UCS 18/06/04: Mount Kailash threatened by tourism

(Please contact Free Tibet Campaign if acting after
1 September 2004)

The fragile environment of Mount Kailash, one of the most sacred mountains in the world, may be under threat from Chinese development plans to increase tourism to western Tibet. The local government is understood to have developed an 'ecotourism' plan for the area (2002 - 2012), which includes the upgrading and construction of new roads and other infrastructure to encourage larger scale tourism. In 2003 there were reports that Tibetans who lived locally to Kailash were warned by officials not to speak about the proposals.

Mount Kailash is an important place of pilgrimage for followers of many faiths and religions, including Buddhists, Bon practitioners, Jains and Hindus. Most pilgrims walk a holy 'kora' or circuit of the mountain, (a distance of 56 kilometres which ascends to over 5,700 metres above sea level) as a way of purging the body of sin. Kailash is also a popular destination for western travellers, who take between three and five days to complete the circuit. Those who complete 108 circuits apparently gain instant enlightenment.

A Westerner who has been a frequent visitor to the area for more than a decade has said, "Tibetans described this road to me as a 'catastrophe'. They are concerned because Kailash, known to Tibetans as Kang Rinpoche, is such a sacred place and the landscape is so unspoilt." Authorities in the regional capital of Nyari, 155 miles from Mt Kailash, are also reported to be planning a civilian airport that would allow tourists fast access from Lhasa, and the Nepalese authorities have recently applied for permission to run scenic helicopter flights over the mountain.

Free Tibet Campaign supporters have already written letters of support to various agencies with an interest in the protection of important sacred and beautiful places, including UNESCO's World Heritage Committee and the World Conservation Union (IUCN). Both agencies are sympathetic to Free Tibet Campaign's concerns, but correctly emphasise that nomination of Mount Kailash as a World Heritage Site can only come from China. Both agencies have also provided helpful information and pledged action, which Free Tibet Campaign requests your help in following up.

Please write SUPPORTIVE letters to the following SYMPATHETIC people:

1. Head of UK Delegation to WHC Meeting
Name: Sheelagh Evans
Address: Dept of Culture Media & Sport
2-4 Cockspur Street
London SW1Y 5DH
Email: enquiries@culture.gov.uk

2. Director General, IUCN
Name: Achim Steiner
Address: The World Conservation Union
Rue Mauverney 28
1196 Gland Switzerland
Fax: + 41 22 999 0002 Email: mail@hq.iucn.org

3. UNESCO Beijing Office
Address: Jianguomenwai
Waijiao Gongyu 5-15-3
Beijing 100600
People's Republic of China
Fax: + 86 10 6532 5790
Email: beijing@unesco.org or unesco@public.bta.net.cn

Please ask the following:

To Sheelagh Evans: inform her of your concerns and ask her delegation to raise Mt Kailash at the forthcoming meeting of the World Heritage Committee (28 June, Suzhou, China). Tell her that the Czech Representative, Mr Komarek, is supportive and would like to hear from the UK delegation.

To Achim Steiner: thank him for IUCN's expressions of concern about Mt Kailash, and ask if the IUCN China office has been able to determine whether environmental impact assessments have taken place in the area. Ask him what he can tell you about a feasibility study, apparently conducted by China, into designating Mt Kailash as a National Forest Park, and what protection this may afford the area.

To UNESCO Beijing: request that UNESCO's international taskforce on the non-material values of protected areas (part of its World Commission on Protected Areas) makes an assessment of the spiritual value of the Mt Kailash area, with a view to encouraging China to nominate it for World Heritage Listing.

Please send copies of any responses you receive to Free Tibet Campaign, as this helps us to monitor the situation.

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