From dianne Tue Sep 3 01:00:18 1996 Received: (from dianne@localhost) by lox.sandelman.ocunix.on.ca (8.7.5/8.7.3) id BAA14262 for dianne; Tue, 3 Sep 1996 01:00:17 -0400 (EDT) Received: from bud.sandelman.ocunix.on.ca by sandelman.ocunix.on.ca with SMTP id AA17168 sender tibetsupport@gn.apc.org (5.65a/IDA-1.4.2); Tue, 21 May 96 12:50:03 -0400 Received: from mail.gn.apc.org (gnew.gn.apc.org [193.37.35.6]) by bud.sandelman.ocunix.on.ca (8.6.12/8.6.12) with ESMTP id JAA06013 for ; Tue, 21 May 1996 09:26:37 -0400 Received: from [193.130.254.82] by gnew.gn.apc.org (8.6.12/Revision: 2.05 mail.gn.apc.org) id RAA05402; Tue, 21 May 1996 17:57:22 +0100 Date: Tue, 21 May 1996 17:57:22 +0100 Message-Id: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable To: dianne@gateway.sandelman.ocunix.on.ca From: tibetsupport@gn.apc.org (Tibet Support Group UK) Subject: Yamdrok Tso Sender: dianne@lox.sandelman.ocunix.on.ca Status: OR Dear Dianne, I am sorry not to have been in touch for so long. I was married last week and went on a short honeymoon. Besides having been busy with wedding arrangements I also am busy with preparations for the UN conference on Human settlements (Habitat II) which I will be attending along with other members of the Tibetan delegation for 18 days in Istanbul. (back on 15 June). You may have by now recieved an errata, correcting some mistakes on page 18 of the pack. The executive summary also had to be changed as the same offending paragraph was pasted into the summary. =46ollowing is the summary so that you can post it on the WWW. When is your seminar? I hope the corrections can be made in time. Let me know how it goes. There are some rumours of a big accident at YDT, possibly rendering it inoperable for some time, we are trying to get this corroborated before releasing it officially, this is a frequent problem with news from Tibet. Please, keep this to yourself until we can confirm it. The International Committee of Lawyers for Tibet based in San Fran. are working on a resolution concerning Yamdrok Tso to be presented at the World Congress of the IUCN in October, here is an excert from a message about this. >There are three types of resolutions that we could propose: First, one >that basically makes IUCN adopt a position that specifically opposes the >Yamdrok Tso lake project. Second, a resolution against the pump-storage >hydroelectric project, as a civil engineering device. This resolution >would include the fact that it is a oligotrophic lake and the result will >produce eutrophication and the ultimately the death of the lake. > >The other resolution would include the RAMSAR issue. It would be in the >spirit of "Have you stopped beating your wife"? >The resoluton would identify the potential problems with the project and >ask chinese to show the lack of effect on migratory birds or that the >population would not decrease substantially. > >Or for the Chinese to identify how the population can continue w/o that >area being a wetlands - if the lake is very significant in that regard. >The resolution would conclude by asking the chinese to identify a lake and >place under RAMSAR protection for the migratory birds that transmigrate >across the Himayalans. >These resolutions could include aspects of Agenda 21 and the requirement of >local input..>>> Please contact Valerie Logsdon at ICLT if you have anything of interest for her on this or need to know more. her e.mail is >> vlogs@well.com>> Thats all for now. Regards Lorne ************************************************************** YAMDROK TSO CAMPAIGN PACK Death of a Sacred Lake - Executive Summary Published March 1996 by: Tibet Support Group UK 9 Islington Green, London N1 2XH, United Kingdom Tel: 44 171 359 7573 =46ax:44 171 354 1026 E.mail: tibetsupport@gn.apc.org =46ull report is 39 pages plus appendices INTRODUCTION The construction of a hydroelectric power plant on the Yamdrok Tso lake south west of Lhasa is the most destructive of all development projects in progress on the Tibetan plateau today. Most dam projects block a river's course and create a reservoir behind the dam wall that can then be drained through turbines to produce electricity. This project instead aims to drain a natural lake by placing the turbines in tunnels bored into the mountain sides surrounding the lake. The fragile balance of the lake's ecology is severely threatened by the unnatural interference with the lake's water flow and with it the livelihood of the local people as well as the wildlife that flourishes around this lake. Migrating waterfowl, which rely on the lake's rich food resources to sustain them on the difficult journey across the Tibetan plateau and the world's highest mountains - the Himalayas - are particularly threatened. It is widely felt that Tibetans stand to gain little or nothing from the plant. It will almost certainly cater primarily to the growing numbers of Chinese settlers in Tibet, and to economic projects which will only marginally help the Tibetans, but which will expand the infrastructure for even greater numbers of immigrants. The greatest demand for electricity in the TAR comes from the Chinese immigrant population and the industries they are developing. The issue of the development of the Yamdrok Tso lake for the generation of electricity and the final use of that power for the development of industries around Lhasa ties in to the larger issues of Tibetan rights over natural resources, respect for the religious sanctity of sacred sites (all Tibetan lakes are considered sacred by Tibetans) and the question of development within Tibet that benefits only Chinese settlers. The provision of power by the Yamdrok Tso project complements the Chinese strategy of population transfer by provision of power for economic development. The influx of Chinese settlers into Tibet constitutes an enormous threat to the stability and the political and economic integrity of the region. THE YAMDROK TSO SITE Yamdrok Tso, 120 km south of Lhasa, is Tibet's third largest lake, and the largest fresh-water lake on the northern side of the Himalayas. Nomad camps and a few villages hug the rocky lake shores and yak and goats graze the slopes. Migrating birds arrive during the summer months and at times the southern arms of the lake in particular are crowded with different species of waterbirds. The fish of the lake constitute a valuable resource for the nomads and villagers as well as the wildlife. Like all lakes in Tibet Yamdrok Tso is sacred to Tibetans both Bonpo and Buddhist. As well as being one of the most beautiful scenic areas in Tibet, Yamdrok Tso is one of the country's four most sacred lakes. As a special "life-power lake" (bla-mts'o), it is believed to be endowed with spiritual powers. In the past, Tibetan government officials used to make lake-offerings (mtso-rdzas) every year. The lake itself is a pilgrimage site with enormous spiritual significance, but there are also a number of important monasteries around it. The best-known is Samding, unusual in that it welcomes both monks and nuns. On an island in the lake is the reviving monastery of Y=F6ndopo, consecrated to Guru Rinpoche, one of the founders of Tibetan Buddhism. DAMAGE SPECULATION There are a variety of disastrous effects that the project will have on the lake's ecosystem. The most obvious of these is the actual draining of the lake itself. While it is a key premise of the project proposal that water from the Yarlung river will be pumped back through the tunnels to replenish the lake, there are fears that the Chinese will not do this. At best, replenishing the lake means that the pristine snow-fed lake water will be replaced with muddy river flow, with unknown effects on the ecological balance of the lake. At worst, the lake could drain away within 50 years, with disastrous consequences for the ecosystem of the whole region. It is also questionable whether the full amount of water drained from the lake will be pumped back into it. American and Austrian contractors working on the power plant have alleged that in actual fact the Chinese have no intention of pumping water back into the lake at all. "The Chinese have to say that. Otherwise they wouldn't be able to do the project" said one American contractor, but these statements are "just for show", according to an Austrian. They claimed that the Chinese are not willing to sacrifice the large amount of power needed to pump river water 2,700 feet uphill through reversible turbines to replenish the lake. The campaign group Save Tibet Austria have calculated that if this is the case, and no water is pumped back into the lake, the water-level will drop an estimated 7.4 cm per year. (With the initial projected operation of 10.6% of full capacity, but with permanent full operation they estimate a drop of 74 cm per year). In September 1991 the Tibetan Bulletin reported a similar estimate, of a drop in water level of 7.6 cm per year once the turbines are activated. By 1995, the most conservative estimate by a foreign contractor working on the lake was a drop of one metre every ten years. Another contractor, an Austrian, suggested that the lake will be totally drained within twenty years. Questions such as the potential impact of pumping on the biological oxygen demand of the lake's water do not appear to have been properly addressed. Nor do a whole range of issues affecting the area around the lake, including the impact of associated construction and settlement and interference in traditional nomad lifestyles. The long-term viability of pastures and the survival of wildlife are questions that do not seem to have been raised at all. =46OREIGN CONTRACTORS The Austrian firm ELIN and the Austrian branch of the German firm JM VOITH AG have supplied four turbines as well as pumps and steering systems to the project in contracts worth approximately US$40 million. Eight Austrian and American engineers were working on the site in July 1995 employed by the Austrian and American offices of the two companies. Both firms have a history of constructing controversial dams and they have been involved in the Pak-Mun dam in Thailand where 20,000 people were forcibly moved, the Cirata dam in Indonesia where 60,000 people were dispossessed, and the Mosul dam in the Kurdish region of Iraq which was completely cleared of all forms of human life by the military. AGENDA 21 Agenda 21 was billed as an "action plan" when it was drawn up as a result of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro. Specific aspects of this agreement are being ignored with the implementation of this hydroelectric project. Chapter 18 of the agreement refers to the protection of the quality and supply of freshwater resources, and this is directly contravened by the project. The chapter states that at a national level protection and conservation of water resources, prevention and control of water pollution and the protection of aquatic ecosystems should be enforced as a part of any project implementation. The chapter also advocates the strengthening of the local human resources and water protection capacities. The manner in which the lake is being exploited is a contravention of these statements and does not take on the theme of integrated water management. The Chinese do not take this criticism on board, claiming the creation of the project is benefiting the Tibetan people, and is part of China's drive to develop the Tibetan Autonomous Region's economy and infrastructure and to exploit its natural resources, with minimal damage to the local environment. =46urther commitments to indigenous peoples and their communities are asked for within the UNCED agreement, including consultation and participation in resource management and the development of indigenous peoples' areas, and a respect for their practices and values. Without paying attention to these key areas the Chinese have rejected one of the underlying themes of the Agenda 21 agreement: people, communities and the incorporation of them into any plan for sustainable development. HISTORY OF OPPOSITION When construction first began on the Yamdrok Tso hydropower plant in 1985 it aroused widespread opposition within Tibet. The magazine China's Tibet, published by the Chinese state, said that "concerns were expressed by some high-level Tibetans that the station would damage the local eco-system." This group of senior Tibetans was headed by the Panchen Lama, who continued to oppose the project despite repeated attempts by the Chinese to persuade him to approve it. He insisted it would waste money, bring no benefit to Tibetans, would result in grave environmental damage, and would harm the lives of herdspeople who live near the lake shores. The Panchen Lama did not accept the Chinese government's claims that the water level of the lake would be unaffected. There are reports that in 1985 members of the TAR delegation to the National People's Congress in Beijing formally petitioned the government to halt the Yamdrok Tso electricity plant. These reports indicate that opposition to the project was extensive, and included many Tibetans who held positions in the Chinese bureaucracy. The Panchen Lama's opposition to the project delayed it for several years, but in August 1989, just months after his death, it was announced that construction on the plant would proceed, and work began again in 1991. The Dalai Lama's government in exile, the Central Tibetan Administration in Dharamsala, has continued to express doubts about the viability of the Yamdrok lake project. They object on the grounds that it will not provide long-term sustainability or environmental security, and maintain that this opinion is shared by most Tibetans, including those who hold senior positions within the Chinese system. Opposition continues within Tibet. Over the years Tibetans from Lhasa have smuggled out letters and appeals against the project, and in August 1994 Tibetans sent a petition to the UN asking for protection of the lake. In 1995, Tibetans in Lhasa continued to voice their opposition, and at least one Tibetan official is said to be considering resigning his post over the controversy. THE YAMDROK TSO CAMPAIGN The imminent implementation of the Yamdrok Tso hydroelectric dam will destroy 624 square km of freshwater lake and wetlands and will further erode the Tibetan cultural and economic life that depends on its existence. =46or this reason, Tibet Support Group UK has launched a campaign to halt the dam project. We are urging the Chinese government to: 1) Suspend operations and further construction until: an independent environmental and social impact assessment can be made and results made available to the international community measures to protect habitat for indigenous and migratory wildlife are introduced, a commitment to maintain natural water level and quality of the lake and effected rivers is made. 2) Ensure sensitivity to cultural factors and needs of locals by Chinese developers. 3) Protect the lake in accordance with the Ramsar Convention - The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat- to which China is already a signatory having designated six sites in 1992. 4) Allow continuous independent monitoring of the lake ecology and information to be internationally available. 5) Give assurances that all future power generation development projects will undergo an independent environmental and social impact assessment. In addition to our appeals to the Chinese government we will also be campaigning to: 1) Raise awareness of future Chinese power generation projects which support the influx of Chinese settlers into Tibet, and are environmentally destructive. 2) Promote the use of appropriate sustainable and renewable energy sources in Tibet. 3) Raise awareness of general environmental concerns in Tibet and among international NGOs and Governments. 4) Raise awareness of the false Agenda 21 claims made by the Peoples Republic of China, among NGOs and Governments, and illustrate the shortfalls in these claims. 5) Influence the practice of the companies that supplied equipment and expertise to the project, that they will be less likely to get involved in such damaging projects in the future. 6) Extend influence to other companies or governments contemplating involvement, or interested in projects in Tibet <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> T I B E T S U P P O R T G R O U P UK 9 Islington Green London N1 2XH e.mail: tibetsupport@gn.apc.org Telephone +44 (0)171 359 7573 Fax +44 (0)171 354 1026 - an independent membership organisation campaigning in support of the rights of the Tibetan people to freedom and independence. <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>