Seminar on construction of dams and water diversion project in Tibet
Friday, 30 September 2005,
Dharamshala: Planning Commission of the Central Tibetan Administration organised a seminar yesterday to raise awareness about China’s water diversion plans and projects in Tibet.
The keynote speaker at the seminar was Tashi Tsering, Director of Environment and Development Programme, Tibet Justice Centre based in America.
He spoke on the issues relating to the construction of dams, and diversion of rivers in Tibet and China and their social, economic and environmental impacts.
Tashi Tsering addressing the seminar |
“The People’s Republic of China(PRC) has already built more than a million water diversion projects of all sizes. He said.
“There is a considerable increase in the construction of dams in the traditional Tibetan province of Kham (incorporated into Siechuan) and other parts of Tibet displacing thousands of people and affecting the ecological balance in the region”.
During the seminar, he presented his views on the intent of PRC to go ahead with the mega hydro-power projects and disagreed with the top decision makers’ engineering solution which neglects humane solution for human problems.
“However, there is a growing concern among the Chinese people regarding the construction of big dams and diversion of rivers evidenced by the growing resistance shown by the people, environmental activists and Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) within China”, he said.
Present at the seminar were representative from Kashag, Security Department, Enviroment and Development Desk of Department of Information and International Relations, all the staff of the Planning Commission and media reporters.
(www.tibet.net is the official website of the Central Tibetan Administration.)