On October 10th 2008,invited by the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (IEA/CASS), Dr Katherine Morton, Research school of Pacific and Asian Studies at the Australian National University, visited IEA/CASS and had a presentation on The Challenges of Sustainable Development on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Scholars from CASS exchange views with Dr Katherine Morton, and agreed to conduct a deep co-operation in the future.

In her talk, Dr Morton points out that a fundamental challenge for environmental governance is to create a balance between human and environmental needs. It is in the poorer regions of the world where the trade-offs are most stark. Faced with difficult choices, the logic of industrialization tends to supersede the logic of conservation, national interests trump local needs, and domestic imperatives outweigh global priorities. These impulses are hardly surprising given that they reflect historical patterns of development. The question that inevitably arises is: how far is it possible to promote sustainability in poorer regions? In assessing the potential for the adoption of a more sustainable model of development, the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau presents a critical test case. It is one of the poorest regions in China and also one of the most ecologically fragile. Rapid environmental degradation of the grasslands linked to climate change underscore a greater sense of urgency to create a balance between cultural, economic, and environmental priorities.

Dr Morton introduces her research program and field research work over the past three years in Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. She believes that the core challenges involved in the promotion of sustainable development in Yushu is that the retreat of Tibet’s glaciers currently becoming increasingly evident that climate change is partly to blame. According to the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the glaciers that regulate the water supply for the major rivers in China and South and Southeast Asia are shrinking by an average rate of 7% per annum. Data from UNEP and the World Glacier Monitoring Service reveal that the Himalayan glaciers are shrinking faster than anywhere else and could totally disappear by 2035. Over the longer term, higher temperatures will increase flooding in the rainy season and reduce water in the dry season thus affecting food production in the provinces downstream as well as the livelihoods of up to a billion people in India, Nepal, and Bangladesh. The impact will be greatest on poor communities.

Other casual factors of ecological degradation include construction work, pests, and over grazing. In order to protect the grasslands a number of policies have been put in place including the assignment of property rights, the si pei tao (four ways) program that aims to fence rangeland, construct houses for nomads, build sheds for livestock, and secure artificial pasture, and the re-settlement of nomads in small townships.

Dr Morton provides some details about the environmental migrant experience in Kyagi Nyobma village outside of Jiegu Town in Yushu. Overall, she said that the current approach to protecting the environment on the Tibetan plateau is alleviating some environmental stress but it is also reinforcing existing patterns of inequality. In effect, there is a see-saw effect in which either livelihoods improve and the environment degrades or the environment improves and livelihoods suffer. A second major problem is that limited action is taking place at the local, regional or international level to address the impacts of climate change. Reducing grazing may help in the short term, but it will not be adequate to address the degradation of the grasslands in the longer term.

Drawing on the experiences of grassroots organizations, in the conclusion, Dr Morton emphasized that two alternative directions that are essential to improving sustainable development on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau: responsive local engagement, and international cooperation to support climate change adaptation. At a minimum, she suggested that two new reform processes will be necessary. At the local level, much more effort is needed to engage with local understandings and practices in order to deliver development outcomes in a way that avoids placing a disproportionate burden on the poor. More broadly, further efforts are required to bring about a more open society that can facilitate the exchange of information and ideas necessary to address the difficult trade-offs that exist between individual needs and broader public concerns. This resonates with the participatory approach to democracy that rejects the idea that ‘democracy can be a form of government independent of the quality of citizenship, equity, and social inclusion.’  At the international level, the lack of attention given to climate change adaptation carries significant opportunity costs both for China and the Asia region. Ultimately, adapting to climate change is not simply a question of improving efficiency and taking corrective measures; it can only be achieved if the people who stand to benefit - both rich and poor - are central to the process.  If this does not happen then the pessimistic scenarios put forward by security analysts of wide-scale migration and conflicts over access to resources may well eventuate.

Dr Katherine Morton is a China specialist and her research interests include global civil society, international environmental politics, international development, and the influence of international norms and interventions on domestic political and socio-economic change. She is presently engaged in a study of transnational advocacy at the grassroots in China and its impact on the struggle for social and environmental justice.  Katherine Morton is the author of International Aid and China’s Environment: Taming the Yellow Dragon, Routledge, 2005. The book examines how, and under what conditions, international donors can strengthen China’s domestic capacity for environmental management. She is also currently engaged in a study of civil society organisations in China. Katherine holds a MA, University of Sussex, and a PhD, Australian National University.