Video: Tibetan Plateau in Peril
Asia Society has produced a documentary about the impact of global warming on the Tibetan plateau, the rivers which originate there, and the people who depend on them to live. From the introduction:
As the source of most of the major river systems in Asia from China to Pakistan, including the Yellow, the Yangtze, the Mekong, the Salween, the Brahmaputra, the Ganges and the Indus, the Tibetan Plateau has become an epicenter of crisis. With the retreating of its glaciers - what glaciologist Lonnie Thompson has called the “fresh water bank account” of Asia - rivers and lakes have started running lower, pastures have become drier, deserts larger, weather patterns more unpredictable. Indeed, the whole ecosystem of the Tibetan Plateau and its hinterland are now slipping toward a catastrophic environmental disaster which will have continental implications far beyond the plateau itself.
Here is a trailer, with Chinese captions:
The full project, including interactive features, can be seen here.
POSTED COMMENTS: 3 Responses
Before the Chinese occupation of Tibet began in 1950, there was no environmental pollution in the Tibetan Plateau. Since then the CCP’s policy of unrestrained development w/o concern for the environment or the local population has caused the environmental damage to Tibet we see in this video documentary. The construction of large cities, dams, mines, railways, etc & the influx of settlers from outside Tibet causes severe strain on the fragil environment of the Tibetan plateau. Tibet’s land, mountains, lakes & rivers are sacred to the Tibetan people. The Chinese Govt must halt its present economic policies & allow local Tibetans to manage Tibet’s affairs.
[...] Asiasociety, een in Washington gevestigde
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