OTHER RELATED ACTIVITIES

Tibetan Conservation & Development Centre

Further discussion with local government leaders regarding the establishment of a Tibetan Conservation & Development Centre in Zhiduo County – the gateway to the largest core zone of the Sanjiangyuan National Nature Reserve – has shown that the purchase or long-term lease of land to build the Conservation Centre should not pose any significant problem. Plateau Perspectives is therefore now proceeding to raise further funds for this key endeavour and to agree with local partners on the main goals and objectives for the Conservation Centre. Main purposes will include the provision good facilities for vocational training, environmental education, applied conservation research and general project management.       [Read more...]

PRA & Participatory Video (PV) Tools

Building on our long-term collaboration with the people of Muqu village, participatory rural appraisal (PRA) was undertaken in 2004 to more clearly define future needs and opportunities for local community development. The main methodology used was "participatory video" whereby the local people themselves create a video-story telling of their livelihood and environment, their hopes and their dreams for the future. This mini-project, resulting in a unique 30 minute video, was led by Insight in cooperation with the Macaulay Institute.

International Conferences and Consultancy Work

Plateau Perspectives staff members have participated in several international conferences.

Dr Marc Foggin and Dr Charles Warren participated in the planning workshop entitled Natural Resource Management in the Mountains of Asia (NORMA) in Aviemore, Scotland, on April 18-20, 2005. The meeting was jointly organized by the Macaulay Institute, International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) and Insight, as part of a EC-funded project to determine local people's priorities for natural resource management in the greater Tibetan Plateau and Himalayan region of Asia.

Mr Laurens Wester attended the Fourth International Congress on Yak in Chengdu, Sichuan, on September 20-26, 2004. Co-sponsored by the FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Heifer Project International China and several other organizations.

As speaker at the opening plenary session of the International Symposium on Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development in West China, Dr Marc Foggin presented the work of Plateau Perspectives - with special emphasis on the role that can be played by local communities in biodiversity conservation. Symposium held in Xian, Shaanxi, on May 21-23, 2004. Sponsored by China’s Association for Science & Technology.

Several Plateau Perspectives staff members participated in the workshop entitled Biodiversity Conservation in Qinghai Province in Xining, Qinghai, on June 25-29, 2001. Co-sponsored by the Biodiversity Working Group of the China Council of International Cooperation on Environment and Development (BWG/CCICED) and Qinghai's Environmental Protection Bureau (Qinghai EPB). Plateau Perspectives helped organize (together with BWG/CCICED), presented a paper and participated in these cross-sectoral planning meetings. The BWG's Fifth Report of Phase Two includes a summary of recommendations that were subsequently presented to provincial authorities.

Marc Foggin was an Invited Speaker at the international symposium Tibet’s Biodiversity: Conservation & Management in Lhasa, Tibet,  in August 1998. Co-sponsored by WWF China and the Tibet Forest Bureau.

Plateau Perspectives staff members have equally provided consultancy services or otherwise assisted several other international organizations, including Kunde Foundation, Care & Share Foundation, Fauna & Flora International, WWF China and Future Generations.

MEA Assessment: Invited Review

Dr Marc Foggin, Director of Plateau Perspectives, was invited by the editorial committee of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA) to review the chapter on West China. The MEA is a global assessment organized by the UN to study key ecosystems of the world, ecosystem services, and their potential to contribute to human well-being.

Emergency Relief and Social Welfare

Plateau Perspectives sometimes has become involved in emergency relief as well, for example after severe snowstorms. Several truckloads of food and fuel were delivered to the people of Suojia township in December 1999, arriving several months before larger relief supplies could be organized by more distant government bureaus and international organizations.

On other occasions, Plateau Perspectives has also organized child sponsorship, cleft palate surgery, cataract operations and various forms of emergency medical assistance.