The Third Pole in Danger - Chinas Environmental Policy in Tibet

Following is the program of an upcoming conference of the Tibet-Initiative Deutschland, where yours truly will be speaking.



�The Third Pole in Danger - Chinas Environmental Policy in Tibet�
Friday 25th , March, 2011, 10am - 6pm, at the Hessische Landesvertretung, Berlin

Introduction

The progressive destruction of the environment in Tibet is the result of a reckless mishandling of its natural resources. By exploiting these resources, China is attempting to secure enough raw materials and energy to support its economic growth at the cost of the Tibetan mountains, forests, and rivers.China�s actions constitute a crime not only against the unique ecosystems
that are being destroyed but also against the Tibetan people who suffer the consequences of environmental degradation: a lack of potable water, famine, disease, and displacement. With one-third of the world�s population dependant upon Tibet�s water resources, the environmental situation in Tibet is of global importance.

The conference �The Third Pole in Danger � China�s Environmental Policy in Tibet� is a part of the TID�s campaign �Green Tibet.Free Tibet�. Our goal is to disseminate information about Chinese environmental policy in Tibet, its impact on the living conditions of the Tibetan people, as well as its consequences globally. The conference was organized under the auspices of Dr. Franz Alt.

Program
10.00 am Doors Open
11.00 am Welcome and Opening of the Conference - Wolfgang Grader, Chair of Tibet Initiative Deutschland e.V.
11.15 am Introduction, Dr. Franz Alt, Co-host
11.45 am �Tibet's Nomads � From Nature's Guardians to Victims of Modernity?� - Gabriel Lafitte, lecture and discussion
12.45 am Lunch break, Hessian-Tibetan buffet
14.00 pm �China's Water Politics in Tibet� - Tashi Tsering, lecture and discussion
15.00 pm Coffee break
15.30 pm �Endless Resources? China's Environmental Policy in Tibet and its Global Impact� - Tenzin Norbu, lecture and discussion
16.30 pm Closing Words - Kelsang Gyaltsen, Special Envoy of H.H. the Dalai Lama

Speakers
Dr. Franz Alt is a well-known journalist, publicist and author. He is an expert on Tibet and also highly engaged in environmental issues.

Gabriel Lafitte is a public policy analyst who has worked with Tibetans for over 30 years, most recently as consultant to the Environment & Development Desk of the Tibetan exile government. He has written on development models suitable for Tibet, resource exploitation, education and basic needs, poverty, urbanisation, and the ways Tibetans accommodate modernity without embracing colonisation. He recently retired from teaching Asian Studies at universities in Melbourne, Australia.

Tashi Tsering is a PhD Candidate in Resource Management and Environmental Studies program at the University of British Columbia. His research probes into Tibetan water resource issues at the local as well as national and transboundary levels. Before joining UBC, Tashi served as the Environment Program Director of Tibet Justice Center and founded Trin-Gyi-Pho-Nya, a news digest on Tibet�s environment and development issues. Tashi also serves on the board of Tesi Environmental Awareness Movement, an environmental NGO based in Dharamsala. His personal blog, the Tibetan Plateau, has readers from more than a hundred countries and has made major news stories in the Guardian and the Hindustan Times. Tashi holds a BA from Bangalore University and MA's in Political Science from Portland State University and in Economics from Garhwal University.

Tenzin Norbu born in India, schooling from TCV school - Dharamsala, graduated from Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand with M.Sc of Environmental Technology & Management. He previously worked as a Senior research associate at the Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand (5 years). Tenzin also worked on different projects funded by EU, ADB, etc., and is now serving (since December 2008) at Environment and Development Desk under the Department of Information and International Relations of The Tibetan Government in Exile of H.H. The Dalai Lama at Dharamsala.

Kelsang Gyaltsen is the Envoy of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Europe and one of the two Envoys of His Holiness the Dalai Lama entrusted with the task of conducting the dialogue with the representatives of the Chinese government.

Registration
Please note that capacity is limited. The deadline for registration is: March 11, 2011.

Please complete the attached registration form (in German) or send your registration details to: Tibet Initiative Deutschland e.V., Greifswalder Str. 4, 10405 Berlin, Phone/Fax: + 49 (0) 30 42 081 52 21 / 22, E-Mail: office@tibet-initiative.de

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