An Open Letter to Copenhagen Summit on ‘Tibet’s Role in Climate Change Solutions‘Monday, 14 December 2009, 5:27 p.m.

Dear Conference participants:   We
write to urge that the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen
give serious attention to the ‘Third Pole’, as Tibet is known for being
the largest repository of glacially stored water outside of the Arctic
and Antarctic. We believe that multinational policies to mitigate the
causes of and adapt to the effects of climate change must consider the
challenges of climate change in Tibet, and include the direct
participation of Tibetan stakeholders, particularly nomads. This is now
a global issue and of huge importance.  On November 18-19,
parliamentarians from 30 countries met in Rome for the 5th World
Parliamentary Convention on Tibet. Climate change was a major topic of
the discussion. As a result, the Convention adopted a Declaration [1] that made the following findings:  “Environmental degradation
on the Tibetan plateau, the so-called Third Pole, as a result of
climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions, the mismanagement of
natural resources by Chinese governmental and commercial interests, and
the settlement of Tibetan nomads into fixed communities, which
separates them from their traditional livelihood and stewardship of
Tibetan grasslands; and  Chinese policies to mitigate and adapt to the
effects of climate change on the Tibetan plateau affect billions of
people in Asia, and that the involvement and experience of Tibetans is
integral to the successful implementation of climate change policies.” 
Further, in the Declaration parliamentarians called on:  “Governments
to explore multinational mechanisms to work collaboratively on the
challenges of climate change in Tibet, including with the direct
participation of Tibetan stakeholders.  To this end, participants of
this convention will draft and publish an open letter expressing the
key importance of Tibet as the Third Pole prior to the U.N. Climate
Change Conference in Copenhagen.”  According to Chinese
meteorologists, temperatures on the Tibetan plateau are rising twice as
fast as the rest of the earth, and Tibet is an increasingly important
barometer of global climate change.. Glaciers are melting, exposing
dark rock and soil, and increasing the absorption of solar radiation.
Due to resultant variations in the monsoon cycle, many areas on the
Tibetan plateau are drying out and desertifying. According to
scientists, the Chinese government’s land-use policies are contributing
to the acceleration of global warming and environmental destruction,
including degradation of the grasslands, on the fragile high-altitude
plateau. These land-use policies include the construction of
infrastructure, an emphasis on urbanization despite a predominantly
rural population, and the settlement of nomads, which is threatening
one of the last examples of sustainable pastoralism on earth. Tibetans
are being deprived of the stewardship of their land at a time of
environmental crisis.  Because Tibet is the source of several
of the world’s largest rivers and plays a prominent role in the Asian
monsoon system, the consequences will affect the lives of millions of
people downstream as well as those on the high plateau. In the long
term, the disappearance of glaciers will create severe water shortages.
Millions of people in Asia have a stake in the fate of Tibet’s glaciers
and grasslands.  Tibet is central to a global climate change
solution, and the Tibetan people must play a critical role in the
implementation of solutions. In addition to providing river water and
monsoon rains to much of Asia, Tibet’s grasslands, if properly
repaired, can serve as a carbon sink. Therefore, we urge negotiators at
the conference to consider initiatives and policies that take into
account the following:  1. Independent, international
scientific assessments of the changes in the Tibetan plateau’s
ecosystems, water resources and land use policies. The participation of
scientists and relevant stakeholders from Tibet and from those nations
that depend on Tibet’s water is necessary for rigorous examination,
analysis and interpretation of conditions on the plateau. This will
facilitate an equitable and durable approach to adapting to and
mitigating the affects of climate change in the region, including
science-based ecosystem restoration and management of the plateau’s
grasslands and forests.  2. Integrated participation of
Tibetans, especially Tibetan nomads, in the decision-making and
management of the plateau’s natural resources. Tibet’s nomads have been
stewards of its rangelands for thousands of years. Their experience is
essential not only for understanding changes in the ecosystem, but for
addressing the threat of degradation of the grasslands. Unfortunately,
government policies are ignoring this essential human resource and
settling and displacing nomads from the grasslands in a misguided
attempt to reduce desertification. This goes against the latest
scientific research that states that livestock mobility is critical to
the health of the grasslands and that grazing can mitigate the negative
warming effects on the rangelands. There is increasing consensus among
Chinese, Tibetan and Western scholars that the traditional ecosystem
knowledge of nomadic pastoralists is an essential component of any
solution. 3. Encourage trans-boundary collaborative
decision-making and governance of the Tibetan plateau’s water
resources, including all regional and local stakeholders. Such
multi-national cooperation will enhance the effectiveness of mitigation
policies and promote equitable adaptation strategies that can reduce
the risk of conflict over competition for water resources.Just
as China is essential to successful implementation of global climate
change solutions, Tibet is indispensable to China’s ability to
implement them successfully. We urge negotiators to ensure that
strategies to address climate change include stakeholders in Tibet,
particularly nomads. This inclusion is essential to understanding,
mitigating and adapting to changes in the Tibetan plateau’s water,
forest, and grassland resources and ecosystems, critical to millions of
people downstream and for the stability and security of Asia.  On behalf of the International Parliamentary Network on Tibet:  Matteo Mecacci, MP, President of the Parliamentary Intergroup on Tibet , Italy  Consiglio Di Nino, Co-Chairman, Parliamentary Friends of Tibet, Canadian Senate Birgitta Jonsdottir, MP, President, The Parliamentary Intergroup on Tibet, Iceland  Peter Slipper, MP, All-Party Parliamentary Group for Tibet, Australian House of Representatives Sanjoy Takem, MP, President, Parliamentary Intergroup on Tibet, India Thomas Mann, MEP, President, Tibet Intergroup, EP Penpa Tsering, MP, Chairman, Tibetan Parliament in-exile, India Dolma Gyari, MP, Vice-Chairman, Tibetan Government in-exile, India Lionnel Luca, MP, President, Study Group on Tibet, French National Assembly Patrick Bloche, MP Vice-President, Study Group on Tibet, French National Assembly Dominique Tian, MP, Vice-President, Study Group on Tibet, French National Assembly Mark Durkan, MP, UK Norman Baker, MP, UK Kent Olsson, MP, Chairman, The Swedish Parliamentary Group on Tibet Dalia Kuodytė, MP, Chairman, the Lithuanian Parliamentary Group on Tibet Daniel Spagnou, MP, French National Assembly Harry Cohen, MP, UK Tim Loughton, MP, Shadow Minister for Children, UK Lord David Steel, MP, UK Isabelle Durant, MEP, Vice-President, EP Sukhdev Sharma, The European Economic and Social Committee Heidi Hautala, MEP, Vice- Chairman, Sub-Committee on Human Rights, EP Eva Lichtenberger, MEP Raul Romeva, MEP Juliette BOULET, MP, Belgium Xavier Baeselen, MP, Belgium Georges DALLEMAGNE, MP, Belgium Mariko Peters, MP, The Netherlands Villy Sovndal, MP, Denmark Nathalie Griesbeck, MEP Aleksei Lotman, MP, Chairman,The Estonian Parliamentary Group on Tibet Beata Bublewicz, MP, Chairwoman, The Polish Parliamentary Group for Tibet Jolanta Szczypinska, MP, Poland  Mike Pringle, MSP, Chairman,The Scottish Parliament’s Cross-Party Group on Tibet