Protecting The Third Pole

By+Li+Wuzhou

The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau—the highest elevated region on Earth—is home to five mountain peaks that are more than 8，000 meters above sea level， including the 8，844.43-meter Mount Qomolangma （also known as Mount Everest in the West）. In recent years， more and more tourists have traveled to the area to admire Mount Qomolangma， whose name means “holy mother” in the Tibetan language.

This region is highly ecologically fragile and sensitive to climate change. Once the regions ecology is damaged， it would be very difficult to restore.

Under the meticulous care of the local people， this mysterious region has preserved its pristine look， where wild animals and plants still thrive today.

Engaging local residents

Mount Qomolangma straddles Tingri， Nyalam， Gyirong and Dinggye counties in Xigaze Prefecture of southwest Chinas Tibet Autonomous Region， and Chinas border with Nepal runs precisely across the summit.

To protect the unique local ecological environment， in 1988， the Tibet Regional Government demarcated a conservation area of Mount Qomolangma covering more than 33，000 square km. In 1994， it was made a national-level nature reserve， and in 2003， it was designated as a biosphere reserve by the UN Educational， Scientific and Cultural Organizations Man and Biosphere Program.

The nature reserve has an average altitude of 4，000 meters. Although the area is very ecologically fragile， it is inhabited by more than 80，000 farmers and herders. Half of the residents in this remote alpine area live below the official poverty line. Their reliance on natural resources poses a major threat to the local ecological system.

The Mount Qomolangma Nature Reserve Administration Bureau （Qomolangma Reserve Bureau） has successfully established a self-sustaining protection system and appointed local residents as environmental guardians， said Gesang Droma， the bureaus deputy director.

Lobsang， a resident in Tingris Gangkar Town， used to burn wood from dwarf Siberian pine to make fire for cooking. With subsidies from the government， his family has built a biogas digester. Half of the households in the town now use biogas digesters， which have significantly reduced firewood consumption.

Gyirong Town in Gyirong County is relatively low-lying and thus heavily forested. The local government has not relented in its efforts to protect trees. Dorje， Director of the Gyirong County Environmental Protection Bureau， revealed that local farmers and herders are given only three days a year to fell dead trees for use as firewood. Local residents are informed of the time beforehand， and after the three days are over， wood chopping is banned again.endprint

To protect the forest and grassland from overgrazing， the nature reserve restricts the number of yaks， sheep and goats that farmers and herders can take to pasture， and these same farmers and herders are financially compensated for their ecological conservation efforts. Local residents can get an annual subsidy of 200 yuan （$32） for reducing their flock by one sheep and 1，000 yuan （$162） for removing one yak or horse. Lobsangs family can get more than 10，000 yuan （$1，620） in compensation every year， which almost equals the familys one-year income from other sources.

Many farmers and herders no longer engage in agriculture or animal husbandry and have found new jobs in environmental protection， becoming forest rangers， wild animal guards and sanitation workers. Tingri has 1，157 forest rangers， and plans to hire more.

Building a wildlife paradise

Ranging from 1，400 to 8，800 meters in elevation， the Mount Qomolangma Nature Reserve is one of the most biologically diverse nature reserves in Tibet. It has more than 2，000 advanced plant species and 53 species of mammal， including 47 rare and endangered ones under the highest national protection.

Some wild animals in the nature reserve inconvenience local residents by eating crops or attacking livestock. In 2012， herders often found snow leopards trailing behind their yaks and sheep， and in that year， more than 40 farm animals were reported attacked by snow leopards. In 1972， the International Union for Conservation of Nature placed the snow leopard on its Red List of Threatened Species.

During the past two decades since the nature reserves establishment， the number of snow leopards in the region has grown rapidly. The number of villages where snow leopards have been spotted has also doubled.

“In the area near Mount Qomolangma， snow leopards are responsible for more than half of livestock injuries caused by wild animals，” said Gesang Droma with the Qomolangma Reserve Bureau.

In recent years， black and brown bears， also protected species in the nature reserve， have also been reported hurting people， said Tsewang， Director of the Gyirong County Branch of the Qomolangma Reserve Bureau.

Machins， a protected long-tailed monkey species， often pay uninvited visits to residents homes in broad daylight， and can seriously damage cash crops and grains.

The government compensates local farmers and herders for their losses. For example， a yak lost to wild animals is worth 3，500 yuan （$568） and a sheep 500 yuan（$81）. The government also pays for the fences and barbed wires erected to prevent wild animals from eating crops. In villages frequented by wild animals， guards are posted to prevent poaching.endprint

Blue sheep and argali like to eat salt， so reserve workers visit their habitat four times a year to distribute salt. In addition， wild animal rescue stations will be set up to save animals from injuries， said Gesang Droma.

In the nature reserve， in addition to ani- mals， protected plants such as the Himalayan yew， Euphobia royleana and Pinus palustris mill also enjoy protection. Tsewang said that nursery gardens with similar temperature and humidity are set up at the same latitude as the plant species natural habitat. Seedlings natured in the gardens are later transplanted in the wild.

Even commonplace plant spices such as dwarf Siberian pine have prospered in the nature reserve， since they are less likely to be chopped down as local residents switch to biogas for cooking fuel.

Keeping the reserve clean

The spectacular scenery and rare wildlife in Mount Qomolangma have lured more and more mountain climbers and other tourists to the area. So far， more than 3，500 people have successfully ascended to the summit.

As the number of visitors to the reserve has increased， so has the amount of garbage， which poses another environmental challenge. The Qomolangma Reserve Bureau periodically sends people to clean up mountaineering camps on the peaks in the reserve， such as the Qomolangma， Cho Oyu and Shisha Pangma， and transport the garbage to Tingri for disposal. The bureau said that every day， up to three truckloads of garbage are shipped down the peaks.

The bureau has also prepared garbage bags and distributed them to mountaineers and other tourists for free. Tourists are asked to put trash in the bags and carry them down. This idea is warmly supported by tourists.

Tourists may also cause other environmental damages while climbing mountains. Old roads on Mount Qomolangma are usually unpaved and “shabby，” so tourists often blaze their own trails， damaging vegetation in the process， according to Wang Xudong， deputy head of Tingri County. In response， the Qomolangma Reserve Bureau requires mountaineers to follow existing paths and forbids them from carving new routes.

To facilitate tourists access to the Mount Qomolangma Base Camp at 5，200 meters above sea level， where mountaineers can rest and prepare to ascend to the summit， Tingri is paving a 100-km-long asphalt road to the camp.

Wang said that after the road is open in the next year， a comprehensive service facility will be constructed at a place 79 km from the Mount Qomolangma Base Camp. By then， self-driving tourists can leave their own cars there and transfer to pollution- and noise-free electric vehicles. According to Wang， 17，000 private vehicles entered the core area of the nature reserve in 2013.

Wang said that electric vehicles will reduce the impacts of exhaust emissions on icebergs while preventing animals from being startled by car horns.endprint