Protecting the environment is a tradition for local people, and the government is willing to sacrifice development in exchange for "preserving verdant hills and green waters", according to the chairman of the Tibet autonomous region.

Lying north of the Himalayas, Tibet features landscape of glaciers and lakes. [Photo: China.com.cn]

Lobsang Jamcan told China Daily that as aboriginals living on the Tibet Plateau — also known as the "roof of the world" and the "third pole" — Tibetans and other ethnic groups have developed a special sentiment and philosophy toward nature.

"Tibetans know we have to get along with nature harmoniously, or we will be punished," he said. "The interpretation (of the punishment) in Tibetan Buddhism is karma."

He said that according to local tradition, everything on Earth has a meaning and reason to exist, and these reasons must be respected.

The chairman told how his father had taught him when he was a child. His father said that trees should not be felled for logging, nor should their branches be broken. Stones must be placed at the sources of drinking water to mark them as the sources of life.

The punishment for disobeying this includes foreign matter growing on people's bodies if they break branches and disaster for those who destroy water resources.

"The stories work even better than the law in our people's minds. They educate us to protect rather than damage our environment," he said.

"We know our environment well, and we know that the hills and water need protection. I think verdant hills and clear water are even more important than hills of gold and silver."