Region seeks collaboration to bolster environment
Southwest China’s Tibet autonomous region expects to hold extensive collaborations with the international community to protect its ecological environment, a senior Tibetan environmental official said recently.
Norgyal, head of the Tibet Department of Environmental Protection, made the remark in a written statement on April 28.
“The collaborations include dialogues on and exchanges in policies and latest practices as well as the sharing of environmental information and knowledge and exchanges of environmental technologies,” Norgyal said. “We are willing to work with all the stakeholders in the world to jointly build a community with a shared future for mankind and nature.”
The official said the wellbeing of the ecological environment in Tibet is of great significance to worldwide sustainability, so the government of the autonomous region has put a strong emphasis on environmental protection over the past decades.
“The local government’s priority on ecological well-being comes from the recognition of the region’s crucial role in the ecosystem and sustainability in Asia and across the world,” Norgyal said.
He said Tibet as major part of the world’s highest plateau — the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau — is always referred to as the “Roof of the World” and the “Water Tower of Asia”.
Tibet is the source of a number of important international rivers in Asia, including the Ganges, the Indus, the Brahmaputra, the Mekong and the Salween.
“These rivers are nurtured by the snow-covered mountains and plateaus in Tibet,” Norgyal said. “They have fostered civilizations and development in South Asia and Southeast Asia for millenniums. So it’s not exaggerating to say that protecting Tibet’s ecology is of great significance for ensuring the sustainability of Asia.”
The official also said Tibet is an important genetic bank of the world because of its ecosystem, unique to this special high-altitude region.
Norgyal said Tibet is one of the most pristine regions in the world.
He noted that one of the reasons the local ecology remains intact is the strict environmental measures.
“Limiting our environmental footprint is always the top concern when we map out development plans,” Norgyal said.
The official said Tibet’s development highlights environmentally friendly industries with local characteristics, including tourism, husbandry and clean energy.
“Polluting, high-emission and energy and resource-consuming industries are banned from Tibet,”Norgyal said.“That’s why Tibet maintains a low level of carbon dioxide emission.”
In Tibet, there is a strict ecological zoning plan to ensure local biodiversity. According to Norgyal, more than 50% of Tibet’s land has been reserved for ecological protection. There are 47 nature reserves with a total area of more than 154,000 square miles for the protection of biodiversity.
As a result, Tibet has seen steady growth of local rare and iconic wildlife species.
According to the official, the number of Tibetan antelopes, Tibetan wild donkeys, wild yaks and black-necked cranes has grown to 200,000, 90,000, 10,000 and 8,000, respectively. The increase in the wildlife population has lifted each of the four species from their endangered status.
“In a recent field survey, scientists discovered five new animal species in Tibet, surprising many people who are concerned with Tibet’s biodiversity,” Norgyal said.
The official said Tibet’s first regional regulation on ecological
environmental protection and development will be effective on May 1, laying a solid basis for protecting the local ecosystem.
Norgyal said environmental protection in Tibet still faces some challenges, including a fragile ecological environment.
“Improving crucial links in the ecosystem, including grasslands, wetlands and forests, is among the fields in which we want to cooperate in with the international community,” Norgyal said.