We made it!!

Hey everybody. We made it here safe and sound. Every detail of the trip went great. Our friend Bill picked us up at the airport at midnight and we're here with him now (10:30 am our time) on the 16th floor coffee shop that he runs. We're running errands today- getting phones set up and what not. Hoping to move into our apartment on the 24th.

Back to the Plateau!

Great news!! Shinay and I are heading to the Tibetan Plateau where will be studying language and volunteering full time for a small NGO. The work consists of partnering with remote communities, natural resource managers, scientists, and local officials to improve the lives of the people and improve environmental management. On the human side- health care provision, education, and employment opportunities are severely limited in the communities, and are thus three of our primary fields of work. On the environmental side- the region is home to many rare, threatened, and endangered species that face poaching, habitat loss, and feeding competition. We address these issues through training programs, scientific studies, and extension activities. The aim is to realize all-around community health that integrates human and environmental concerns.

The rest of the team includes medical doctors, wildlife biologists, conservation ecologists, and environmental managers. We also draw on a pool of supporting professionals in the areas of medicine, veterinary medicine, and a number of other development and environmental related fields. Funding for project costs comes from public and private donors. International staff, such as ourselves, are responsible for raising our own support. Our hope is to get grant money to cover our expenses in the coming years- but until then we need the help of folks who are interested in supporting the work by supporting us. If you are that person- please let us know!

Himalayan Travel Films

Himalaya with Michael Palin covers quite a few of the places that I've traveled or would like to travel in the Himalayan region. Episode 4 shows Qinghai Province and Yushu- the areas where most of the previous posts and photos on this blog took place. I recommend adding it to your queue.

Bhutan via the Smithsonian Folklife Festival

Every summer the Smithsonian Institution puts on a folklife festival highlighting different peoples and communities from North America and around the world. There's food, dancing, crafts, music- all kinds of good stuff on the downtown mall in DC. This year one of the highlights is the Himalayan state of Bhutan. There will be a number of displays and demonstrations ranging from archery to architecture to textiles. If you're in the DC area it's definitely worth stopping by- much cheaper and quicker than a trip to Bhutan. The festival runs June 25-29 and July 2-6 from 11-5:30 with some evening events at 6.

If you need to beat the heat, check out the Freer and Sackler galleries on the south side of the mall near the arts and industries building. These galleries are home to a number of great Asian art and artifact exhibits from many different periods and dynasties of east, central, and south Asia.

Finally, if you've missed the folklife festival you can always go to the National Museum of the American Indian to see beautiful craftwork and artifacts. It is also one of the best places downtown to have lunch, offering native dishes from across North America.

Bear Fence

Well- we've been working over the past few weeks to settle on a solar-electric fence setup that would be capable of deterring hungry bears from breaking into nomads' winter homes while they are away with their herds for the summers. Our first choice was to build 6-strand, high-tensile fences with 12volt solar chargers- but equipment and shipping costs made these less than ideal. (Consider that many of these families live on less than $1000 per year and that any expenditures in their interest could be readily applied to a number of competing demands, not the least of which are education and medical facilities). Two other setups were also considered: 12v chargers with poly-tape lines and 6v chargers with poly-wire lines. We decided to try one each of those setups and will hopefully have them installed within the next month- the height of bear break-in season. The folks at Kencove and especially The McGregor Fence Company were really helpful in getting us info and equipment that we needed. Maybe we can get our expert Levi over there to check our setup next fall.

In other news, Apple's newest operating system will be released next year under the name "Snow Leopard". It is our hope that this publicity will bring increased awareness and support for snow leopard conservation in inner Asia. I've been using (abusing, actually) my Apple laptop on the Tibetan Plateau since 2004 and it's still going strong. Think they'll give me a new one since we're working with snow leopards?

Marketplace 6/3

There was a very interesting interview on Marketplace yesterday regarding the Beijing-Lhasa railway and its cultural impact. Some figures were presented concerning population moves, economic outlook, and resources in the region. Worth a listen. Or read the book

Snow Leopard

National Geographic has an article this month on snow leopards. The article includes pictures taken with camera traps along the cats' trails. This is exactly what we are working on setting up on the plateau. There is also a picture (perhaps only in the print version) of an improved livestock pen to keep the cats out- also something we're working on providing for the nomads.

The May 2008 issue is also packed full of good material on some of the many streams of reality in modern China.

Chengdu + Chiru

NPR is getting ready to do a series of broadcasts from China. Melissa block is in Chengdu in prep for the series and is keeping an interesting journal. Chengdu is the nearest major city to where we work and one of the central staging points for folks working in or visiting Tibetan areas. I've placed links to some of NPR's previous China series and the Chengdu Blog to your left.

I'm currently reading The Big Open by Rick Ridgeway. It's an account of a team of climbers that pull 250-pound rickshaws across a portion of the Chang Tang nature reserve to help protect the chiru (Tibetan antelope). This area is just a tad to the west of where we are also working to protect this endangered species. The fur of the chiru makes some of the finest, warmest, and most expensive scarves and shawls in the world. However, each one costs the lives of 3 to 5 antelopes and drives a dangerous and illegal poaching industry on the Tibetan Plateau. The book is good, and so is the film Mountain Patrol that covers the Kekexili area right between the Chang Tang and the San Jiang Yuan (where we work). NPR also has a page with several videos, interviews, and stories on the chiru and other aspects of Chang Tang.

40 years

April 4th 2008- 40 years since the assassination of Dr Martin Luther King Jr. 41 years since his "Beyond Vietnam" speech. Interesting where history finds us 40 years later. If you've not listened to it recently, the "I Have a Dream" speech is worth listening to and contemplating.

Although it is not often publicly acknowledged, racism in general and against Blacks in particular is alive and well in the US today. Scores of scientific studies show beyond doubt that Blacks face discrimination in every aspect of American life from the lower pay they receive for their work to the fewer loan options and higher rates they are offered by banks to the stiffer penalties they receive for crimes. If you are unaware of these issues, I recommend doing some research and beginning to become aware of the incredibly skewed playing field of American life that places Blacks at a tremendous disadvantage.

Some materials on the subject:
Washington Post Article
American Apartheid
The Suburban Racial Dilemma
Harper's Article
Example of Housing Discrimination
Harvard Article on Perceptions and Justice

Environmental Performance Index

Check out the Environmental Performance Index. The index covers a really neat spread of indicators and displays them all graphically- pretty cool! Click the methodology link to see an interactive diagram of what indicators go into the model and how they are weighted.

Where is Tibet, exactly?

Because Tibet on a map and Tibet in fact are rather different constructs, I often find myself fumbling through an explanation of cultural, lingual, and historical ties on the plateau region while drawing maps in the air with my finger to try to explain "Tibet". I will fumble no longer- the BBC has a good explanation and a map that's much clearer than the palm of my hand.

They also have a rather succinct explanation of the recent turbulence.

Although there is animosity between some elements of the two groups in some locations, both have welcomed us with great hospitality again and again. Our work could not continue without the active participation and support of both Chinese and Tibetans. In the Nature Reserve where we work deep in cultural Tibet, Chinese and Tibetan scientists, administrators, and community members work alongside to advance environmental protection and community development.

6 Degrees (Celcius)

If you've not already seen it, I highly recommend National Geographic's film Six Degrees. If you've got the time, read the book. They compile research on global climate change and present the effects in degree by degree scenarios. Very interesting and very important.

Another good book is Cradle to Cradle by Bill McDonough. I'll let one of his quotes speak for the book... "Why not shift the focus of green design from managing the environmental impact of a destructive system to creating buildings and materials that generate wholly positive effects for people and nature."

Information

Levi reminded me that there's an article in the March 2008 issue of National Geographic about Bhutan. I read the first page this morning and it's pretty good. You may notice that the population is reported as being 663 thousand, 970 thousand, and 2.3 million depending on what article or reference you read. I have no idea which one is correct. Which brings up an interesting topic in the world planning, development, and governance: information management.

When working with a community, a good information gathering and management system is important in order to establish a baseline of existing levels of development and to be able to measure the success of programs aimed at raising specific indicators or solving specific problems. We take the availability of good information for granted in the west where there has been a long tradition of methodical data gathering and management on thousands of different subjects from population counts to soil surveys. In the developing world and especially in remote areas there may have never been any systematic gathering of human or environmental information. There is the added challenge that information is highly political in that gathering knowledge about immunizations or school attendance can reveal how well or poorly officials are executing their duties- and whether they've been honest in their reporting. Information is also highly valuable to people or businesses wanting to profit from a knowledge gap between workers and employers, landowners and tenants, and business competitors.

What this all boils down to is that information management can make or break development efforts and it takes scientific professionalism along with smooth diplomacy to succeed. (Luckily, I married into a family who specializes in this area!).

The former king of Bhutan recognized the importance of measuring and tracking indicators of development in order to improve the health, welfare, and happiness of his people. To see where Bhutan now stands in relation to other nations, check out the Human Development Index which ranks a number of indicators such as life expectancy, literacy rates, and immunization rates.

Sheep Brain, Shabu Shabu, and Salt Men

Know where to get spicy-mashed sheep brain piping hot at 6:00 AM on a cool, drizzly DC morning? That's right- the Kabob Palace! I couldn't resist the steaming platter speckled with spices. It wasn't as good as the variety served up in New Delhi, but fairly tasty. The grilled chunks of chicken, stewed spinach and fresh baked flatbread, however, were fantastic as always.

I felt like I've been back east for the past 18 hours. We had some family in town and visited a few of our favorite spots: sipped eight treasure tea at Ching Ching Cha, a Chinese teahouse in Georgetown (where we also ran into a friend who runs construction for DC Habitat for Humanity); drove up to Rockville for hot pot at Bob's 88 Shabu Shabu where there was plenty of fish cake, fish balls, and noodles for all; and finished up this morning with the Kabob Palace takeout while watching The Saltmen of Tibet. It's a slow-moving film about nomads whose way of life is dwindling as trucks and broader trade displace them from their traditional livelihood of annually taking yak-caravans to the salt flats of remote Tibet. You can get the DVD from Netflix and it shows the people group that we work with- which deserves a brief note.

Tibet is broken up into three major dialects: Lhasa, Amdo, and Kham or Khamba. The Kham are the largest, fiercest, wildest bunch and their language reflects that. The saltmen of Tibet is set in the Khamba area gives a pretty good picture of the lifestyle and landscape where we work.

Gross National Happiness

Bhutan held its first ever elections yesterday. The tiny (2.3 million people) Tibetan Buddhist kingdom nestled between India and China is making the transition from monarchy to constitutional monarchy. The kingdom has a gross domestic product per capita of 1,400 USD (the US GDP/capita is 46,000 USD), however the winning party used the former king's policy of "gross national happiness" as its motto. The term refers to a balanced policy of economic development and preservation of culture and protection of the environment. Best of luck Bhutan!

More about Bhutan:
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/bhutan/index.html

News on the elections:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/25/world/asia/25bhutan.html?ex=1364184000&en=66a4918cda1eb5e1&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

NY Times News

The NY Times has a great page on the plateau region. There are over 600 articles, slideshows, etc. from the Times, BBC, Economist, and other sources. http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/china/tibet/index.html

New issue of Mountain Research and Development Journal is out (Vol 28 no 1). This issue focuses on how rural mountain communities in the developing world are facing the pressures/changes of Globalization. The article from the plateau is a good background on the present situation where we work (I helped edit it). http://www.mrd-journal.org/

Abstract from Plateau Article

"Tibetan grasslands constitute one of the most important grazing ecosystems in the world. Distributed widely across the high plains and mountains of the Tibetan plateau, these grasslands encompass the source areas of many major Asian rivers. Around 40 percent of the world's population depends on, or is influenced by, these rivers. Tibetan grasslands also support a unique assemblage of flora and fauna with many rare and endemic species. A variety of government policies have been applied in recent years to protect the ecology and biodiversity of China's grasslands. There is growing concern, though, that national and global economic considerations have overshadowed emerging conservation agendas. Additionally, the social dimensions of these policies deserve more attention than they have received to date. The present article critically reviews several key policies affecting pastoralists, with special attention given to the Sanjiangyuan region of Qinghai Province. Plateau Perspectives, an international NGO, has worked in this region for nearly a decade, promoting a more people-centered approach to conservation and development, thus giving a voice to local Tibetan pastoral communities."

Structure of Chinese Gov't

China is becoming more important to the world economy everyday. The BBC has put together a number of country profiles, there is one on China at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/country_profiles/1287798.stm

If you're interested in how this country is run (on paper anyway): http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/in_depth/china_politics/government/html/1.stm

Like many other countries, realities of everyday life are often affected by local economic, political, and environmental conditions much more than the theoretical structure of the government. But it's good to know the theory anyway. I also recommend the book "China Wakes". Though it's become a bit dated since being published in the 90s, it still gives a good picture of the different Chinas. Just like there's no one USA, but many different facets of American life that range across a spectrum of viewpoints and cultures, China is also a big onion that peels back in many different layers.

News from the Plateau

Hello Everybody. Sorry I've not written in quite a while. If you're wanting more info on the Plateau region, the BBC has a site with good background information. It can be found at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/guides/456900/456954/html/nn1page1.stm . If you use iGoogle, the BBC News Asia Edition gadget often contains headlines from the area.

What's your opinion of George Bush? The Tibetan manager looked at me in the rearview mirror as we bounced across the grassland. I looked at my boss and both our minds raced for a safe response to this loaded question. Before either of us could speak he answered his own inquiry matter-of-factly: "Best president ever." What? Why's that? I was relieved not to have to answer the question myself but at a loss for the reasoning behind his super-enthusiastic support of the controversial US president. "He kills Muslims. They should be wiped off the earth." Wow. My boss continued the conversation in Chinese trying to reason with the manager about his harsh judgment of a huge segment of the world's inhabitants based simply on religion. I couldn't follow the exchange and looked out the window watching unbelievably beautiful mountains and plains roll by as the golden afternoon melted into the pastels of sunset and puzzled over why the Tibetans hate the Muslims.

I've heard rumors that deep in Tibetan Buddhism there are prophecies of an armageddon type battle between Buddhists and Muslims- intriguing but I've never seen any evidence for this claim. In present times Muslim minorities control most of the livestock and wool trade between Tibetan herders and Chinese markets and also many of the businesses that process those inputs such as slaughterhouses and carpet factories. They also bring many of the goods that the Tibetans need into the region. In the areas where we work, illiteracy an innumeracy rates are over 90%- putting traders at a distinct advantage against the herders. But this advantage could be exploited by anyone- it's just the fact that Muslims control much of the trade, meat, and wool economy in the region that makes them the ones who are seen as the exploiters.

Muslim minority groups such as the Hui, the Uyghurs and the Kazakhs make up a huge proportion of the population of Xinjiang- China's westernmost province through which the ancient silk road passed- and also a large proportion of all the major cities surrounding the Tibetan Plateau. The boundaries of the Muslim peoples lie much more naturally within neighboring Kazakhstan and Pakistan- and therefore the Chinese are continually wary of an uprising in the western lands and maintain a substantial troop presence in the region. The Tibetans hate the Muslims, the Muslims hate the Chinese, the Chinese want to subdue both and maintain control of their lands.

My boss led the manager through a series of logical questions, eventually winning the concession that maybe the two-year old and younger Muslim children might not deserve to die. The conversation moved on to care for the grassland and protection of wildlife.