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Mount
Qomolangma Nature Reserve |
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From
the simple measure of adding salt to
staple food to tree planting; from eco-tourism
to immunization, the health and wealth
of a great number of Tibetans has been
greatly improved. Take Zhoinqung, a
Tibetan woman, as an example. She has
taught her fellow countrymen how to
combat the previously habitual problem
of dehydration: add salt to their staple
food of Zanba, or roasted Qingke flour.
Qingke is a highland barley native to
Tibet. This simple method has helped
the farmers and herdsmen living in Zhazong
Township of Tingri County, in Southwest
China's Tibet Autonomous Region, to
prevent and treat this common affliction.
Zhoinqung is one of several hundred
people helping to improve the living
conditions of Tibetans through a welfare
program. The program is aimed at improving
medical services and sanitation in the
four counties of Tingri, Nyalam, Gyirong
and Dinggye in the Mount Qomolangma
Nature Reserve, where more than 86,000
farmers and herdsmen live. Jointly sponsored
by the local government and Future Generation,
a US foundation, it was launched in
1994. According to an agreement, the
Mount Qomolangma Nature Reserve Administration
is responsible for carrying out set
programs and establishing the service
system, and the foundation provides
funds and expert consultations. After
receiving training, people like Zhoinqung
are not only responsible for helping
locals improve their awareness of environmental
protection, but teaching them knowledge
and skills, which may lead to a more
prosperous life.
Most of the venues for training are
in the Mount Qomolangma Nature Reserve
itself. Courses are designed to accord
with local conditions and address the
concerns of local people. Currently,
the courses cover subjects including
public health, environment protection,
skills for making money, eco-friendly
tourism and housing improvement. Many
trained people like Zhoinqung are to
be found in grasslands, farmland and
on the roads to tourist attractions,
where they provide various services
to visitors from across the world.
Their work also involves teaching locals
how to best protect their environment.
The Garma valley in Tingri County is
one of the seven major protected areas
inside the Mount Qomolangma Nature Reserve.
Unaware of the need to protect their
environment in the past locals have
cut down the natural forests. The training
program also sent arboriculturists to
Qudang Township in Tingri County to
show locals how to plant poplar, willow,
apple, Chinese prickly ash and other
trees. A nursery has also been built,
providing more than 30,000 saplings
for a local agricultural development
zone and for local people to buy. And
many former lumbermen have turned to
growing trees. Zhoinqung helps villagers
plant trees in their front and back
gardens, sometimes even growing poplar
trees, putting an end to the old saying
"poplar trees do not grow in Tibet."
Yan Yinliang, an official with the Mount
Qomolangma Nature Reserve Administration,
said the program had to date trained
more than 580 people. A total of 223,
including Zhoinqung, have been named
'Pandeba,' which means rural welfare
worker in Tibetan. These people shoulder
the responsibility of more than 90 per
cent of the work relating to grassroots
medical and health care services in
rural areas. Their efforts have not
been in vain and they have had a marked
affect on the lives of those they serve,
in particular health improvements, by
promoting immunization of children,
education on environmental protection
and family planning. |
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