Xinhua News Agency, Lhasa, July 19 Title: Both for man and nature -- the ecological relocation of herders in China's highest county at an altitude
Xinhua News Agency reporters Cao Jian, Zhang Jingpin and Lü Qiuping
Shuanghu County, China's highest county in Nagqu City, Tibet Autonomous Region, has implemented the latest round of ecological relocation and resettlement of high-altitude herders, which will gradually return to the embrace of wild animals.
A convoy from Twin Lakes County drives on the road to the Semburi resettlement site (drone photo, July 19). Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Sun Fei
On the 19th, the first batch of more than 300 herders in this round set off from Duoma Township in Shuanghu County and migrated south for nearly a thousand kilometers to the Semburi Resettlement Site in Gongga County, Shannan.
On the basis of the first batch of three township relocations in 2019, the remaining four townships in Shuanghu County will complete the relocation in early August. At that time, all 7 townships in Shuanghu County will complete the high-altitude ecological relocation.
A convoy ready to go (photo taken on July 19, mobile phone photo). Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Shen Hongbing
Shuanghu County has an average altitude of more than 5,000 meters, a total area of nearly 120,000 square kilometers, and a population of 14,000 before relocation. The Chinese government has built this high and cold place, and has invested billions of yuan to help build roads, and the county seat is connected to the main grid of the state grid; At the end of 2019, Shuanghu County achieved poverty alleviation.
However, the natural environment of alpine cold and lack of oxygen has led to the frequent occurrence of endemic diseases such as local high-altitude rheumatism and heart disease. Life expectancy here is 14 years lower than the average life expectancy of the whole region of Tibet.
Villagers in Guogenchaqu Village, Dorma Township, Shuanghu County, carry their luggage to a truck on July 12. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhou Dixiao
Suffering from high-altitude rheumatoid arthritis, Karma, a 70-year-old villager in Zhongluma Village, Duoma Township, Shuanghu County, has lost her ability to work. "This is where I was born and raised, and I was reluctant to leave. But I know that moving is good for the next generation. She said.
Karma says the move will not only allow her to go to a better hospital, but also prevent her children from getting altitude sickness like her. "After moving to a new home, it will be much more convenient to go to Lhasa and Shannan to worship the Buddha in the future."
The Semburi resettlement site is located on the north bank of the Brahmaputra River, at an altitude of about 3,600 meters, more than 60 kilometers away from downtown Lhasa, close to the airport, railway, and highway. Here, the Karma family of five was given a free two-story Tibetan-style building of more than 80 square meters and an apartment of more than 30 square meters, with hospitals, schools and markets in the surrounding area.
In order to help the family herd, Karma's granddaughter Shi Xiu Tsomu never went to school since she was a child. After the relocation, her son can attend kindergarten for free next year near his new home, and the facilities are much better than the kindergarten in Twin Lakes.
"I want my children to get a better education and go to college in the future." Shi Xiu Tsoum, 22, said.
As part of the Changtang National Nature Reserve, Shuanghu is also an important area for tibetan antelope, Tibetan wild donkey, wild yak and other migratory activities. However, due to the influence of global warming, the grassland here has been degraded. With the growth of the population, the phenomenon of people, animals and wild animals competing for living space has become prominent. In addition, due to its remote location, harsh environment and high investment costs, it is difficult to draft water, go to school, see a doctor, and travel difficulties that always plague the local people.
Herders graze in Zhongluma Village, Duoma Township, Shuanghu County, on July 13. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Sun Fei
At the end of 2019, the high-altitude ecological relocation project in Shuanghu County was implemented, and the first batch of 2,900 people from 3 townships moved to the Semburi resettlement site. At the same time, some students from the remaining four townships in Shuanghu also moved to the newly built school in Semburi along with the first batch of relocated people, including Students from Guogen Chaqu Village in Doma Township.
"In Twin Lakes, the teacher was worried about our altitude sickness and rarely let us play football or run. Now at the new school, I not only joined the football team in the class, but also participated in the interest class, learning to play the flute and make airplane models. Danzin Gongga, who is in the fifth grade this year, said.
Danzeng Gongga's father, Tashi, runs a commissary in Doma Township. He often drove a pickup truck to Lhasa to buy goods, visited his son by the way, and would spend the night at a relative's house in Semburi.
"My son could only come back during the winter and summer vacations. Now that we've moved in, he can go home every week. Tashi said he already plans to open a car wash near his new home.
Yang Wensheng, secretary of the Shuanghu County Party Committee, said that because of the high altitude and harsh natural environment, the students in Shuanghu were significantly shorter than the students of the same grade in Shannan when they first moved to the new school. Due to headaches and other altitude sickness, many people in Shuanghu have formed the habit of taking painkillers.
"After the first masses relocated, they basically said goodbye to painkillers, and the children grew up very fast." Yang Wensheng said.
The relocated people gathered in Guogen Chaqu Village, Doma Township, Shuanghu County, and were about to leave for the Semburi resettlement site (photo taken on July 19). Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Jigme Dorjee
In order to solve the problem of cattle and sheep after people leave, the relevant departments have set up a transition period of several years -- cooperatives are set up according to the villages in the places where people have moved out, the masses have moved out to buy shares in grasslands, cattle and sheep, and labor inputs, and some young and middle-aged people have stayed behind to graze cattle in a unified manner, temporarily solving the problem of livestock and sources of livelihood.
According to reports, some of the relocated labor force continues to engage in animal husbandry production, some participate in skills training, engage in cooking, excavator driving and other work, and some transfer employment to Lhasa, Shannan and other places. At present, Semburi has completed the layout of industries such as dwarfing apple bases and modern pastures, driving the employment of the relocated masses. The per capita disposable income of Shuanghu County increased by nearly 30% from 10,516 yuan in 2019 to 13,598 yuan in 2021.
At the end of the transition period, the remaining young adults will come to their new home in Semburi to be reunited with their families. The vast grasslands of twin lakes will become a paradise for wildlife. The data shows that there are more than 100,000 Tibetan antelope and more than 20,000 wild yaks living in the territory of Shuanghu Lake.
"From an ecological point of view, the relocation of the people of Shuanghu Lake is of great benefit to the ecological and environmental protection of the Changtang National Nature Reserve." Liu Baoyuan, a professor at the Faculty of Geographical Sciences of Beijing Normal University, who is conducting the second comprehensive scientific expedition to the Tibetan Plateau in Shuanghu, said. (Contributor: Kelsang Langjie)