The world's highest railway, linking Tibet with the rest of China, may bring many
changes to the region, but environmental experts suggest Tibetans
keep one tradition intact: burning yak dung for fuel.
Stacks of dried yak dung can be found near houses in many
Tibetan villages.
Together with firewood and scrub, it is a major source of fuel
for herdsmen in the autonomous region.
"Some people claim that with the completion of the railway,
Tibetan people can dispense with yak dung and use coal. But this
isn't a rational view," said Tanzen Lhundup, of the China
Tibetology Research Center, yesterday.
Tomorrow the maiden journey will be made along the railway line,
which stretches 1,142 kilometers, linking Golmud in northwest
China's Qinghai Province to Tibetan capital Lhasa.
"What we should advocate using is clean and
environmentally-friendly energies, such as hydroelectricity, solar
and wind power," Tanzen told a press conference in Beijing.
There may be some disadvantages to yak dung, but it is better
for the environment than other fuels, said Tanzen, vice director of
the Tibetology center's Social and Economic Department. Burning
coal, on the other hand, is detrimental to the environment, and
linked with global warming, he added.
An Caidan, another expert with the center, said it was
misleading for some media reports to claim Tibetans could now
discard dried yak dung forever.
"Simply from the perspective of a lack of distribution network,
it is unfeasible to use coal to replace traditional fuels," said
An. "It is easier said than done to set up a sales and distribution
web in such a vast, sparsely-populated region."
Zhu Zhensheng, vice director of the railway project office under
the Ministry of Railways, said yesterday railway authorities had
earmarked at least 1.54 billion yuan (US$190 million) to protect
the environment along the route, including setting aside funds for
sewage treatment facilities in Golmud and other major stations to
handle waste from the train and station staff.
Zhu also said the newly-opened railway will serve as an
"all-weather, large-capacity and convenient route" to transport
goods including clean energy to Tibet. He said two freight trains a
day will provide service for Tibet, bringing more commodities into
the region than they ferry out.
The trains will mostly bring food, construction materials and
other living necessities in from the rest of China, while carrying
out handicrafts, agricultural and sideline products, which will
boost the income of Tibetans.
He gave no specific figures for estimated cargo tonnage, but
said the train was likely to help border trade with India.
Nyima Tsering, vice chairman of the Tibet Autonomous Region,
told China Daily earlier that clean energy which is expected
to come with the operation of the railway would help Tibetan
herdsmen reduce their use of firewood and scrub, which threatens
the fragile environment.
(China Daily June 30, 2006)