The Question(s) of Tibet - World Affairs Council

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
TIBET ENVIRONMENTAL WATCH
http://www.tew.org/index.html
The site features regularly updated information on environmental problems in Tibet.
Information includes wildlife, geography, development, etc.
WORLD WATCH INSTITUTE
http://www.worldwatch.org/About
The Worldwatch Institute is an independent research organization recognized by opinion
leaders around the world for its accessible, fact‐based analysis of critical global issues. The
Institute's three main program areas include Climate & Energy, Food & Agriculture, and the
Green Economy. Great searchable information about Tibet included on the website.
TIBET’S ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES RAISED ON SIDELINES OF UN SESSION IN GENEVA
(10/3/10)
http://www.tibetcustom.com/article.php/20101003083154526
"The Tibetan Plateau is one of the earth’s most sensitive environments and a unique biogeographical
zone", said Mr. Tenzin Norbu, a Tibetan environmental expert during a
presentation on the sideline of the 15th session of UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on 27
September. "It’s warming about three times the global average. Twenty percent of Tibetan
glaciers have retreated in the past 40 years." Mr. Norbu made the above remarks during the
15th session of Human Rights Council held here at Geneva. He is the head of the Environment
and Development Desk of the Central Tibetan Administration in Dharamsala, India. He gave a
detailed account of the environmental concerns on the Tibetan Plateau. He said these impacts
are creating problems not only to the six million Tibetans living on the Tibetan Plateau but also
to the billions of people especially in India, China and the neighbouring countries. He also said
that the secret constructions of dams on Tibetan plateau by the Chinese government on the
Yarlung Tsangpo (Brahmaputra), Dri Chu (Yangtze River) and Salween will have serious impacts
on livelihood of downstream inhabitants of Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Pakistan, Burma and
India and the bio‐diversity.
THE LEGAL STATUS OF TIBET AND CHINA'S INTERNATIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES IN
MANAGING TIBET'S ENVIRONMENT: USING LAW AND POLITICS TO PROTECT TIBET'S
ENVIRONMENT
http://www.tibetjustice.org/reports/enviro/enviro.html
I will summarize the current international legal framework as it affects Tibet's prospects for
change and propose avenues of action for the international community. My focus is on two
goals: first, to speed the day when Tibetans can freely exercise their right of self‐determination
in government and in resource management; and second, to reduce the environmental harm
that will occur in the meantime.
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT AND HUMAN RIGHTS
IN TIBET (1992)
http://www.tibetjustice.org/reports/enviro/env_human_rights.html
The United Nations Sub‐Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of
Minorities of the Commission on Human Rights ["the Sub‐Commission"] is currently studying
the nature of the interrelationship between human rights and environmental degradation, to
World Affairs Council Teacher Resource Packet – The Question(s) of Tibet February 28, 2011
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