ENVIRONMENT

The Tibetan plateau has a unique, but fragile ecosystem, which is threatened by unsustainable Chinese policies in Tibet. As a result of the influx of Chinese colonists and damaging economical projects the environment is heavily affected. On a large scale raw materials and minerals, like timber, oil, gas, uranium, gold and silver, are transported out of Tibet into China. The recently constructed railway will even increase this natural exploitation. The profits do hardly benefit the Tibetan population.

International consequences

The harm being done to the Tibetan plateau does not only have far-reaching consequences for Tibet, it also affects surrounding areas and even the global climate. Several important Asian rivers, like the Indus and the Yellow River, originate in Tibet and damage to these rivers could eventually affect the water supply to 30-50 % of the world population. For example, some consider the increasing deposit of sediment and the fast drainage of water of the Brahmaputra-river in Tibet as one of the causes of the floods in Bangladesh. Moreover, scientific research has proven that the Tibetan environment affects the monsoon rains in Asia and the so-called jet-streams, which lead to the origination of hurricanes. Due to the high altitude of Tibet, the recovery of nature is such a slow process that the created damage so far is practically irreparable.