Dharamsala Hosts Workshop on Effects of Climate Change in Himalayan Regions[Wednesday, 9 September 2009, 6:10 p.m.]

Workshop on climate change attended by the Kalon Tripa Prof. Samdhong Rinpoche(R), Dr. Vandana Shiva(L), Prof. P.N.Sharma(C) and Dr. Vinod Bhatt speaking on the subject.

Dharamshala: The
Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) in coordination with the Himalayan
Climate Change Yatra group held a workshop on climate change in the
Himalayan regions of India this morning at Gangchen Kyishong here.Himalayan
Climate change yatra is a tour organised by Dr. Vandana Shiva and her
group to educate people about the climate change and its effect on our
lives. The tour is for nine days during which the group will carry out
awareness programs in the nine cities of Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and
Kashmir and Uttarakhand states in India.Dr. Vandana Shiva and
the Kalon Tripa Prof. Samdhong Rinpoche facilitated the workshop for
the local Tibetan environmental groups including the Environment and
Development Desk of the CTA, and TESI Environmental Awareness Movement.
The workshop was chaired by Prof. P.N. Sharma.The workshop
began with an address by the Kalon Tripa and was followed by
presentations by Dr. Vinod Bhatt of the Yatra group who presented the
goals of Navdanya and their programmes. In
his address, Kalon Tripa Prof. Samdhong Rinpoche said, “If the roof is
damaged, the house cannot be kept in order” lighting on the subject. Kalon
Tripa said this environmental workshop is part of the Central Tibetan
Administration’s year-long programme to commemoration of the fiftieth
anniversary of the Tibetans in exile and Thank You India event.Navdanya
is a movement for biodiversity conservation founded by Dr. Vandana
Shiva. The goal of the movement is to create seed banks, promote
organic farming, develop composting techniques and provide education
for sustainable learning.Dr. Bhatt talked about the climate
changes in Ladakh and presented the mission and goals of Navdanya
movement. “Local people’s perception, experience and knowledge about
climate change, will help in and developing and implementation of any
governmental plan and in making any policy decisions. Incorporating
indigenous knowledge can add value in developing the sustainable
climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies”, Dr Bhatt said.Mr.
Tenzin Norbu, Head of the Environment and Development Desk of the
Central Tibetan Administration, presented a brief overview of the
Tibetan Plateau and the effects that Chinese deforestation methods. Mr.
Norbu presented on the subject “Tibet: The Third Pole” and the effects
that the Tibetan Plateau has on the rest of Asia.Mrs. Tsering
Yangkyi, founder and director of the Tesi Environmental Awareness
Movement (TEAM) based in Dharamshala, India, briefed about the
organisation. The goal of TEAM is to revive the ecological
consciousness of Tibetans. Mrs. Yangkyi presented the mission and goals
of TEAM and its accomplishments in the past years and recommendations
for the Central Tibetan Administration.Dr. Shiva talked about
the effects of climate change here in India and worldwide. She also
talked about the effects of greenhouse gases and fossil fuels and how
the industrial economy has become heavily reliant on machinery. “The
West is outsourcing its pollution to developing countries” said Dr.
Shiva. She stated that international resolutions such as the Kyoto
Protocol are simply allowing industrialized countries to outsource
their pollution”.Dr. Shiva stated national governments are
allowing private industries to pollute, essentially ‘privatizing’ the
atmosphere. “The problem is that Geo-engineers are dividing the world
into different parts, thinking of it as a machine, but in order to
preserve the world we must think of universal responsibility we have”
Dr. Shiva added. In her closing remark, Dr. Shiva stated, “the
disaster in the Himalayas is an opportunity to change to create a shift
in the way we live. It is also a chance to tell the stories of the
Himalayas to the world and put it in the hands of public
responsibility”.Dr. Shiva and her team stopped here in
Dharamshala to carry on the awareness movement. The Dharamsala leg of
Yatra was hosted by the Kashag, Central Tibetan Administration.  Dr. Shiva and her group’s next destination for the yatra is the Himachal Pradesh University of Palampur.–Report filed by Environment and Development Desk, DIIR, CTA