July 14 : A leading scientist said that more time was needed to evaluate the environmental impact of the Qinghai-Tibet railway.
According to Wednesday’s Science Times, Dr Yang Qisen of the Institute of Zoology with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said that it was inevitable that the railway, which crosses three national nature reserves, would affect the activities of wild animals on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and the passages specially designed for animals to cross the tracks are “compensation” for the line’s impact.
He said that the plateau had the most fragile ecosystem and the most unique biodiversity in China, even in the world. The Tibetan antelope, the Tibetan wild ass and the wild yak are just three of the wild animals that roam the region.
In order to lessen the impact of the railway on the animals, the Institute of Zoology has designed 33 passages for wild animals to cross the railway and has monitored them for the last three years. “It is still too early to judge whether the passages are successful or not,” Yang said. “It will take five to 10 years of the railway being in operation to make the necessary conclusions.”
