LIFE IS EASIER IF YOU DON'T SPEAK UP
Nobel Peace Prize Laureates the Dalai Lama and Nelson Mandela take time off—in these images created by the Danish agency Unkle. The images ran in Denmark's largest-selling newspaper, Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten, as a way of provoking discussion—later appearing in the website: theinspirationroom/daily/.
SKIING IN THE HIMALAYAS? Unheard of in Tibet, but possible in northern India—for now. Not clear what will happen in 20 years if the Himalayan snowpack disappears. Surfing in South Africa? Yes, but might get tricky if sea levels rise—might be surfing past skyscrapers in Jo'berg.
What to do? There are looming climate change problems that are going to be hard to stop or reverse. Nature doesn't do bailouts. But something can certainly be done to minimise or stall the human interference factors that are compounding water-stress problems in Asia. That all goes back to Tibet—to the building of large dams and to the damage cause by pollution of rivers due to mining—and due to dumping of toxic waste.
The fate of billions of people in Asia depends on access to clean water—and access to the huge volume of nutrient-rich silt that the rivers carry along from Himalayan peaks to the sea. And access to the migrating fish species in these rivers. Campaign to keep the rivers sourced in Tibet free-flowing. Not strangled by dams. Not diverted for mining and industry. And free from pollution. Rivers have rights: they have the right to flow to the sea. And they have the right to remain pristine.
CAMPAIGNS
internationalrivers.org
US-based organisation that campaigns to save rivers worldwide and stop dams; features a China campaign section
stopminingtibet.com
Canadian group that campaigns to stop foreign companies mining in Tibet
run by studentsforafreetibet.org
savetibet.org
US-based, focuses on human rights in Tibet; a number of branches in Europe
amnesty.org
a recent Amnesty campaign targets the global right to clean water, being pursued at the UN. There are several aspects relating to the rights of indigenous peoples. One is the right to access clean drinking water—water that is not tainted by toxic pollutants generated by companies bent on mining or oil exploitation. Another human rights problem concerns diversion of traditional water resources away from indigenous peoples to serve industrial uses and/or large cities. The rights of Tibetan nomads have been clearly violated in both cases.
www.waterkeeper.org
Group that pushes for the right to clean water, on a worldwide basis. There are chapters in China. In view of climate change and the damming of Tibet's rivers, Waterkeeper is floating the idea of a Himalayan Rivers Treaty campaign.
burmariversnetwork.org
A site devoted to letting the rivers go free—in Burma, at least, where rivers are held hostage to China's engineering whims.
tibet3rdpole.org
Incentive backed by some 170 members of the International Tibet Support Network (www.tibetnetwork.org), advocating fundamental human rights of Tibetans to environmental self-determination, as they seek to adapt to climate change.
tibet-edd.blogspot.com
website created by environment and development desk in Dharamsala, India
tibetanwomen.org/environment
The Dharamsala-based Tibetan Women's Association is active in a number of campaign areas, including the environment and nomad rights.
www.tibetnature.net/en/
Dharamsala-based site: Tibet Nature Environmental Conservation Network, with some unique Tibetan takes on the environment
Yaktivists at Copenhagen Climate Change Conference, December 2009—one of the first major protests by Tibetan groups focusing on climate change and environmental damage in Tibet
SPECIAL EVENTS
Become a “yaktivist” and lobby to keep Tibet's rivers free flowing and free from pollution. Calling all water warriors! These ailing rivers desperately need your help.
International Day of Action for Rivers
Held annually on March 14; hosted by NGO International Rivers. You can look at a world map to find local activists and activities anywhere from India to Thailand. Spinning off from this, find a Tibet group or create one yourself to celebrate Tibet Rivers Day, on March 10. www.internationalrivers.org/international-day-of-action-for-rivers/
Celebrated worldwide on April 22 each year, Earth Day raises awareness about the environment. Eco-activists see this day as an opportunity to focus on urgent issues and problems: Tibet presents a raft of urgent environmental issues. www.earthday.org
World Environment Day
Staged annually on June 5—encourages worldwide awareness and action for the environment www.unep.org/wed/
World Rivers Day
Held on the last Sunday of September, a Canadian-based initiative that strives to encourage public awareness and encourages improved stewardship of all the rivers around the world. www.worldriversday.com
World Food Day
Celebrated every year on October 16 in honour or the founding of the UN FAO (Food & Agriculture Organization) in 1945. Today, World Food Day focuses on the issues of hunger, and on small-scale farmers lifting themselves out of poverty. Tibet's rivers are the lifeline of Asia for agriculture and also for fishing. www.fao.org
Tibetan design for Earth Hour, 2012
(energy conservation initiative),
with yak-butter lamp inside lightbulb
INTERACTIVE SITES
www.internationalrivers.org/worldsrivers/
State of the World's Rivers. The NGO International Rivers hosts a fantastic interactive data-base on the world's great river basins. Of the ten basins initially given prominence, four originate from the Tibetan plateau. And yes, those purple dots you see in the map screenshot are operational dams within China.
www.ejatlas.org
Environmental Justice Atlas: very good coverage for India, but comes up short on China, and very short for Tibet. Strategists, activist organizers, scholars, and teachers will find many uses for the database, as well as people wanting to learn more about off-the-radar conflicts taking place.
nationalgeographic.com/geoguide/dams/
Geoguide Dams is an interactive educational website from Nat Geo that looks at rivers before, during, and after dam construction
dameffects.org
Basic Dam Impacts—explore the components of healthy rivers and what happens when a dam is built at this interactive website
www.rfa.org/english/multimedia/games/WaterGame/TheWaterGame/
Can you survive a day as a farmer in Asia, dealing with water shortages? This water survival interactive game is part of The Water Project, a brief investigation of drinking water in Asia by Radio Free Asia with photos, video, links to news stories.
COOL LINKS FOR TIBET
WildYakFilms.com
See short documentaries about nomads and grasslands, about mining in Tibet, and about the devastation of ecosystems of Tibet.
tibetanplateau.blogspot.com
Tashi's Blog—run by Tashi Tsering, a Tibetan expert studying the impact of climate change on Himalayan water resources
tew.org
Tibet Environmental Watch: news reports about Tibet's environment can be accessed from this California-based site. Has a number of satellite and themed maps.
griffonexpeditions.com
get up close and personal with the mighty rivers of the Tibetan Plateau—scare the heck out of yourself with rafting and kayaking sorties organised by Griffon in Tibet, Bhutan and Nepal. This site has cool photos. Some sub-zero photos too.
lastdescents.com
touring with a purpose—trips with eco focus on Tibet's rivers. Related is: www.shangri-la-river-expeditions.com—a site devoted to river exploration on the Tibetan plateau and first descents records
watch a one-minute clip about retreating glaciers in Alaska, from the movie Chasing Ice
PLANET IN TROUBLE
extremeicesurvey.org
the future? It is slipping away, one huge chunk of ice at a time: you can see it happening on this extraordinary site. There is a documentary about the project called 'Chasing Ice': see www.chasingice.com.
www.circleofblue.org
reporting on the global water crisis, this superb site is backed by water expert Peter Gleick, who runs the Pacific Institute
blueplanetproject.net
The Blue Planet Project is an international civil society movement begun by The Council of Canadians to protect the world's fresh water from the
growing threats of trade and privatization. The project was founded by leading water activist Maude Barlow.
www.youtube.com/homeproject
Trailer for the brilliant climate-change film, HOME, by Yann Arthus-Bertrand. From here you can find the HD version of the entire movie on YouTube,
which lasts an hour and a half. Mesmerising aerial cinematography captures a planet in deep trouble.
In Calcutta, a city of 16 million, water resources are limited. Every morning, in poorer parts of Calcutta, municipal water-trucks drive out to deliver
water to residents. The water is transferred by hoses into plastic containers.
Tibetan design for Earth Hour, 2012 
Can you survive a day as a farmer in Asia, dealing with water shortages? This water survival interactive game is part of The Water Project, a brief investigation of drinking water in Asia by Radio Free Asia with photos, video, links to news stories.
