-Filed by Sikyong office-
Czech Republic: President Dr Lobsang Sangay of Central Tibetan Administration met with the Czech Parliamentary Group of Tibet on 7 March.
During the meeting, Dr Sangay said Tibet’s fragility is of particular concern as the region is key to water security of Asia. ”Hence Tibet is not just an issue for 6 million Tibetans, it is also an issue for the whole world. Lives and livelihoods of millions of people directly depend on the rivers originating from Tibet.”
“Rapidly rising temperatures pose a threat to glaciers all over the world leading to water level rise in coastal areas. It shall be pertinent to mention here that more than 50 percent population of the world lives within 200 kilometers from the coastline,” he added.
“China has been upgrading the infrastructure in this fragile region. The big dam projects in Tibet pose a threat to the fragile ecological balance of the region.”
“China has been blindly pursuing its nefarious designs in the region for a plethora of reasons. Being the upper riparian state of many big rivers of the region, it has pursued many big and small dam projects to pressurize the lower riparian countries of South and South East Asia.”
He said, “Perhaps this is a time when practical and real autonomy for Tibet becomes all the more relevant as Tibetans know their region better and are the first to be affected by climate change.”
“Hence China must not be allowed to unilaterally impose its will on the people of the region and use it as a bargaining tool to pressurise other countries.”
“Today, the Chinese government’s flawed environmental and developmental policies have turned this resource-rich plateau and fragile ecosystem into a hub of its mining and dam building activities. This not only changes the water map of Asia for the worse but also contributes to an environmental crisis, which in turn contributes to climate change across Asia. The rising temperatures on the roof of the world make Tibet both a driver and amplifier of global warming.”
He hoped that Tibet shall be declared under a special category and must enjoy a certain International status. In our view, Tibet and Climate Change should be interlinked more closely.