Tibetan parliament in-exile calls for UN research on "damage that is being done by China" in Tibet
Nov 08, 2024
Himachal Pradesh [India], November 8 : The Tibetan parliament in-exile has called on the United Nations to initiate scientific research into the implications of the damage that is being done by the China in Tibetan plateau.
The call was made during the launch of the Tibet Museum's latest exhibition, Rivers of the Sky, in Dharamshala, which aims to raise awairness on how environmental degradation in Tibet directly affects not only the region but also neighbouring countries, especially India.
The exhibition was inaugurated on Friday morning by Dolma Tsering, Deputy Speaker of the Tibetan parliament in-exile, who underscored the plateau's importance for worldwide climate patterns. "The impact is such that the monsoon fluctuation in India and Northeast Asia and the warming Europe. They are all impacted by the thinning of snow at the Tibetan plateau," Tsering told ANI.
"Therefore, we want the United Nations framework for climate convention to have a scientific research on how the Tibet's glaciers, how the Tibet plateau is significant for the survival of whole humanity... I am urging the United Nations to have scientific findings on what are the implications of the damage that is being done by the People's Republic of China."
According to Tibetan environmentalist Padma Wangyal, "There is a massive deforestation is going on in Tibet for the past few decades and it's affecting Tibet's environment very badly. Specially countries like India are directly affected by this environmental destruction in Tibet."
Deforestation has reportedly exacerbated the effects of climate change in Tibet, affecting water supplies and monsoon cycles critical to regional agriculture and ecosystem stability.
Tenzin Thubten, director of the Tibet Museum, emphasised the exhibition's message to the international community and China. He highlighted that the main content for 'Rivers of the Sky' was developed by renowned researcher Gabriel, but was curated to reflect the Tibet Museum's perspectives.
Thubten explained, "Of course, there are multiple objectives behind this particular temporary exhibition, but the main objective is to tell Chinese that your counter-narrative your policy towards Tibet is not working because for last 70 years, China has captured Tibet and tortured Tibetans in many ways but now this is in global ways, in terms of the rivers exploitation. It is not only for the 6 million Tibetan people, it is now to the 2 billion people who are directly dependent on the major rivers that flow from Tibet."
The timing of the exhibition also aligns with the upcoming COP-29 climate conference, which Thubten mentioned, noting the importance of global attention on the environmental issues affecting Tibet.