Qomolangma National Nature Preserve
Qomolangma National Nature Preserve | |
---|---|
Location | Tibet Autonomous Region, China |
Nearest city | Shigatse |
Coordinates | 28°10′52″N 86°48′11″E / 28.18111°N 86.80306°E |
Area | 36,000 km2 |
Established | March 18, 1989 |
The Qomolangma National Nature Preserve (QNNP), also known as the Chomolungma Nature Reserve (QNP), is a
The protected area, initially named Qomolangma Nature Preserve, was created on March 18, 1989 at the Tibet regional level. Support from then-Governor of Tibet,
Physical Aspects
The QNNP contains along its border with
The contiguous trans-border protected area that has become appended to the QNNP links with five protected areas in
Management
QNNP is distinctive because no warden force protects its natural and cultural treasures. Management is by local communities, especially the governments of the four counties that comprise the preserve (Tingri, Dinjie, Nyalam, Kyirong) with a Management Bureau in Shigatse, the prefecture headquarters. The four counties have a population estimated at over 90,000 people.[3] The official data sheet provided by the QNNP administration reports over 2,000 species of plants, 53 species of mammals, 206 species of birds, eight species of amphibians, 10 species of fish. Forty-seven species of rare and endangered plants and animals.
While the norm in community-based conservation has been co-management by science and traditional peoples under a separate management structure for conservation, the QNNP represents another model where science and traditional join in political administration and there is no separate conservation administration.[4]
Village volunteers known as Pendebas (Tibetan for “workers who benefit the village”) are trained in primary health, nutrition, and kitchen gardens, conservation concepts and management. Most of the 230 villages in the QNNP have sent at least one village member to be trained as a Pendeba.[5] Continuing development of the Pendebas is being led by Tsering Norbu and the QNNP-based Pendeba Society, one of the few nonprofit organizations in rural Tibet Autonomous Region.[6][7]
Formation
The Qomolangma National Nature Preserve was proposed in 1985 by Daniel C. Taylor to the Tibetan regional and Chinese national governments when essentially no protected land was designated in the Tibet Autonomous Region. As the primary external advisers for two decades, Daniel C. Taylor and Chun-Wuei Su Chien worked first through The Mountain Institute and then through Future Generations to provide management assistance in scientific, social development, historical renovation, ecotourism planning, and initiation of the Pendeba Program.[8]
Subsequent to formation of the QNNP, with the new land management model, land area of the Tibet Autonomous Region under national and regional protected status expanded steadily, utilizing the QNNP management model where local county administrations enforce the conservation policies and where people engage in conservation management as part of their livelihood activities. Presently, there are 23 national-level and regional-level designated nature reserves that collectively protect 42% of the region’s land area.[3]
It is included in the Sacred Himalayan Landscape.[9]
References
- ^ Department of Forestry, Government of the Tibet Autonomous Region, People’s Republic of China, ‘’Report on Protected Lands in the Tibet Autonomous Region’’ Lhasa: Tibet Autonomous Region Government Publishing House, 2006
- ^ Robert L. Fleming Jr., Liu Wulin, Tsering Dorje ‘’Across the Tibetan Plateau’’ New York: WW Norton, 2007
- ^ a b Department of Forestry, ‘’Op. cit.’’
- ^ Daniel C. Taylor & Carl E. Taylor, ‘’Just and Lasting Change: When Communities Own Their Futures’’ Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002
- ^ www.pendeba.org
- ^ Daniel C. Taylor, Carl E. Taylor, Jesse O. Taylor, ‘’Empowerment on an Unstable Planet’’ New York & Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012, Chapter 9
- ^ "Tibetans learn skills to increase family income". Future Generations. 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-02-26. Retrieved 2013-10-20.
- ^ ‘’ibid.’’
- ^ "Sacred Himalayan Landscape". Government of Nepal - Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation. Archived from the original on 12 June 2013. Retrieved 23 February 2013.