If current geological estimations are any indication, there are 80 million tonnes of copper, 2,000 tonnes of gold and 30 million tonnes of lead and zinc ex tractable
from the Tibetan plateau. The cumulative value of recoverable metals is worth US$ 420 billion. To imagine that the Chinese would have ripped apart the rooftop to the world in search of the embedded fortune is far from true because, as things stand, the region is cold, its air is perilously thin, its people are unwelcoming and it is poor in infrastructure.
But all this is to going to change as China’s 12th Five-Year Plan, ending in 2015, calls for massive investment in copper, gold, silver, chromium and molybdenum mining in the region. With an aim to achieve 30 per cent self-sufficiency in copper production by the end of the plan period, a state-driven agglomeration of the entire Chinese copper industry will be sufficiently capitalized to finance major expansions in Tibet, which is fast becoming China’s new copper production base. The Tibetan plateau - almost one-sixtieth of the entire global landscape – will be the object for intensive and potentially devastating mining and extraction projects in the years ahead. The signs are ominous!
Without doubt, Gabriel Lafitte has profound knowledge about the landscape, its people and their cultural resistance to the winds of change aimed at destroying the inner strengths of the Tibetans, cultivated in solitude in the mountains. Given the ecological fragility of the region, mining activities in the watersheds of major rivers, most of which are transboundary, will have serious impact on hundreds of millions of people downstream in South and South East Asia. China’s track record on environmental concerns evokes little confidence, though.
Spoiling Tibet is a timely warning to the world on China’s hunger for mineral wealth of Tibet, and the unscrupulous manner in which this wealth will get extracted. In the Chinese growth agenda the political economy of mining plays a major role, one that will silence the feeble voices of resistance by increasing the non-Tibetan population in the region through mass tourism. But given its global implications, should the world permit unilateral desecration of the roof top!...Link
Spoiling Tibet
by Gabriel Lafitte
Zed Books, UK
Extent: 204, Price: $29.95
This book review has also appeared on Anthen EnviroExperts Reviews, moderated by Prof. Larry Susskind of MIT.
As the boat plies upstream through the glittering splendor of the marble cliffs, the tranquility of river Narmada reflects the changing moods of nature at the picturesque Bhedaghat. The river and the rocks rival each other in beauty, yet try to come closer at ‘Bandrakudni’ – where a monkey could perhaps jump across the river – and challenge each other at the majestic Dhuandhar waterfalls. For the ordinary mortals, that is all about the holy river.
Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder, though. Narmada river is a living museum of art, more than what remains adorned in its archaeological
past. If Bandarkudni reflects her modesty and self-restraint, the thunder at the Dhuandhar symbolizes its splendor and exuberance. All along its 1,312 kilometers journey from its origin at Amarkantak until it empties into the Gulf of Khambat, the river leaves its artistic impressions as it cuts through mighty rocks, tugs along dense forests and passes human dwellings. Much of it has been captured by Amritlal Vegad, who completed his circumambulation of the river at the ripe age of 70 by foot, however, undertaken in parts over a 22 year period. His irresistible story-telling style blends geography with astronomy, art with the environment, and literature with philosophy
“On the banks of the Narmada I saw both the supreme grandeur of nature and the simple beauty of humanity’, reminiscences Vegad. While over the millennia innumerable devotees have undertaken the hardship of religious parikrama of the river which is traditionally completed in 3 years, 3 months and 13 days, much of their travails and triumphs has been perceptibly captured by the author in what he calls ‘a cultural parikrama’. Trained as an artist under the watchful eyes of the legendary Nandlal Bose at the Santiniketan, Vegad draws attention to the finer details of the journey with interesting reflections on encounters with the ‘self’. The writing vividly captures the simplicity and devotion of those who live by the Narmada, and the hardships of those who undertake its parikrama.
Through his stubbornness to walk along the banks of the river, Vegad demonstrates his flame of determination – proving that only by overcoming trouble can the spirit be lifted to a higher level. Writes Vegad, ‘I learnt an important lesson on this journey: if our mind and reason try to stand in the way of realizing our dreams, as indeed they sometimes do, we must not hesitate to dodge out of the way….there is so much more to cold reason and logic’. River of Joy is a narrative on grit and determination, as much on appreciation of art and aesthetics.
Translated from Hindi by Marietta Maddrell, a British national who has not only adopted the Indian way of life but has renamed herself ‘Mira’, the translation captures the original spirit of the writer. With the holy river facing unprecedented damming for water diversion, it is quite unlikely if the tradition of river circumambulation would last long....Link
Narmada: River of Joy
by Amritlal Vegad
Banyan Tree, Indore
Extent: 220 pages, Price: Rs 300
Marked by mass wastage and competing demands, water is presumed to be the precursor of a probable 'third world war'. Situations with respect to water sharing amidst several countries is perilously close to what Mark Twain had remarked, 'whiskey is for drinking and water is for fighting over'. It seems the universal fluid that will shape humanity's future is soaked on blood.
Not deterred by threatening climate clouds that may accelerate glacial melting and transform water flows in major river basins, Terje Tvedt portrays an optimistic picture on humanity's water future after traveling through some of the most amazing locations across five continents. With professional background in geography, history and political science, the author offers multiple perspectives for the reader to choose from. While Tvedt is forthright in saying that 'howsoever grandiose attempts to manage water may be, water does not allow itself to be completely controlled', he is equally candid in concluding that 'qualified technological optimism is the only optimism that endures'.
Placing his immensely readable narrative on water in three distinct sections, the author views the impact of 'water blindness' across countries; examines implications of 'water control' in contested river basins; and presents power of science and technology to usher in a bright 'water future'. Tvedt avoids taking an ideological position on whether the glass is half full or half empty, instead leaves it for the reader to make an objective assessment on the impending water crises. Howsoever the world might respond to the imminent crises, water fundamentally binds together the past and the future in expressing a deep continuity of our whole evolution as a species.
Despite the fact that Tvedt's original writing in Norwegian was published in 2007, the English translation by Richard Daly published in 2014 is refreshingly original. More than a travelogue it is an authoritative treatise on water that makes a compelling reading. It is one book that I intend keeping on my bedside; to use it as a ready reckoner on exotic places should an opportunity arise for this reviewer to undertake similar travels. If I am sounding envious of Terje Tvedt so be it. At least, I am learning about global responses to water issues in the process....Linkhttp://www.d-sector.com/Book-details.asp?id=92
A Journey in the Future of Water
by Terje Tvedt
I.B.Tauris, UK
Extent: 262, Price: £14.99
An extended version of this review has also appeared on Anthem EnviroExperts Review, coordinated by Prof. Larry Susskind of MIT
