At A Glance

The Response

The project will provide biodiversity expertise and support the integration of natural resource management and biodiversity conservation into the municipal governance. In doing so, the project will facilitate establishment of a cross-sectoral conservation body to ensure that biodiversity is considered in sectoral plans and actions. It will support establishment of Lhasa Ecological Conservation Center within the Lhasa Environmental Protection Bureau, which will provide information and technical expertise. Further, with Lalu Lake and other municipality wetlands as first examples, a new financial mechanism for payment for ecosystem services will be established and demonstrated.

Project Focus

Ø  To establish a leading biodiversity coordinating body and the Ecological Conservation Centre in Lhasa；
Ø  To develop and implement a Lhasa Biodiversity Conservation Action Plan (including conservation plans for 15 key wetlands)；
Ø  To demonstrate appropriate wetland restoration techniques in order to reach multiple benefits for wetland ecological functions；
Ø  To establish a new and sustainable funding mechanism for conservation and a conservation steward program involving local communities in biodiversity monitoring；
Ø  To train staff from governmental agencies, communities and technical institutions on practical skills in conservation；

Cooperating Agency

Lhasa Environmental Protection Bureau

Partners

Conservation International

The Challenge

The Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, often referred to as “the Roof of the World”, is not only the head source of most of the largest rivers in China and Southeast Asia, but also reckoned as one of the most valuable natural landscapes holding unique ecosystems and wildlife resources. In the 30,000 km2 large Lhasa Municipality, which is the center of the Tibetan Autonomous Region, the speed of development is particularly fast and the natural resources are increasingly threatened by human activities in the form of settlements, herding and grazing, mining and infrastructure development.