“In the past,
our rivers were crisp and clean, the mountains and valleys were known for their
natural beauty. But now the rivers are polluted with poisonous waste from the
mines,” is what a local resident said to Radio Free Asia hoping that letting the news out to the world would at least raise
pressure on local authorities to act as the
people’s government, rather than
of the mining companies. Such grievances are numerous and wide spread among the
Tibetan population in recent years due to the desecration of their mountains
and poisoning of their rivers by destructive mining practices followed in
Tibetan areas under Chinese occupation.
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| Fig1. River Poisoned by Gyama Mine |
On September 23, 2014, more than 1000 local Tibetans of Dokar and Zibuk villages near Tibetan capital city Lhasa protested against poisoning of their rivers by Gyama Copper
Poly-metallic Mine. The mine is located close to a stream that
locals use for drinking, irrigation and animal feeding. But as always, the
local officials conveniently declared that the water pollution in the rivers
was caused by natural factors and not by the mine.
A similar official statement was issued back in 2013,
when 83 mine workers of the same mine were killed in a mine induced landslide due to mismanagement of mine waste or over-piling of
mine waste rocks on a steep V-shaped valley. The official statement was
obediently published by Xinhua News without the slightest hint of journalistic
objectivity despite the loss of so many lives. This systematic approach without
any legal transparency and with no sense of compunction by the local Chinese
government in Tibetan areas has become a dangerous trend and bizarre scenario.
The Gyama Mine is operated by Huatailong Mining
Development, a subsidy of the China National Gold Group Corporation, and
ironically is praised as eco-friendly and a model mine by China. If the
standard and qualification for a model mine is of such, then the plight of the
people and state of the environment is seriously in danger. The deliberate and
systematic falsification of causes behind the Gyama mine landslide and river
water poisoning by Chinese local government could only be explained by
themselves.
But a 2010 article titled “Environmental impact of
mining activity on the surface water quality in Tibet: Gyama valley,” by Xiang
et al., firmly ascertains that “a localized severe heavy metal contamination is
documented in the stream water of Gyamaxung-chu (chu means river) and
wastewater treatment facilities in the Gyama valley.” It also states that “the
environmental risk at the Gyamaxung-chu source area, where the measured
contents correspond mainly to geochemical background was zero. However, there
was a very high risk at the upper and middle parts of the stream and it appears
to be both natural and accelerated by the extensive mining activities. The
levels of metals (such as lead, copper, cadmium and zinc) represent the high
risk for the environment, including local human populations and their
livestock.”
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| Fig2. Dokar Village where the poisoned river flow through |
The article further goes on to say that “ the
great environmental concern are the many mining and processing deposits
in the valley, containing large amount of heavy metals, such as lead, copper, zinc and manganese etc. These deposits are prone to leak its contaminants
through seepage water and erosion of particulates, and pose therefore a future
risk for the local environment and a potential threat to the downstream water
quality.”
Gyamaxung-chu is a mountain spring fed by groundwater, rain and melting
snow with continuous flow throughout the year providing life for the many
villages situated on its path before draining into the Lhasa river and finally
into the Yarlung Tsangpo or Brahmaputra.
A similar Assessment Report by Environment and
Development Desk of Central Tibetan Administration back in 2013 after the Gyama
mine landslide clearly produced strong evidence to link the landslide with the
mismanagement of mine waste.
Considering the evidences, why do the relevant
authorities refuse to see the truth and deny justice for its own people? Who
granted mining companies so much power that they could get away with killing
its own workers and poisoning community rivers? The only conclusion according
to the local Tibetans is that there is an absolute cozy camaraderie between
mining companies and local officials. The power of this nexus overrides everything else: ethnic cultural rights, local community interests,
mineral resource extraction procedures and environmental
laws. They could even manipulate official media and experts to validate
outright crimes against its own people and the environment.
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| Fig3. Dokar Village with Gyama Mine Site seen in the background |
The recent protest against river water poisoning is a
desperate attempt after almost five years of continuous pleas to the Chinese authorities in Lhasa. The so called people’s government threatens and
intimidates its own people for raising such issues of public interest. The
people are left with no choice but to seek help from the outside world by
appealing to international media, hoping Beijing would take notice and the
central government would come to their rescue. I am sure Beijing cares about
the welfare of its people. According to a report in China Daily (23-01-2013)
the central urban areas of Beijing city alone have 300 water quality monitoring
stations. How many such stations are there in the Tibetan areas and why are the
people of Gyama valley denied of such rights?
The poisoning of Tibetan rivers will have catastrophic
consequences to both China and the world, as Tibet is home to the largest store
of accessible fresh water and source of Asia's six greatest rivers (Yangtze,
Yellow, Mekong, Salween, Indus and Brahmaputra), feeding some of the world's
most populated nations like Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Burma, Thailand, Laos,
Cambodia, Vietnam and China.
Tibetans take great pride in the purity of their rivers and causing river water pollution is simply against their way of life. In the 11th century when Indian Buddhist
scholar, Atisha Dipamkara visited Tibet, he was overjoyed by the
freshness and purity of Tibetan rivers so much that he recommended the waters of
Tibet be served as the greatest offering to Lord Buddha. Since then the unmistakable
Tibetan culture of water offering is prominently visible in every home and
monastery. But what will the people of Gyama valley would offer to the Gods,
when the very basic necessity of drinking water for the community is poisoned?
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Tempa Gyaltsen Zamlha is an Environment Research Fellow at the
Tibet Policy Institute