Pastoralism and Rangeland Management on the Tibetan Plateau in ...

Welcome Speech by Ding Ye Xian,
Vice Governor Tibet Autonomous Region
October in Lhasa is blessed with crispy autumn weather, thriving businesses
<strong>and</strong> other signs of well-being, good fortune, prosperity <strong>and</strong> harmony. In this
beautiful season, we are gathered here in the ancient city of Lhasa to attend the
opening ceremony of the Regional Workshop on <strong>Pastoralism</strong> <strong>and</strong> Rangel<strong>and</strong>
<strong>Management</strong> on the Tibetan Plateau in the Context of Climate <strong>and</strong> Global
Change, co-sponsored by InWEnt, ICIMOD <strong>and</strong> TAAAS. On behalf of the
People’s Government of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), I would like
to offer my warm congratulations on the opening of the workshop <strong>and</strong> my
warmest welcome <strong>and</strong> best regards to the experts, scholars <strong>and</strong> friends from
both home <strong>and</strong> abroad.
Since the peaceful liberation of Tibet, particularly since the initiation of the
reform <strong>and</strong> opening-up campaign, the TAR party committee <strong>and</strong> government
have been upholding the unity of all ethnic groups in Tibet with the great support
from the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee <strong>and</strong> State
Council <strong>and</strong> other provinces <strong>and</strong> cities across the country. Centering around
the central authorities’ guiding principles we have been following a development
path with Tibetan characteristics <strong>and</strong> making the betterment of production
<strong>and</strong> living conditions <strong>and</strong> the increase of income for farmers <strong>and</strong> herdsmen our
top priority. While maintaining the long-term consistency of policies in Tibet,
we have spared no efforts in building the new socialist agricultural <strong>and</strong> pastoral
communities to improve local living <strong>and</strong> working conditions. We have achieved
rapid economic <strong>and</strong> social development, getting closer to our goals of building
a fairly well-off, peaceful, harmonious <strong>and</strong> ecologically-sound Tibet. The Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) of TAR has maintained a double-digit growth rate
for 17 consecutive years, surging to 44.136 billion Yuan in 2009. We have had
bump harvest for 17 consecutive years, with the annual total of grain <strong>and</strong> oil
production exceeding 90 million metric tons. Livestock production has seen
steady growth as well, with the capacity for main livestock products increasing
every year <strong>and</strong> realizing a turnover of 5.603 billion Yuan in 2009. Development
in Tibet’s economic <strong>and</strong> social l<strong>and</strong>scape in the past decades has exceeded that
of thous<strong>and</strong>s of years before. At president, the economy in Tibet is rapidly
growing. The society is harmonious <strong>and</strong> stable. The people enjoy decent housing,
employment, <strong>and</strong> cultural diversity. With all causes flourishing, we are
witnessing a more harmonious society taking shape. I sincerely hope that
experts at this workshop would take the opportunity to experience in person a
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