Dalai Lama urges world to pay attention to Tibet's ecology amid resource exploitation by China

Amid the exploitation of the natural resources of Tibet by China, exiled spiritual leader Dalai Lama urged the world to pay more attention to the role of Tibet's ecology in the region.

As world leaders converged on Glasgow, Scotland for the 26th UN Climate Change Conference (COP26), the Dalai Lama emphasized the stakes for the most populous continent in an appeal to "pay more attention" to the role of Tibet's ecology and the global climate crisis, Radio Free Asia reported.

"At least in Asia, Tibet is the ultimate source of water, all major rivers from Pakistan's Indus River, India's Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers, China's Yellow River, Vietnam's Mekong River flow from Tibet," Radio Free Asia reported citing the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader.

"We should pay more attention to the preservation of Tibet's ecology. This is not only in the interest of 6-7 million Tibetans, but of [all] people in the area," Dalai Lama added.

Almost 1.4 billion of the Chinese population, India's 1.3 billion people, 175 million Southeast Asians, and hundreds of millions of residents of Pakistan and Bangladesh depend on waters that originate from Tibet, Radio Free Asia reported.

Earlier in September, China has been chided during the 48th UN Human Rights Council session for its rights record in Tibet with delegates from the US, Denmark, Germany, and European Union expressing concerns over severe restrictions on religious, linguistic and cultural traditions imposed by the Chinese government in the region.

Tibet has been ranked as the second least free region in the world, according to the latest report "Freedom in the World 2021: A Leaderless Struggle for Democracy," based on a study of political freedom around the world.

Tibet is ruled by the Chinese Communist Party government based in Beijing, with local decision-making power concentrated in the hands of Chinese party officials.

Tibet was a sovereign state before China's invasion in 1950 when the People's Liberation Army (PLA) entered northern Tibet.

( With inputs from ANI )

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