The International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) is gravely concerned about the future of the UNESCO World Heritage-protected site the \u201cThree Parallel Rivers,\u201d which is facing numerous threats due to extensive hydropower projects, mining activities that are opaquely reported and expanding infrastructure projects connected to resource extraction and energy production.<\/p>\n
In addition, there are fears that a cascade of hydropower projects will lead to the eviction and relocation of thousands of people, among them Tibetans and other vulnerable groups. All of these threats, if they materialize, will contravene the UNESCO World Heritage Convention and international legal principles.<\/p>\n
Instead of addressing these threats, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, at its upcoming session in Baku, Azerbaijan, will discuss and likely pass a draft decision<\/a>[1]<\/sup><\/span> on the state of this unique landscape that largely displays indifference toward the impact of these damaging projects. Drafted with the consideration of UNESCO and its expert bodies, the decision in principle surrenders to the Chinese government\u2019s strategy of claiming UNESCO protection for the region while exploiting its natural resources at the same time.<\/p>\n Gravely, both the draft decision and the assessment by UNESCO\u2019s expert bodies also fail to call for a ban on relocations and evictions. UNESCO has not so far seriously confronted these worrying developments near the Three Parallel Rivers area. ICT is concerned that this pattern of Chinese government impunity and convenient indifference by UNESCO may reflect UNESCO\u2019s sensitive relationship with organizations closely linked to the Chinese state.<\/p>\n For example, UNESCO\u2019s International Water Conference in Paris on May 13 and 14 was sponsored by the Global Energy Interconnection Development and Cooperation Organization (GEIDCO), which is led by Chairman Liu Zhenya, former president of the State Grid Corporation of China and alternate member of the 17th Chinese Communist Party central committee.<\/p>\n The World Hydropower Congress, held in Paris immediately after the UNESCO conference, was organized by the International Hydropower Association, whose executive vice president, Liu Chuxue, is also vice president of China\u2019s Three Gorges Corporation, which built one of the world\u2019s most notorious dams that displaced more than 1.2 million people and set records for the number of cities and towns flooded, corruption, human rights violations and environmental degradation.<\/p>\n In light of these worrisome developments, ICT is calling on UNESCO to restore its credibility and fulfil its mission to protect sites of unique and outstanding value, such as the Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan.<\/p>\n
In light of the draft decision, ICT specifically calls for the following:<\/p>\n\n