By Tenzin Monlam
DHARAMSHALA, December 3: With the climate conference COP21 in Paris underway, the world leaders, environmentalists and NGOs are trying to reach a meaningful climate agreement. Campaigns for climate change in Tibet led by ‘Tibet Third Pole’ team are voicing the climate changes in the Tibetan Plateau due to unregulated environmental destruction.
Tempa Gyaltsen, Executive Head of CTA’s Environment Desk and part of the Tibetan delegate to Paris on Tuesday spoke on the ‘Impact of Climate change on the Tibetan Plateau’ and Minister of Information and International relations, Kalon Dicki Chhoyang will be leaving for Paris tomorrow (Friday) to deliver her presentation on the climate issues in Tibet.
Lobsang Yangtso, a team member of Tibet Third Pole present at the conference told Phayul, “We have met few Chinese environmentalists from Beijing. We have plans to build a network with them to work together in future. We also met Abhishek Shrestha, Director of Climate Justice Program, with whom we discussed the environmental problems in Nepal and Tibet.”
“We also shared similar concerns on the developmental programs that could not help the locals,” she added.
The team, a coalition of more than 185 Tibet groups across world, also met other environmentalists and NGOs to explain the concerns in Tibetan plateau due to excessive mining, deforestation and river diversion.
According to Lobsang, the one of the positive development was that she managed to personally hand over a report, ‘TIBET the Environmental Challenge’, on the environmental challenges in Tibet’ to Francois Hollande, President of France, on the first day of Civil Society and NGO event of UNFCCC on December 1.
Along with the team, Tempa Gyaltsen and John Isom of Tibet Justice Centre are in UN Governmental Conference venue, where they have a booth organized by CTA to distribute posters, leaflets and books on Tibetan plateau.
“China and Tibet should go beyond politics and sincerely work together in protecting the Tibetan plateau from climate change and environmental destruction,” Tempa told Tibet.net.
