Sec. 5. Policy regarding the environment and water resources on the Tibetan Plateau
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Congress finds the following: Glaciers in Tibet feed ten of the major rivers of South and East Asia, which supply freshwater to an estimated 1.8 billion people. Chinese scientists have reported that since 1960 the Tibetan Plateau’s annual average temperature has increased at twice the global average, causing melting of the glaciers, which will result in variable water flows in the future. Tibet’s rivers support wetlands that play a key role in water storage, water quality, and the regulation of water flow, and support biodiversity, foster vegetation growth, and act as carbon sinks.
The grasslands of Tibet play a significant role in carbon production and sequestration. Changes in permafrost levels, caused by rising temperatures and intensifying evaporation, can affect the water supply, cause desertification, and destabilize infrastructure on the Tibetan Plateau and beyond. The warming of the Tibetan plateau may cause changes in the monsoon cycle in South and Southeast Asia, which could lead to droughts or floods that overwhelm infrastructure and damage crops.
The resettlement of nomads from Tibetan grasslands undermines the application of traditional stewardship practices developed though centuries of pastoral practices, which can be key to mitigating the negative effects of warming on the Tibetan Plateau. The construction of large hydroelectric power dams in Tibet, planned to be used in part to transmit power to Chinese provinces outside of Tibet, as well as other infrastructure projects, including the Sichuan-Tibet railroad may also lead to the resettlement of thousands of Tibetans and transform the environment.
Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam are members of the Mekong River Commission, which promotes sustainable management and development of water and related resources among member nations. The People’s Republic of China is not a full party to the Mekong River Commission. The People’s Republic of China has approximately 20 percent of the world’s population but only around 7 percent of the world’s water supply, with India and the rest of South and Southeast Asia also relying on the rivers flowing from the Himalayas of the Tibetan Plateau.
The People’s Republic of China has already completed water transfer programs diverting billions of cubic meters of water yearly and there are plans to divert more waters from the Tibetan plateau in China. The Secretary of State, in coordination with relevant agencies of the United States Government, shall— pursue collaborative efforts with Chinese and international scientific institutions to monitor the environment on the Tibetan Plateau, including glacial retreat, temperature rise, and carbon levels, in order to promote a greater understanding of the effects on permafrost, river flows, grasslands and desertification, and the monsoon cycle; engage with the Government of the People’s Republic of China and nongovernmental organizations to encourage the participation of Tibetan nomads and other Tibetan stakeholders in the development and implementation of grassland management policies, in order to utilize their indigenous experience in mitigation and stewardship of the land and to assess policies on the forced resettlement of nomads; and encourage a regional framework on water security, or use existing frameworks, such as the Lower Mekong Initiative, to facilitate cooperative agreements among all riparian nations that would promote transparency, sharing of information, pollution regulation, and arrangements on impounding and diversion of waters that originate on the Tibetan Plateau.
Section 1202(b) of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2000 ( Public Law 106–65 ; 10 U.S.C. 113 note) is amended by adding at the end the following: Tibet’s strategic importance and the strategic importance of water resources from the Tibetan Plateau in regional and territorial disputes. .
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Sec. 5
Policy regarding the environment and water resources on the Tibetan Plateau
Pub. L.Pub. L. 106-65
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