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Tibet's Environmental Issues Raised on Sidelines of UN Session in Geneva
30 September 2010
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.
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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 protestors. 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.
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