Nexus - 0110 - New Times Magazine-pages

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Nydrology- Dueto deforestation and over-grazing, increased water run-off oo has caused severe erosion and increasingly destructive es ges . -. | flooding and silt deposition in the highly populated and critical ( : | food producing regions of China, the Indian Subcontinent, and subscales cccupaten of. Tibe ; this | South Bast Asia. It is thought that increased quantities of silt vast land of 2.5 million square | carried by currents far beyond the delta areas may have a kilometres, the “roof. of the ‘work a warming effect on the oceans, with serious consequences for marine life. Cc existed as. an ecosystem virtually free dt ‘al Mining. Som the imp et of the i age. It is reported that the Chinese government is preparing to The highly developed culture e of the extract Tibet’s rich deposits of gold and uranium, as well as ] Tibetan people held as its core value strategically important minerals such as copper, iron, lithium compassion for other living beings, & - and tungsten. wD protection of habitat was a natural Populazion Cransfer. result, Exploitation of the earth’s | In addition to military personnel, China has engaged in large- it scale transfer of Chinese citizens to Tibet. Urbanization, road e resources was perceived to result in construction, heedless waste disposal and the unrestrained disharmony and imbalance. Since abuse of this precarious biosphere imperils the unique and 1959, the genocide in Fibet.has been fragile nature of the Tibetan plateau. & accompanied by. appalling ecocide..: | Ore Delat Lame and the Tibetan — exile have proposed that the solution to these problems is to Tibetan wildlife has been decimared_ create a zone of peace (or non-violence, encompassing Indiscriminate shooting has reduced a widely varied and environmental non-violence) in Tibet. It is a vision with far flourishing fauna to a grim list of rare and endangered species, reaching implications, because it extends beyond current including the snow leopard, wild yak, wild ass, musk deer, concepts of environmental concem which often tend to focus bharal antelope and lynx. It is apparent that some bird species on specific issues. A whole nation becoming a zone of are also threatened, environmental non-violence would provide a model for a world searching for solutions to a global ecological crisis. Deforestation. The devastation of Tibet’s forests has been widely documented ABOUT AUSTRALIA TIBET COUNCIL by refugees, foreign visitors to Tibet, and the Chinese ATC is an independent, non-profit, Australian organization. themselves. An estimated US$54 billion worth of trees have ATC supports the United Nations resolution #1723 of 1961, been felled; thousands lie wasted on hillsides and in rivers. A calling for “cessation of practices which deprive the Tibetan ceaseless procession of lorries loaded with timber ply the roads people of their fundamental human rights and freedoms, to China. ; including their right to self-determination". ATC aims to raise awareness of the situation in Tibet by providing accurate and Toxic waste dumping nuclear testing. reliable information to the Australian community at all levels. (and possibly chemical and biological warfare testing): The ATC believes that the peaceful resolution of the Tibet-China effects that these practices might have on local populations of conflict will be a significant step towards World Peace. humans, animals, plant life and on the environment as a whole are ignored. Because Tibet is an earthquake zone, it is : . pono: particularly unsuitable as a dumping site. Seven of the major phasis eioonsaey ns : tivers of Asia-the Brahmaputra, Indus, Sutlej, Mekong, ae : eset Salween, Yangtze and Yellow - have their source in the Tibetan plateau. Should any of their watersheds become contaminated, the effects would be disastrously widespread. Nigh alcicude over—gr Through forced collective livestock farming and disruption of traditional nomadic practices far too many livestock are being raised on land that cannot.support them. In addition, military presence in traditional grazing areas has forced nomadic herdsmen into marginal regions that cannot sustain or recover from such use. Nexus *10 Chetan wildlife has been decimated. Indiscriminate shooting has reduced a widely varied and flourishing fauna to a grim list of rare and endangered species, including the snow leopard, wild yak, wild ass, musk deer, bharal antelope and lynx. It is apparent that some bird species are also threatened, Deforestation. The devastation of Tibet’s forests has been widely documented by refugees, foreign visitors to Tibet, and the Chinese themselves. An estimated US$54 billion worth of trees have been felled; thousands lie wasted on hillsides and in rivers. A ceaseless procession of lorries loaded with timber ply the roads to China. Coxte waste dumping, nuclear Testing— (and possibly chemical and biological warfare testing): The effects that these practices might have on local populations of humans, animals, plant life and on the environmentas a whole are ignored. Because Tibet is an earthquake zone, it is particularly unsuitable as a dumping site. Seven of the major tivers of Asia-the Brahmaputra, Indus, Sutlej, Mekong, Salween, Yangtze and Yellow - have their source in the Tibetan plateau. Should any of their watersheds become contaminated, the effects would be disastrously widespread. ABOUT AUSTRALIA TIBET COUNCIL