The Main Factors of Biodiversity Changes in East Tibet

Authors

• Juha-Pekka Reilin

Abstract

This paper is based on my preliminary botanical studies on the physical environment
of the Himalayan range, particularly the forested areas of the Tibetan
Plateau. My interest in the subject was aroused during two field trips (2005 and
2007) to Eastern Tibet – Kham and Amdo – after observing the apparent lack
of forests in places where, according to altitude and other local climate conditions,
trees should have been widely covering the mountain slopes. My visit
to the high altitude grasslands of Zeku (Amdo), so badly dried that they will
unlikely ever again recover for grazing, also inspired my efforts to find out what
has caused such conditions. I have since started to collect information in order
to understand the relationship between the general environmental conditions of
Tibet, the patterns of their ecosystems, and the interdependence between local
communities there and the environment. The predominant man-made factor in
the Tibetan areas during the last sixty years has been the scale of deforestation
carried out by the P.R.C. government from 1950 until the 1980s. It also appears,
however, that deforestation has a much longer history in this region. During the
last decades, increased awareness about how reducing forest coverage can cause
serious environmental problems has resulted in many reforestation projects in
these areas. In this paper, I have tried to form a general picture from the multiplicity
of phenomena having an effect on the nature of conditions and peoples’
lives in these areas of Tibet.