Tibet’s Environmental Issues Raised on Sidelines of UN Session in Geneva[Thursday, 30 September 2010, 4:02 p.m.]

Tenzin Norbu (L) and Dr Charles Graves, Secretary General of Interfaith International

Geneva:
“The Tibetan Plateau is one of the earth’s most sensitive environments
and a unique bio-geographical zone”, said Mr Tenzin Norbu, a Tibetan
environmental expert during a presentation on the sideline of the 15th
session of UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on 27 September.  “It’s
warming about three times the global average. Twenty percent of Tibetan
glaciers have retreated in the past 40 years.”Mr Norbu made the
above remarks during the 15th session of Human Rights Council held here
at Geneva. He is the head of the Environment and Development Desk of
the Central Tibetan Administration in Dharamsala, India.  He gave a
detail account of the environmental concerns on the Tibetan Plateau. He
said these impacts are creating problems not only to the six million
Tibetans living on the Tibetan Plateau but also to the billions of
people especially in India, China and the neighbouring countries.He
also said that the secret constructions of dams on Tibetan plateau by
the Chinese government on the Yarlung Tsangpo (Brahmaputra), Dri Chu
(Yangtze River) and Salween will have serious impacts on livelihood of
downstream inhabitants of Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Pakistan, Burma and
India and the bio-diversity. He warned that there will be imminent
threat for water security in foreseeable future if country concerned or
international community failed to protect Tibet’s environment.During
Mr Tenzin Norbu’s 45 minutes presentation, he emphasised on four main
points that have a direct impact on the Tibetan Plateau due to climate
change – (1) The Glacial retreat on the Tibetan Plateau (ii) Waters
originating from the Tibetan Plateau and the Damming issue (iii)
Permafrost degradation/melting on the Tibetan Plateau and its global
impacts and (iv) Nomads removal from their ancestral pastoral grounds
to concrete blocks.

He
said that the Chinese government had forcibly moved over 700,000
Tibetan nomads from their ancestral land to concrete building under
pretext of protection and preservation of environment. However, on the
contrary the Chinese government companies and some private companies
have been actively investing on various large scale mining projects on
the Tibetan Plateau.In this connection, he cited an example of
recent protest by local residents at Palyul, Karze Tibetan Autonomous
Prefecture in Sichuan Province against mining where Chinese police,
despite heeding to their grievances, shot dead several Tibetan
protesters. He further said despite cold and harsh environment, the
Tibetan nomadic herders have thrived on this plateau living in harmony
with the environment.“The Meltdown in Tibet”, a documentary
film directed by Mr Micheal Buckley, showed some stunning footages
about the dam building frenzy by the Chinese government.This
side event at the UN Human Rights Council session attended by over 40
delegates including representatives from USA, Czech Republic,
Switzerland, Belgium, Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human
Rights and some media person. This was organised by the Society of
Threatened People, an ECOSOC accredited NGO.Tibet Bureau, the
Geneva based Representative Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and
the Central Tibetan Administration invited Mr Tenzin Norbu to
Switzerland.During his visit, he also addressed the members of
the Tibetan Youth Association in Europe during their summer camp and
the Tibetan Community in Basel. On 25 September, he took part a panel
discussion “Tibet – Third Pole” in Zurich. Mr Norbu also met with
Greenpeace Switzerland.