are not the cause of degraded grassland but the indicator of the overgrazed and degraded land".

Mass poisoning of pika began in 1962 as a pest competing with livestock for forage and causing soil erosion but grassland degradation still occurring, so who should be blamed next?

As Andrew Smith and J. Marc Foggin (1999) wrote in their paper, Instead of spending huge resources on killing them, pika should be considered as an alternative method to save Tibet's rangelands. Pikas are considered keystone species with immense benefit to the rangeland ecosystem in Tibet.

Such as:

·         Pika burrow are used by different type of birds as breeding ground

·         Pika faeces provide nutrient to the soil

·         Pika help in loosening the soil layer making it more suitable for water storage

·         Pika help in prevention of soil erosion

·         they are the food sources for many predators like foxes, wolves, snow leopards and brown bears  (keeping pikas population in control)

·         More importantly, pikas feeds on herbs and other poisonous plant species harmful and unpalatable to livestock.

The extermination of pika population has been justified for their presence on a degraded land and their competition with livestock for food. The antipathy towards pika from local community primarily arises from pika burrowing habitat which deface surface area and cause accident when travelling through such places.  The above reason found to be true to some extend as food scarcity make pika forage on plants preferred by livestock. The mass eradication of pika because of their home location seems very brutal and unfair. The alpine rangeland problems are, in fact, caused by unsustainable use of land by humans without proper and realistic measures. The Chinese government should solve such problem with logical solution instead of blaming pika.

The extermination of pika in 1962 was done by using pesticide sodium fluoroacetate (compound 1080), which is toxic to both human and animals.  Later in the mid-1980s, it was replaced with toxin botulinum type C which affect animals only and kill them by effecting their neuron system. Both toxin are targeted for the pika and other pests in the region, however it has also affect livestock and other wild animal passing through the affected area.

The world would be a sad place, if the once freely roaming, small furry animal largely mistaken for rodent are to be completely exterminated from the alpine rangeland.  Everything in this world has both good and bad sides to it. pika might be harmful to the rangeland of Tibet on the bases of their habitat, competition  with livestock for food but their positive effects on Tibet's rangeland are far greater than their negative impacts  on the complex ecosystem of Tibet.

In conclusion, pike should be used for restoring the degrading rangeland instead of blaming them for current situation.

 *Jamyang Dolma is an intern at the Environment & Development Desk of the Tibet Policy Institute

China’s Ploy in the Riparian Countries

*By Dechen Palmo

China, a country known for its smoggy sky and hazardous environmental conditions, has become a prospective global leader on climate change. The environment is already a massive and potentially explosive issue in China and there is a huge domestic pressure on framing and implementation of better environmental policies. With Premier Li Keqiang's pledge during the National People's Congress on March 2017, to "Make the sky blue again,” China understands its severe environmental problems and the need to find a solution as soon as possible. 

The Zangmu Hydropower Dam

China's 13th five-year plan for energy development, covering the period from 2016 to 2020, was officially published in early January, 2017. It outlines a strategy to reduce reliance on coal and to achieve minimum share of 15 percent of non-fossil energy sources. Specific targets include an additional 60GW of hydropower. China having dammed most of its rivers are now looking to explore Tibetan rivers as potential sources of energy. 

The Tibetan Plateau has the largest reserve of fresh water outside the two poles, making it a source of major international rivers running across Asia. China, now in a position of control over these water resources, makes the riparian countries more dependent on incoming water from Tibet. 

Moreover, China voted against the UN Convention on The Law of Non-Navigational Use of International Watercourses which was adopted in 1997. It is not bound by the law and this gives Beijing an opportunity to use the water without hindrance. And China is using this power by engaging in dam-building and river diversion plans and other activities along international rivers without consultation with the riparian states.

It is justified that many of the South Asian countries have not ratified the UN convention as China (upstream) is not a member of the convention with whom they are dependent for water.

Yarlung Tsangpo (Brahmaputra) is one such river that is causing friction amongst all three recipient countries, especially between India and China. The Zangmu Dam, the largest dam on Yarlung Tsangpo is the cause of serious concern to the downstream countries. Although China’s claim that the dam built on Yarlung Tsangpo wouldn’t impact the flow of the river but the general public who are directly dependent on the river have serious doubts about China’s intention. But the government of India is assuaged by China assurance that the dam built on Yarlung Tsangpo isn't intended to regulate water. 

On January 2013, China's State Council gave a go-ahead for three more hydropower dams on Yarlung Tsangpo, which are Dagu, Jiacha and Jiexu in Lhoka in south Tibet. Beside this, China has planned to construct seven more dams on the mainstream of Yarlung Tsangpo. When will the downstream countries raise this issue with China is still an unanswered question. Will it be after the completion of damming the river?

With China isn't having any water sharing agreement with India and Bangladesh, it is not bound to any treaty and doesn't need to consider the concerns of downstream countries.

In recent years the idea is floated that the hydropower is a source of clean energy.

However this idea falls within the realms of debate. The claim that hydropower is a source of clean energy is being used by Beijing to push dam building projects in the region.

Damming of rivers might seem to some as a source of clean energy, while to others is damaging to the ecology. More ominously experts are aware that many of these dams being built are located in highly seismic prone area.  In an event of an earthquake, ineffective water management and deforestation in this region make the region vulnerable to flood or drought. These dams can wreak havoc accidentally or can be used to choreograph such incident in times of conflict and war. 

A dam breach in May 2000 in Tibet led to a massive flood in Arunachal Pradesh and it caused an extensive loss of life and destruction of key infrastructure. The Indian government accused the Beijing counterpart for not sharing vital and timely information about the water level of the Brahmaputra which triggered a flood to Arunachal Pradesh.  This necessitated the 2002 agreement, in which China agreed to supply river flow data to India during the flood season.  But China refused to talk about its proposed dam building plan. So to avoid any political disputes with India, China shows its cooperative face for a short term when pressure arose and when pressure abates, China returns to its actual plan. 

Moreover the flood remains a concern for the downstream countries and may worsen in the long run with the continued melting of Tibetan glacier as a result of global warming. Yao Tandong, a leading Chinese glaciologist, reports that the glaciers on the Tibetan plateau are now melting at an accelerating rate. He believes that the two thirds of these glaciers could be gone by 2060 if the melting continues at the same rate.

The Yarlung Tsangpo has its water source from these glaciers. If the glaciers continue to retreat at such rate then in future there will be a severe water crisis in Asia.

China continues with dam building on international rivers without consulting downstream countries. When the riparian countries voice their concerns, China always maintains consistency in its response to such accusations, which is invariably a complete denial, and then a promise to consult. After this China continue its dam building activities regardless.

In 2010, there was widespread drought in Southeast Asia because of China's construction of hydropower dam on the upper reaches of the Mekong which originates from Tibet. This drought compelled many of the Southeast Asia to lodge their collective and strong protest to Beijing.

In order to prevent India and Bangladesh from lodging any strong protest, China announced its construction of the Zangmu hydropower station. Beijing also explained that the construction of this dam on Brahmaputra would not reduce its volume of water to the downstream countries.  

Until now, India and Bangladesh have been reactive rather than proactive to show their concern about China upstream dam building. A tripartite agreement between them is imperative. It is therefore time for the governments of India and Bangladesh to come together and start initiating talks before it is too late. 

*The author is an environment research fellow at the Tibet Policy Institute. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of the Tibet Policy Institute.

Garbage Rampage in Tibet

*By Zamlha Tempa Gyaltsen

Why rampant littering on the world's highest Plateau concerns us all

Tibet, once the mystical Shangri-La to the western world, is still one of the most beautiful places and sought after destination for travelers. As per a Xinhua (Jan 3, 2017) News report, a whopping 23 million tourist flocked to the plateau in the year 2016 alone.

But the question is: Is Tibet ready to accommodate such massive number of tourists? 

The so called Tibet Autonomous Region (2017/01/03) says, it’s all set to welcome 25 million tourist this year and 30 million by 2020, ensuring an increase of 1.5 million tourists every year. To realize the 2020 target, the Chinese government has been making huge investments in infrastructural set-up: building roads, railways, airports and cities in the Tibetan areas. With increased access to Tibet, the government is able to mint, billions in tourism revenue.

But the Chinese government has conveniently neglected the imperativeness of the very basic measures and mechanisms needed to cope with increasing human activities in the fragile ecology. That is, garbage management and garbage treatment facilities.  The massive number of visitors to the region leaves behind proportional volume of garbage. The lack of institutional measures and adept governance in waste management has encouraged rampant littering on the mountains and massive waste dumping in the rivers.

Local Tibetan voluntary groups collect waste from mountains sides

Declaring more and more nature reserves or proposing to declare whole of Tibet into a National Park is absurd without providing the very basic infrastructure to deal with the everyday waste.

"Tibet is no longer the same, there are garbage everywhere". Said Tashi who has returned from a recent visit to his home in Karze region (an eastern Tibetan region incorporated into Sichuan Province of China ).  With a sense of frustration, he further added that "the rivers are flooded with garbage and there are no waste management facilities provided by the Chinese government in the rural areas".

The frustration over rampant littering fueled by Government’s apathy is no longer an isolated case in Karze region but is pertinent across Tibet. This is reflected in the numerous local conservation effort of the local Tibetans in recent years.

On 24th of the same month, a management group for sacred mountain Tsari in Nyingtri region of the ‘Tibet Autonomous Region’ made an appeal to the visitors not to litter on the holy mountain.

Until two decades, garbage was never an issue in Tibet. Domestic wastes were ingeniously managed and processed into manures for use in the farms.

But now with global warming and rising temperatures on the roof of the world, increasing human activities and abundance of food products packaged in plastics, the plateau is inundated with unregulated garbage disposal by tourists, pilgrims and construction workers. The traditional ways of waste management no longer remain a viable solution.

Such formidable scenarios, demands a forward-looking leadership to provide the necessary infrastructure, redressal mechanisms and sustainable measures. But the leadership in Beijing has utterly failed on two fronts in surmounting the pressing challenges:

1.      Failed to make general public aware of the health hazards and the environmental impact of garbage.

2.      Failed to meet the governance and basic infrastructure needs for waste management.

Much of the government investment is concentrated in few selected tourist centers and cities housing government officials. As soon as one travels outer-skirt of towns and cities, littering is rampant and governance on waste management almost non-existent. Such situation has compelled the local communities to step up efforts: voluntary environmental groups are formed and tasked to collect truckloads of garbage from surrounding mountains infested with wastes. In the absence of infrastructural provisions to deal with the garbage, the locals take recourse to burning the wastes, thus unintentionally causing greater environmental hazards.

Conclusion

With an area of 2.5 million km² and at an average elevation of more than 4000 meters above sea level, Tibet is the largest and highest plateau on earth. The plateau is not only home to world's highest mountains, storing 46,000 glaciers (third largest store of ice on earth beyond north and south pole) but it's also the head-source of Asia's largest rivers, such as Brahmaputra, Indus, Yellow, Yangtze, Mekong and Salween. Supporting more than 1.3 billion people in the eleven (Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, China) downstream nations.  Any damage to the fragile ecosystem of the Tibetan Plateau would have adverse global repercussions.

Millions of tourists flocking to Tibet are predominantly Chinese, rushing to escape from the toxic smog that engulf much of China. Should the current trend of rampant littering continue in Tibet, the 30 million tourists expected to touchdown in Tibet would be contributing substantially to garbage dumping crisis, thus tragically turning the world's highest plateau into a yet another toxic Chinese province. 

In a bid to avert an impending threat facing the roof of the world, the Chinese government must take prudent measures to address the lapses and ensure that any future investment in the region would result in creating a healthy and sustainable environment; - an environment that millions of tourists and generations of Tibetans could continue to enjoy.

------

*The author is an environment Research Fellow at the Tibet Policy Institute, India