[The International Campaign for Tibet’s argument is that China’s designation of Hoh Xil would erode, not protect, the area’s fragile ecosystem. In particular, the organization’s report argued that China has declared the region a “no man’s zone,” discounting the unique environment and the role people play in it. The report said Unesco’s review of the site did not take into account the concerns of local inhabitants, as required by its own guidelines.]
By Steven Lee Myers
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The
mountains and grasslands of the Tibetan Plateau in Qinghai Province.
China’s
application for Unesco world heritage status for the Hoh Xil area
is
being challenged by the International Campaign for Tibet, which says
the
designation would disrupt the lives of nomads and threaten the habitat
of
the endangered Tibetan antelope. Credit Kevin Frayer/Getty Images
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The region, known as Hoh Xil or Kekexili, is
part of the high-altitude plateau in Qinghai Province and is twice the size of
Belgium. It is home to the endangered Tibetan antelope, or chiru, whose soft
fur is so coveted for luxurious shawls known as shahtoosh that poachers had
nearly wiped out the species.
Unesco’s World Heritage Committee, meeting
this week in Krakow, Poland, is scheduled to vote on the designation on Friday.
The organization, the International Campaign for Tibet, which is critical of
China, is trying, at a minimum, to delay consideration of the application to
address concerns about development plans for the region.
In a report released late last week, the
group argued that recognizing the region as a “world heritage site” would
bolster China’s efforts to resettle tens of thousands of pastoralists from the
plateaus into villages, while threatening the habitat of the antelope and the
environment in general.
“This controversial nomination would signify
Unesco endorsement of China’s forced relocation of Tibetan nomads, who have
protected the grasslands and wildlife for centuries,” said Matteo Mecacci,
president of the Tibet organization.
The annual meeting of Unesco has become
unusually contentious, underscoring how debates on cultural patrimony can
assume political significance.
In addition to the debate about China’s
designation of Hoh Xil, Israel is fighting an appeal by the Palestinian
Authority to secure world heritage status for two sites in the West Bank: the
old city of Hebron and the Cave of the Patriarchs, revered by Jews, Muslim and
Christians as the burial place of Abraham. Poland, this year’s Unesco host,
also faced a warning for allowing logging in its ancient Bialowieza Forest,
which already has world heritage status.
China’s government has actively sought
Unesco’s designations for various sites since its first application 30 years
ago. China now has 50 natural or cultural heritage sites, which are defined as
having “outstanding universal value.” While Unesco has no enforcement powers
over the places it recognizes, the organization can withdraw designations,
which are considered important for promoting tourism and, in some cases,
political aims.
If Unesco accepts two new applications under
consideration, China could become the country with the most heritage sites,
surpassing Italy, which has 51. That landmark has been touted by Chinese state
media as a major accomplishment. China’s second application under review this
year covers Gulangyu, the pedestrian-only island near the city of Xiamen, in
Fujian Province.
The International Campaign for Tibet’s
argument is that China’s designation of Hoh Xil would erode, not protect, the
area’s fragile ecosystem. In particular, the organization’s report argued that
China has declared the region a “no man’s zone,” discounting the unique
environment and the role people play in it. The report said Unesco’s review of
the site did not take into account the concerns of local inhabitants, as
required by its own guidelines.
The report also complained that China’s
application exempted a two-and-a-half-mile-wide corridor in which a highway and
railway bisect the region, allowing unfettered development. That, the report
noted, would threaten the migratory paths of the antelope the designation is
meant to protect.
Officials in Beijing declined requests to
comment on the opposition to its application, but Du Yue, secretary general of
China’s delegation to Unesco, circulated a letter in Krakow challenging the
criticism of the application. The letter said that China would “fully respect
the will of local herders and their traditional culture, religious beliefs and
lifestyle.”
The organization’s opposition puts it at odds
not only with the Chinese government, but also with environmentalists and
others who say the designation would protect the antelope habitat.
Jin Yuanpu, director of the Cultural
Industries Institute at Renmin University of China in Beijing, said that
China’s embrace of Unesco’s heritage designations reflected a new attention to
cultural preservation after the repressions of the Cultural Revolution under
Mao Zedong.
“From the central government, to the Culture
Ministry, to a lot of grass-roots groups, a lot of attention has been given to
the work of preservation of cultural and natural relics,” he said.
He added that the designation was “in line
with Tibetans’ interests” and would help fight poaching of the Tibetan
antelope, which was dramatized in “Mountain Patrol: Kekexili,” a 2004 film
directed by Lu Chuan.
Owen
Guo contributed research
