The death toll from the landslide in Drugchu on 7 August is continuing to rise and the possibility of survivors being found is diminishing. Tibetans make up approximately 33 per cent of the population of the wider area but it is unknown at this time how many of those directly affected by the landslides are Tibetan.

Questions are being raised as to whether Chinese mining, logging and hydro-electric dams in the area may have  exacerbated the extent of the ‘natural’ disaster. Reports are claiming, that the Chinese administration has been warned repeatedly of the risks to the environment and the local population of deforestation and the subsequent soil erosion in the area.

A map of the area

Across the Tibetan plateau - known as the “Western Treasure House” in China -  the Chinese administration is building hydro-electric plants and extracting resources such as timber and minerals from the land. Such activities are well known to make hillsides less stable and to increase the likelihood and severity of flooding and landslides.

"Western regions like Gansu have seen extraordinary economic growth in recent years. At the same time, local governments don't put as much emphasis on environmental protection, which is partially why landslides have been more frequent these years. Even though the central government has attached great importance to the environment, local governments often neglect it because it does not generate fast money."
-Xu Xiangyang, professor of hydrology at Hohai University in Nanjing as quoted in Time magazine

Pictures taken after the landslide, from Woeser's blog

Find out more about the effects of Chinese policies on the environment of Tibet.

Testimony of a resettled nomad Free Tibet has gathered testimony from nomads who have been forcibly resettled. Here, a nomad named Tenzin talks at length about how forced resettlement has affected her and how she longs to return to the plateau.   Read more

Tibet: the Third Pole Nomads are being forced off the land to make way for mining projects which are contributing to the melting of Tibet's icecap. As Tibet houses the sources of many of Asia's rivers, this could devestate the lives of billions.   Read more

Nomads Q&A Read more about nomads in this simple Q&A, covering how the forced resettlement of nomads is affecting the people of Tibet and the environmental condition of the Tibetan plateau.     Read more

What you can do to help Help fund our nomadic campaign by buying a virtual yak for £3, which will be added to our virtual plateau. You can also decorate your yak as nomads do. You can also write to your local politicians about this issue.   Buy YOUR virtual yak here!