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DAM-L IUCN Resolution on Protecting Major Asian River Systems Flowing from T
From: "Lorne Stockman & Catherine Barnes" <lorncatherin@gn.apc.org>
To: <lorncatherin@gn.apc.org>
Subject: IUCN Resolution on Protection of Asia's Major River Systems that Flow from Tibet
Date: Sun, 5 Nov 2000 13:21:19 -0000
Apologies to anyone who has seen this already and also for the late
forwarding of this release. If anyone has questions, comments or suggestions
about this resolution please direct them to either Lorne Stockman
<lorncatherin@gn.apc.org> and/or D'Arcy Richardson <mrichard@dhs.ca.gov>.
********************************************************
International Committee of Lawyers for Tibet
PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
October 16, 2000
China Agrees to International Resolution to Protect Asia's Rivers
Berkeley, California: A resolution to protect Asia's major river systems
was adopted at the 2nd World Conservation Congress by the World
Conservation Union (IUCN) held in Amman, Jordan, October 4 - 11th. The
resolution was sponsored by the Berkeley-based International Committee of
Lawyers for Tibet (ICLT) with co-sponsors the Sierra Club, the Wilderness
Society of Australia, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from India,
Nepal, and Vietnam. "The resolution represents an important first step in
getting the Chinese involved in cooperative environmental efforts," said
ICLT delegation chairperson D'Arcy Richardson, "and in getting them to sit
down with Tibetans to negotiate an agreement."
The resolution recognizes that overexploitation or misuse of Asia's major
river systems could negatively affect these systems as well as the
livelihoods of a significant proportion of the world's population. It sets
up a process to evaluate and recommend mechanisms for conservation and
sustainable management of these waters for the common interest of the
riparian countries.
The resolution -- a compromise from its original language -- was hammered
out, in face-to-face negotiations, between Chinese government delegates and
the sponsors, including Tibetan representatives. "While the language of the
resolution was weaker than what we wanted," Richardson said, "we preserved
the ability of the Tibetans to participate thus lending legitimacy to their
ownership of the resources in Tibet. We hope to build the case that
regardless of Tibet's political status, Tibetans should still have the
right to control their own resources. As it now stands, the environmental
relationship between China and Tibet is one of a colony where resources are
extracted and the benefits accrue to the occupier, not the local people."
The Congress was the largest environmental gathering of the millennium,
bringing together over 2,000 delegates from all over the world. The focus
of the Congress was "EcoSpace" -- the concept that environmental issues
cross national boundaries and need to be dealt with cooperatively on an
international scale. "One of the objectives of our resolution was to bring
the Chinese into a dialogue about what happens with the rivers that flow
from the Tibetan Plateau," said ICLT delegate Tashi Tsering. "Up to this
point, China has been unwilling to participate in other international
mechanisms that have been created, such as the Mekong River Commission, but
we still believe that environmental issues are the best place to search for
common ground between China and Tibet."
"As a Tibet advocacy organization, IUCN is an important forum for us,"
Tsering said. "It's one of the few places where Tibetans have a voice in
an international arena, where we can advocate for ourselves."
IUCN is a unique international forum, where governmental and
non-governmental delegates have equal status, thus allowing Tibetans who
are members of NGO's to be part of the discussion and decision-making
process. Other ICLT delegates to the Congress were Lhadon Tethong with
Students for a Free Tibet, New York and Lorne Stockman, coordinator of the
International Tibet Support Network based in London. Stockman had
earlier in the year represented ICLT at the Second World Water Forum &
Ministerial Conference in The Hague.
"The resolution," Richardson said, "recognizes that environmental problems
need regional and local collaboration of all parties, leaving room for
Tibetan participation. However, the success of the resolution will depend,
in large part, on the will of IUCN members and the Secretariat to carry out
its mandate. There is strong support for Tibet from within the NGO-IUCN
community. With this resolution, and the one on Yamdrok Tso passed at the
first IUCN Congress in Montreal in 1996, we have started to build
precedents that we can use in the future -- hopefully, to help bring the
Chinese to the table to negotiate a peace agreement with the Tibetans."
The full text of resolution is attached below.
The International Committee of Lawyers for Tibet advocates
self-determination for the Tibetan people. Through legal action and
education, ICLT promotes human rights, environmental protection, and
peaceful resolution of the situation in Tibet. A non-profit membership
organization, based in Berkeley, California, ICLT is supported by
attorneys, other concerned individuals, and organization. See our website:
www.tibeticlt.org.
# # #
SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT AND PROTECTION OF ASIA'S MAJOR RIVER SYSTEMS
ACKNOWLEDGING that Asia's major river systems, including their watershed
areas, support the livelihoods of a significant proportion of the world's
human population both within and across countries;
AWARE that these river systems are home to a great diversity of ecosystems
with a wealth of plant and animal life;
FURTHER AWARE that overexploitation or misuse of these river systems and
their surrounding lands may lead to habitat loss, species extinction, soil
erosion, siltation, pollution, flooding, and unstable water flows that may
threaten the integrity of these rivers;
ENCOURAGED by the recent efforts of riparian countries to address critical
issues affecting the protection of these waters, such as: a) logging bans
in the upper watersheds of the Yangtze; b) the commitment to establish a
wetlands reserve to protect the headwaters of the Yangtze, Yellow, and
Lancang (Mekong) Rivers; c) coordination by Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and
Vietnam on Mekong River conservation; and d) NGO [non-governmental
organizations] initiatives for forest protection in the Himalayan region;
APPLAUDING the World Conservation Union's proposed Overall Quadrennial
Programme for 2001-2004;
NOTING its orientation towards producing measurable progress in each of its
seven Key Result Areas, including ecosystem protection;
EMPHASIZING that any efforts to protect and manage these river systems
should take into account the needs of local people to maintain their
livelihood, and should involve local communities in this process in order
to be effective and sustainable;
RECALLING Resolution 19.23 (The important of community-based approaches)
adopted by the 19th Session of the General Assembly (Buenos Aires, 1994)
and Recommendation 1.42 (Collaborative management for conservation) adopted
by the 1st Session of the World Conservation Congress (Montreal, 1996);
The World Conservation Congress at its 2nd Session in Amman, Jordan, 4-11
October 2000:
CALLS ON the riparian countries to utilise fully the existing co-operative
mechanisms and arrangements for conservation and sustainable management of
these important waters; and REQUESTS the Director General to:
a) Conduct a study on the necessity and feasibility of establishing a
new
mechanism for conservation and sustainable management of these waters for
the common interest of the riparian countries;
b) On completion of this study to convene, if necessary, a meeting of
governments and organisations of riparian countries to discuss the findings
of the study and determine agreed appropriate follow up actions;
c) Assist in obtaining the necessary funding for activities related to
this resolution; and
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