The rooftop of the world, the land of snows… with an average elevation of 4000 meters (over 13,000 feet), the Tibetan Plateau is the highest and largest plateau on earth. The plants and animals there are unique– the snow leopard, Tibetan antelope, Tibetan gazelle, Bengal tiger, wild yak, blue sheep, brown bear, and black-necked crane, to name a few. Visitors to Tibet before 1950 compared it to East Africa, with vast herds of large mammals roaming free through the mountains. Today, precious few remain.

There could be worse days in the life of a Tibetan Snow Leopard. (Panthera uncia)

But although the flora and fauna are diverse, the extreme climate has allowed only a relatively small number of them to flourish; species that have been able to adapt to the thin air, low temperatures, intense radiation, and strong winds. The most recent research indicates that about 13,000 vascular plants and 1200 species of vertebrates have been identified: 678 species of birds, 206 mammals, 83 reptiles, 80 amphibians and 152 fish. Of these, 40 plants and 141 animal species are considered to be endangered.

While this picture may seem rich—and indeed it is—these numbers are actually very low when looked at on a global scale. This ecosystem is the polar opposite of, for example, a South American rainforest consisting of millions of different species of flora and fauna. The result is a web of life that is much more vulnerable and difficult to repair. Imagine a spider web with ten strands next to one with a hundred, or a thousand—if even one string is broken on the first, the whole thing will fall apart.

“Because of its high elevation, the ecosystem here is extremely fragile,” said Dawa Tsering, who heads the World Wildlife Fund’s China Program Office (local branch) in Lhasa.  “Once damaged, it is extremely difficult to reverse.”

The major threats the region faces are grassland degradation and deforestation, poaching and the illegal trade of animal products, destruction of habitat due to urbanization and mining, and air pollution. Because of the elevation, the air is thin and more susceptible to toxic fumes.

“The sale of souvenirs and other products made from endangered species is growing due to tourist consumption, and is increasing pressure on local biodiversity,” Tsering said. “Tourists can make a difference simply by not purchasing these products.”

Tibet is the last remaining refuge of the Bengal tiger in China. WWF and other non-profits plan to distribute pamphlets, asking visitors not to buy illegal products made from endangered species like tigers and Tibetan antelopes. The soft underbelly fur of these antelopes is made into shahtoosh shawls, which fetch high prices on the black market.

“International and local laws have guaranteed that killing wild tigers and other protected species for their parts isn’t legal anywhere in the world,” said Dr. Xu Hongfa from TRAFFIC’s China Program. “But the killing of these animals will continue until the demand for buying them stops.”

“Integrating the needs of local development with conserving Tibet’s biodiversity is in need of urgent attention,” Tsering said.

China invaded Tibet in 1949; since occupation, Tibet has suffered loss of life, freedom and human rights. In March 1959, Tibetans rose up against China’s occupation, but were unsuccessful. The Dalai Lama was forced to escape into exile in Dharmshala, India, followed by 80,000 Tibetans. It is from here that the Dalai Lama heads the Tibet Government-In-Exile.

When a country is taken by force, and brutally occupied, and its people are regarded as little more than an impediment to another end, without basic rights, what chance can that country’s plants and animals have? And do we have the right to concern ourselves with flora and fauna when human beings, perhaps some of the most beautiful and peaceful human beings on this planet, are also nearing extinction?

It is not necessary to choose. For thousands of years the Tibetan people have lived in harmony with their ecosystem and been a part of it; therefore, their struggle to survive must be included in a discussion of the destruction of that ecosystem.

Tibet is also the only nation in the world that has recognized meditation as essential to life, and has made the search for truth and the awakening of personal consciousness an undisputed priority in its culture and religion. In the words of Osho, a contemporary enlightened master:

Above harsh rangeland nearly three miles above sea level, vast beyond imagining, tower the mighty Himalaya, backbone of the world. (Photo: Guy Taylor)

“Nowhere has such concentrated effort been made to discover man’s being. Every family in Tibet used to give their eldest son to some monastery where he was to meditate and grow closer to awakening. It was a joy to every family that at least one of them was wholeheartedly, twenty-four hours a day, working on the inner being. They were also working but they could not give all their time; they had to create food and clothes and shelter… but still every family used to give their first-born child to the monastery.

“And we think the world is civilized, where innocent people who are not doing any harm to anybody are simply destroyed. And with them, something of great importance to all humanity is also destroyed. If there were something civilized in man, every nation would have stood against the invasion of Tibet by China. It is the invasion of matter against consciousness. It is invasion of materialism against spiritual heights.

“If humanity were a little more aware, Tibet should be made free because it is the only country which has devoted almost two thousand years to doing nothing but going deeper into meditation. And it can teach the whole world something which is immensely needed” [Om Mani Padme Humm].

Tibetan Buddhism belongs to the Mahayana branch of Buddhism, which emphasizes compassion as the ultimate goal of meditation, rather than just enlightenment. Recent scientific studies show neurological proof that people who meditate actually feel more compassion for others, and are more likely to feel compassion for strangers.

“Emotionally, mentally and physically, all humans are equal and the same. We should take care of one another. It is good for us,” said the Dalai Lama last month in India. His life and work embody compassion, laughter and love—although the Chinese insist it is a diabolically constructed illusion, and to possess even a photograph of him is illegal in Tibet.

At least 6,000 Tibetan Buddhist monasteries, nunneries and temples, and their contents have been destroyed since the Chinese invasion and during the Cultural Revolution. At least hundreds of thousands of Tibetans have been killed as a direct result of Chinese execution, imprisonment and torture; by some counts, including suicide and other indirect means of death, the number is over a million.

Perhaps because the Dalai Lama is both the religious and political leader of Tibet, China still regards Tibetan Buddhism as a threat. “Patriotic re-education” is their term for the torture of monks and nuns, who are forced to denounce the Dalai Lama, and repeat after them that “Tibet has always been part of China.” Religious pilgrimages are restricted, or impossible, and Buddhist education is difficult or impossible for Tibetans now. Forced sterilizations and abortions are commonplace.

A belated band of steel to the remotest place on earth. The newly buit Qingzang Railway passes over Namtso Lake (Photo: Guy Taylor)

Since the turn of the century, China’s economy has been booming, and what they call their “Western Development Plan” in Tibet has been picking up steam. Key to the plan has been the Qingzang Railway project.

The 815 km section of the railroad from Xining, Qinghai to Gormo (Golmud in Chinese), Qinghai opened to traffic in 1984.

Construction of the remaining 1,142 km section from Gormo to Lhasa could not be started until the recent economic growth of China. This section was begun in 2001, and completed in 2006. The cost to the Chinese Government was $3.68 billion.

Before he left office, the former President of China, Jiang Zemin, said of the Gormo-Lhasa railway, “Some people have advised me not to go ahead with this project because it is not commercially viable. I said this is a political decision” [New York Times, 10 August 2001].

This political decision is advantageous to China in many ways, and is one which will likely prove financially profitable.

Tibet houses an estimated 4-5 billion tons in potential oil reserves; the railroad has greatly increased the efficiency of lumber, mining, and other government industries and projects as well.

Due largely to the railroad, Tibetans have become a minority in their own country. A recent report by the Washington-based International Campaign for Tibet says the completion of the railway has led to an influx of ethnic Chinese immigrants to the region, and that any economic gains from the improved transport links are largely limited to urban areas, rather than the countryside where about 80 percent of Tibetans live.

China Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao told reporters in Beijing that the railway has played a positive role in developing Tibet’s economy and it has also strengthened its communication links with neighboring provinces.  “I believe the benefits of this project are obvious to all,” he said.

The rail link contributed to a 60 percent increase in the number of tourists visiting the region last year, according to a previous government report. This year, tourism is predicted to gross over $800 million.

Monks carry on ancient traditions in Lhasa. (Photo: Guy Taylor)

In 1980, there were only 1059 visitors to Tibet, and 95 percent came from abroad. Since then tourism has surged, and in 2002, an estimated 140,000 visited Tibet. 

With 1.22 million visitors arriving in 2004, Tibet logged an increase in tourism of over 1,000 times the 1980 level. Ninety-two percent of the visitors are Chinese tourists.

But while the economy may have improved, the general economic status of Tibetans has not, as they are largely unskilled workers, and cannot compete with the skilled Han Chinese migrants. The ICT report says that the needs of the region’s largely rural population are ignored by China’s planners, and that Tibetans feel increasingly marginalized as their culture and rural way of life are slowly eroded. The Tibetan language is being systematically eliminated, and nomads forced into settlements.

The Chinese government itself has touted the Qingzang railway as a means of transport for troops, saying that not only will the railway improve the efficiency of the army, but the army will improve the efficiency of the railway (Xinhuanet, 10 December 2003). The railway has enabled rapid troop deployments and facilitated the expansion of the People’s Liberation Army, as seen in the recent crackdown. It not only has strengthened China’s grip on Tibet, but its strategic location may pose a threat to India as well, increasing instability in the region.

This April, China announced its plans to continue construction of the railroad all the way to Khasha, on the Nepalese border, estimated to be completed by 2013. Eventually, the train may run all the way through Nepal, to the North Indian state of Bihar.
 
The ICT report also states that China’s policy of urbanization in Tibet, encouraged by the new rail link, is damaging its natural ecosystems. Over 46% of forests have been destroyed, which has led to increased soil erosion and siltation of rivers, creating major floods and landslides. Government lumber operations continue to cut at an unprecedented rate, and reforestation is generally neglected and ineffective. Rapid and widespread deforestation has life-threatening consequences for the hundreds of millions who live in the flood plains of the major rivers of Southeast Asia, many of which have their headwaters in Tibet. Clear-cutting also threatens the habitat of the rare giant panda, golden monkey, and over 5,000 unique plant species.

The demands of the fast-growing human population, construction of roads, mining, and poor grazing practices are degrading Tibet’s grasslands as well. Huge factory farms are being developed, motivated by the need to feed the growing Chinese population and reduce the costly wheat imports. Traditional farming practices have maintained the ecological balance for centuries, but large-scale commercial agriculture may ultimately harm Tibet more than it helps.

Of far greater concern, however, are China’s nuclear weapons projects in Tibet. Today there are at least three nuclear missile launch sites there, and the number of actual warheads is unknown. The northern Tibetan Plateau was home to China’s “Los Alamos”– its primary nuclear weapons research and development plant. Tibetan nomads living in the area claim to have suffered illness and death. Their strange symptoms are consistent with radiation poisoning, indicating that nuclear waste may have been dumped on the plains nearby. The International Campaign for Tibet has published a ground-breaking report on the issue, entitled Nuclear Tibet.

The Tibetan Plateau is the source of almost all of Asia’s major rivers: the Yellow River, the Yangtze, the Mekong, the Salween, the Indus, and the Yarlung Tsangpo, which downstream becomes the Brahmaputra. Contamination of these waterways, nuclear or otherwise, harms not only residents of Tibet, but potentially all those who drink from them—nearly half the world’s population lives downstream.

One such threat to the rivers is the mining industry. Tibet is rich in natural resources, and the unregulated extraction of borax, chromium, copper and gold is increasing rapidly. More surprising, however, is Tibet’s supply of lithium.

Chabyer salt lake, at an elevation of 14,400 feet (4,400 meters) is not only the largest lithium mine in China but also one of the three largest salt lakes in the world. Chabyer now makes Tibet the No. 1 area in the world in terms of prospective lithium reserves, according to the China Tibet Information Center. China is now the largest producer and consumer of lithium-ion batteries, found in everything from cell phones to computers and even hybrid cars.

The future of zero and ultralow emission vehicles depends on lithium, which is relatively scarce. Lithium is only the 33rd most abundant element on Earth. With Tibet in its hand, China is well poised to move into that future.

March 9th was the anniversary of the 1959 uprising, which recent protesters have been commemorating; but like their predecessors, this cry for freedom has met with little more than imprisonment, torture, and often death. The Chinese Government claims that 18 Han Chinese immigrants were killed in the Lhasa riots; but in their crushing response, over 140 Tibetans were killed by the Chinese. Countless others are still being held in prison, and may be executed as well.

On June 21, the Olympic Torch came and went through Lhasa in about two hours. Since March, Tibetans live under virtual martial law, and were told not only to stay at home, but not to look out of their windows during the relay.

The decision by China to continue with the relay through Lhasa in light of recent events is a message to the world, that Tibet is their property and they fear no one. At the end of the relay, Zhang Qingli, the Communist Party secretary of Tibet, stood beneath the Potala Palace, the historic seat of the Dalai Lama. “Tibet’s sky will never change, and the red flag with five stars will forever flutter high above it,” Zhang said, according to Reuters. “We will certainly be able to totally smash the splittist schemes of the Dalai Lama clique.”

This is the language of power, and people who use it know no other. Talks have just resumed between the Chinese and envoys of the Dalai Lama since the protests, but those talks had been going on since 2002 without progress. The Dalai Lama does not hope for independence, only autonomy for Tibet. Only time will tell if this round is any different.

The Dalai Lama spoke in Denver years ago—not about politics, but parenting, love, and other topics. When he asked for questions, one woman said, “What can we do about Tibet?”
The Dalai Lama was silent. “Just go and see it before it’s gone,” he said at last. “It is a beautiful country.”

Tibet—the plants, animals, water, air, people, religious heritage and the inner search itself— is our heritage as human beings; it is a part of us. Tibet is one of the real diamonds of this world… its freedom is our freedom, and whether the effort is futile or not, we must do anything and everything in our power to save it.

Ranch Rider’s Rocking Z Ranch uses waste vegetable oil to power an irrigation pump, saving more than 4,000 gallons of diesel fuel per year.

Ranch Rider’s Siwash Lake Ranch has been awarded Five Green Keys by the Hotel Association of Canada, only given to hotels that exemplify the highest standards of environmental responsibility.

In the old days, cowboys explored and exploited the vast open ranges of the country, embodying the frontier spirit of the Wild West.

Our attitude towards the environment has since changed, and now, a new generation of ranches offered by Ranch Rider seeks to co-exist harmoniously with nature.

These “green ranches” practice a more sustainable style of ranching through energy-saving techniques and conservation initiatives. The Siwash Lake and the Rocking Z are examples of how ranchers can be great stewards of the earth, ensuring that future generations can still enjoy the scenic beauty of the Wild West.

Many wilderness ranches claim to be off grid, but there’s no greenwash at the Siwash Lake in British Columbia, as the ranch has recently been awarded with a 5 Green Key eco-rating by the Hotel Association of Canada. The prestigious accolade is given to a hotel that exemplifies the highest standards of environmental and social responsibility in all areas of operations – the Siwash Lake Ranch employing cutting-edge technologies and eco-friendly policies.

While guests are out eco-ploring on unspoiled wilderness trails, the luxury ranch is working behind the scenes to ensure a seamless green stay for its guests.  Siwash Lake runs on solar power and a combined diesel generator – the latter charging up the battery bank on cloudy days, or when city slickers who can’t resist curling irons and hairdryers stay at home on the range.

Always mindful of being environmentally friendly and energy efficient, the ranch uses propane, a clean fuel, for cooking and for heating hot water. In addition, guests lounging by the cosy fireplace are sure to find comfort in the fact that the wood is beetle-killed pine – Siwash ensuring that their waste wood is put to good use.  Biodegradable chemicals, energy saving light bulbs and emission controlled wood stoves are further initiatives that have been brought to the fore by the eco-friendly ranch ensuring would be cowboys and girls minimise their impact in the West.

Eco-gourmands can have their taste buds tickled by the Siwash Lake’s 2-acre organic garden, a source of fresh greens, edible flowers and herbs. The ranch produces its own beef and pork, which is again organic and all the chickens at Siwash produce free range eggs. However it’s not just the hearty Western cooking that has a green stamp of approval as everything is 100% natural and even the water comes from the ranch’s own well! The water goes through a low power, high-tech filtration system, including UV light treatment, to make it 100% potable and pure, with no chemicals added into the process.

Situated in the heart of Cariboo Country, ethical ranchers can experience the wonders of the natural grassland on horseback, by canoe or on foot – numerous bird and wildlife stopping by to greet wilderness ranchers.  (7-nights with Ranch Rider from £1,939pp, excludes transfers as car hire recommended.)

Energy saving light bulbs and wide windows minimise the use of electricity at the Siwash Lake Ranch.

The Rocking Z in Montana might seem like an ordinary guest ranch at first sight, but ask the owners about their deed of conservation and you might see it differently.  The ranch now uses solar and straight waste vegetable oil power to irrigate the land – saving over 4,000 gallons of diesel fuel and 600 gallons of petrol per year. The ranch also uses pure bio diesel for its tractors and earth moving equipment making the Rocking Z a truly green home on the range.

As part of their conservation commitment, the owners recently struck up a partnership with the Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks Foundation. The latest initiative, at the Little Pickly Pear Creek, has helped to lower stream temperatures by 2 degrees; ensuring a more amenable habitat for the resident rainbow trout who now thrive in their natural environment. The owners have also committed the ranch with a deed of Conservation, working closely with Montana’s Land Reliance to protect and conserve the ecologically and agriculturally significant land, as a living resource for future generations to enjoy.

Green moves implemented by the ranch include, the recycling of glass, aluminum, tin and all metals; and the composting of all waste foods and bio-degradable material ensuring everything comes back full-circle. A significant proportion of the ranch’s produce is also organically grown by local farmers, helping the Wolf Creek community with their livelihood. Ethical stewards, who are constantly looking for ways to further their green commitment, the owners of the Rocking Z have yet more plans in store, and in 2009 they are hoping to install a wind charged generator – making this the perfect stay for forward thinking ranchers.

Jatropha nuts finding a traditional mode of transportation from tree to press.

Jatropha trees at the Tree Oils Ltd. plantation in Andhra Pradesh.

Tree Oils India Limited (TOIL) was established in 2003 to produce biodiesel from non-edible tree based oils (feedstocks).

As these feedstocks were not available in sufficient quantities and at reasonable price at the time, TOIL started with plantation activity. As there were no tested varieties of these tree species and knowledge of agronomy was limited, TOIL started a research farm to begin with.

Since then, TOIL has emerged as a biodiesel plantation technology company engaged in research and development non-edible oil-bearing trees such as Pongamia, Jatropha etc. The existing sources such as palm, canola, soybean and coconut oils, used cooking oil and tallow are expensive and are not available in large quantities. Hence, non-edible oils from trees such as Jatropha and Pongamia are being developed as cost effective and sustainable feedstocks.

Pongamia and Jatropha could be cultivated in marginal areas, including desert, other than forests with lower rainfall and poor soils. They are being grown in Egypt and Saudi Arabia and survived well in Dubai. The biggest advantage of these trees is that there is no competition with agriculture and food production.

There is a concern that biodiesel from edible oils increases the cost of food around the world and forests are being cleared to grow them. Even otherwise, it is felt that the biodiesel crops compete with agriculture for land and water. Our approach of using non-edible oils produced by hard trees that are grown in non-agricultural and non-forest lands offers a solution to these issues.

Plants: Jatropha curcas is Latin American in origin and is closely related to Castor. It is a large shrub and can thrive in a number of climatic zones in arid and semi-arid tropical regions of the world. An easy to establish perennial, it can grow in areas of low rainfall of 250 mm per year and is drought tolerant.

Pongamia trees - along with Jatropha, these trees tolerate poor, arid soils.

Pongamia pinnata is a native of India and grows in dry places far in the interior and up to an elevation of 1000 m. It is a hardy tree that mines water for its needs up to 10 metre depths without competing with other crops.

Jatropha and Pongamia have relative cost advantage as they are perennial trees that require minimum inputs. Goldman Sachs estimated that Jatropha was lowest in terms of cost of production.

People: The Company was founded by Mr. Sreenivas Ghatty, a post graduate in Agriculture and was a corporate banker and project manager with exposure to credit appraisal, agri-business and energy cropping. He worked with multinational banks, including State Bank of India and Emirates Bank International, in India and Middle East Asia for eighteen years. He is the founder of Tree Oils India Limited and for the last five years, his focus has been on research and development of oil bearing trees, energy crops and contract farming. In his most recent assignment as Development Director Energy Cropping for Australian Biodiesel Group, Mr. Sreenivas Ghatty worked to develop large scale Biodiesel Plantations and alternate energy crops in Australia.

Progress: In order to facilitate commercial production of Tree Based Oils on large scale, TOIL established 120 Acres of R&D centre in India in 2003.

The plantation consists of:
· 60 Acres of Pongamia (Indian Beech)

· 40 Acres of Jatropha (Physic Nut)

· 5 Acres of Moringa (Drumstick)

· 2 Acres of Azadirachta (Neem)

· 1 Acre of Sapindus (Soap nut)

· 1 Acre of Simarouba (Paradise)

TOIL also planted to conduct research:

· Madhuca (Mahua)

· Aleurites (Candle Nut)

· Sapium (Chinese Tallow)

· Calophyllum (Poon)

TOIL took up various soil and water conservation measures and has been using mostly biofertilisers and biopesticides to promote sustainable farming. Experiments are being conducted to find out the optimum set of inter crops and package of practices for them.

TOIL have also established nursery for Jatropha cuttings and Pongamia grafts and started Apiculture and Vermicompost activities. The focus was on developing an integrated Tree Based Oils Farming System to be adopted by the farmers under contract farming system in the next five years.

TOIL have been conducting trials to develop suitable silviculture practices with specific emphasis on evaluation of Jatropha selections, different doses of fertiliser applications, irrigation at different intervals and various types of pruning. Based on this research and the feedback obtained from our panel of advisors, meaningful conclusions on Jatropha and Pongamia are being drawn.

To intensify the research efforts, Tree Oils Development Centre (TODC) is being established. High quality plantation material could be sourced from the company’s nursery and the knowledge and expertise gained by TOIL could be modified to suit the local conditions in other locations.

Harvested jatropha nuts - can these plants help local economies and contribute to global fuel supplies? Can their cultivation be encouraged on arid wasteland?

Participation: As technical partners to the project owners TOIL can:

· Provide technical support and guidance in developing and maintaining Jatropha and Pongamia plantations.

· Guide in deciding on the choice of suitable species and agronomic practices depending on the agro climatic conditions.

· Supply high quality planting materials and provide guidance to set up nurseries at project locations.

· Train project personnel at their farm in India on all aspects of cultivation of Jatropha and Pongamia.

· Monitor the plantation activity at the project site and have regular presence on site.

· Provide services of advisors and experts to meet the project needs.

· Take up specific research projects to meet your needs, if required.

Projects: TOIL worked with the following biodiesel manufacturing and feedstock management companies so far and assisted them in establishing Jatropha and Pongamia plantations:

· BioMassive, Sweden for their Jatropha plantation project in Tanzania

· Global Green Energy, Sydney, Australia for their Jatropha plantation project in Ghana

· Global Tree Oils, Singapore for their Jatropha plantation project in Thailand

· Pacific Renewable Energy, Brisbane, Australia for their Pongamia research and plantation project in Australia

· Australian Biodiesel Group, Sydney, Australia for their Jatropha plantation project in Solomon Islands

Future Plans: TOIL intends to take up the following activities in future:

· Intensify research and develop IP for cultivation of Pongamia, Jatropha and other tree based oils, including high yielding varieties.

· Establish plantations in India and other countries on their own and through joint ventures.

· Execute turnkey projects for corporates or high net worth individuals to establish Jatropha and Pongamia plantations.

· Work with farmers, NGOs/SHGs to establish plantations and support them with technical inputs and buy back agreement.

· Conduct collaborative research on tree based oils and energy crops with companies who are planning to enter this activity by giving access to their five year old research farm.