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The Role of Tibetan Monastic Organizations in
Conservation and Development: The Case Study of
Shar 'od Monastery in Golok, China
Palden Tsering
Abstract: Global warming and environmental deterioration have had an enormous impact on the
Three Rivers Region. The rise of the monastic organizations in Tibet had its social-politic factors such as
the international impacts on “Green Tibetan” movement, China’s foreign non-governmental organizations
(FNGO) policies, and the revitalization of Tibetan Buddhism. The rst Tibetan Monastic Organization
(TMO) was officially registered in Golok Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (GTAP), People’s Republic
of China (PRC) in 2007. Since then an increasing number of TMOs in rural Tibetan areas started to take
participate in conservation around the globally important Three Rivers Region, and these TMOs have
begun to make an impact on environmental governance. In this paper, we chose Badma Rinto Wildlife
Conservation (BWC) as the case study to obtain a better view of peoples’ perceptions on the role of TMOs
in conservation and development through questionnaire, semi-structured interviews and participatory
observation. The study had illustrated that the conservation eorts from BWC is widely accepted from
both local communities and government, and surprisingly with expectation from communities on BWC
to bring greater inuence in terms of future conservation and community development. Furthermore, the
environmental work for conservation in Tibetan areas must be a collaborative effort among residents,
Buddhist monasteries, monastic organizations, environmental NGOs, and the government.
225
Introduction
The Three Rivers Region (Gzang Sum 'byung Yul, 三江源 ) is a region with rich biodiversity.
It is located on the roof of the world, on the southeastern part of the Qinghai Province, China.
The average altitude is between 3450–6621 m. The Three Rivers Region holds significant
ecological value, and contains the headwaters of the Yangtze River, Yellow River, and the
Lancang River (also referred to as the Mekong). The administrative region includes Golok,
Yushu, Tsolho, and Malho Tibetan Autonomous Prefectures, with a subordinate to 16 Counties
and Tangermu Township.1 The implementation of the Chinese state’s policies [such as the
“Democratic Reform” in the late 1950s;2 China’s “West Open Up Campaign” economic
development in the 2000s; “Ecological Migration” in 2003,3 and the constant inux of non-
Tibetan populations into Tibetan Plateau].4 In addition, these state development policies
together with enhanced anthropogenic disturbances (mining, road construction, hydroelectric
dam building, overgrazing etc.) and climatic change had also brought various environmental
crisis.5 The increasing environmental issues such as the decrease of the permafrost soil,
wetlands loss, desertication, grassland degradation, and human-wildlife conict had placed
the communities and biodiversity of the Tibetan Plateau under significant stress. To address
some of the environmental and social issues, the rst TMO was ocially registered in Golok
TAP, China in 2007. Since then an increasing number of TMOs in rural Tibetan areas started
to take participate in conservation around the globally important Three Rivers Region, and
these TMOs have begun to make impacts on environmental governance. TMOs are examples
of existing eorts for local conservation. They are non-governmental organizations (NGO), or
Civil Social Organizations (CSO)6 mostly organized by monasteries with collaboration of local
pastoralists. In this paper, we chose BWC as the case study to obtain a better view of peoples’
perceptions on the role of TMOs in conservation and development.
The “Earth Charter and Our Common Future” by the United Nations was published in the
1980s, highly emphasizing that the “preservation of life is a universal responsibility” and called
“for more progressive actions to ensure global environmental health”.7 Under the inuences
1 Qi Jinyu, 2014: 12.
2 Melvyn C. Goldstein, 1997: 128.
3 Mark Foggin, 2008: 26-31.
4 Emily Yeh, 2014: 8.
5 Yu Chengqun et al. 2012: 65.
6 Andrew Fulda, 2017: 11.
7 UN, Earth Charter, Retrieved from www.un-documents.net/earth/-ch.htm 1987a. UN, Our Common Future, From
One Earth to One World Nations, 1987b.
226
of various concepts and practices, such as the concept of “deep ecology”,8 Lynn White Jr’s
view which concluded as Judeo-Christian religious traditions had a higher destructive impact
in nature, when compared with Asian religious traditions,9 and “ecological Indian” of North
America.10 These eco-religious concepts and practices had stimulated the interests of many
western intellectuals and environmentalist to explore Tibetan Buddhism, which is considered
rich “in resources for ecological thinking”.11 Buddhism is referred to as the “religion of
humankind”12 by Tibetan Buddhists, and Tibetan Buddhist monasteries have historically
functioned as the earliest intellectual institutions on the Tibetan Plateau. A monastery is a
comprehensive and multi-functional institution that provides education, medication, and
various social services (such as birth and funeral ceremonies for the local community). The
influences of the “Green Tibetan” environmental movement led to the emergence of the
“green (environmental) monastery” in Kham and Amdo areas. According to China’s Ethnic
Statistical Yearbook, there are over 694 Tibetan Buddhist monasteries in Qinghai Province.13
More recently, the “Khoryug Movement” and the annual conference to “motivate ‘international
Buddhist communities and monasteries’ in the Himalayan regions to act in sustainable and
environmentally friendly ways” by His Holiness the 17th Karmapa.14 These governmental and
individual attempts had successfully structured the foundations for the “green Tibetan” image
which gradually became globally accepted and having its transregional impact. Meanwhile,
the number of ocially registered NGOs in China has increased from 10,855 in the 1990s to at
latest 440,000.15 The FNGOs not only provide various types of support for civil societies and
domestic organizations that local or national authorities cannot; they also lled in the gaps for
vulnerable or underserved populations.
Study Site
Shar 'od Monastery (Badma Rinto) is in the Ganglun Township, Gabdey County. It was rst
established in the mid-18th century, destroyed in 1958, and then rebuilt after the 1980s.16 The
valley community of Gabdey (Gande 甘德
) lies in the hinterland of the Tibetan Plateau, at
8 Arne Naess, 1989: 282.
9 Lind Jhonston, 2006: 69-99.
10 Martin Calvin, 1978: 20-27.
11 Graham Parkes,1998: 38.
12 Suo Darje, 2000: 15-18.
13 Le & Xing Ed., China’s Ethnic Statistical Yearbook 2016, 2017: 35.
14 H. H. The 17th Karmapa, 2009: 3.
15 Reza Hasmath, 2016: 43-56.
16 Pang Zhong, 2016: 10.
227
an altitude of 3802m, in the southeastern part of Golok TAP, Qinghai Province, PRC (Fig. 1).
Golok TAP is the main water sources of the Machu River (Yellow River), “with an annual
11 billion m3 river ow and seven functioning hydroelectric power stations with a combined
capacity of over 10GW”,17 and Golok is important to China because of “its contribution to the
water supply, mainly provided by rainfall and melting ice”.18 Gabdey County covers a land of
7046 km2 and comprises a total of 13 monasteries. According to the 2015 Qinghai provincial
census, Gabdey has a total population of 32,579, which includes 9118 pastoralist households.19
Currently, there are three officially registered TMOs within Golok TAP, the Nyanpo Yuzee
Environmental Protection Association, Drasar Ecological Environment Protection Association
and BWC. Badma Rinto is the name of the regionally worshiped sacred mountain, which is
surrounded by a total of 1008 hectares of alpine wetland and meadow.20 BWC was established
in October 2013 by the abbot of Shar 'od monastery, with 58 lay people and 55 Buddhist monks
17 Michael Buckley, 2014: 34-38.
18 Michael Buckley, 2014: 34-38.
19 Gandegov, 2015 Census ( 甘德人口普查 ), 2015. Retrieved from http://www.gande.gov.cn.
20 Gandegov, 2015 Census ( 甘德人口普查 ), 2015. Retrieved from http://www.gande.gov.cn.
Figure 1. The Three Rivers Region (Sanjiangyuan 三江源 ) and Gabdey County (Meltdownintibet.com)
228
as registered members, and it became the rst registered conservation organization in Gabdey
County, Golok TAP. As the rst ocially registered TMO in Gabdey, BWC maintains constant
interactions with monastery, local communities, and the local government.
Method
Mixed research methodologies were adopted during the five-week field work, including
questionnaire, semi-structured interviews, and participatory observation. The questionnaire
was designed to collect both qualitative and quantitative data from dierent residential groups.
The following questions were highlighted from the questionnaire: (a) what do you think are
the priorities for a monastery? (b) what do you think are the priorities for TMO? (c) What are
the preconditions for establishing a TMO? A semi-structured interview was prepared on topics
such as management, fundraising, and project implementation of the TMO to assist us to gain a
deeper scope of the cooperation. Finally, a participatory observation on BWC’s preparation and
negotiation on the establishment of National Park was conducted to help us comprehend the
role of BWC under state dominated project and future challenges. A total of 142 questionnaires
were delivered to 56 females and 86 male participants, average age of 39 years-old. The
questionnaire was carried out to two different groups of people. The insider participants
included 30 Buddhist monastics and 21 local pastoralists, and the outsider participants included
50 residents from Gabdey County and 41 residents from other neighboring areas. The rationale
of grouping follows the traditional Tibetan Buddhist way of categorizing the communities to
“Lhade” and “Mide”. The ‘insider’ group or “Lhade” here refers to communities that subject to
monastic communities, Shar 'od monastery has six “Lhades”, which has the responsibilities to
provide oerings and get monastic services in return from the monastery. In contrast, “Mide”
or outsider group here refers to communities that do not subject to Shar 'od monasteries, which
the participants are mainly the residents from outside of these six Lahades.
Results
PRC’s “Law on the Management of the Activities of Overseas Non-Government Organizations
within Mainland China”, or the China’s FNGO law was approved on April 28th, 2016 and
took effect on January 1st, 2017. The law assures more governmental involvement and
surveillance of FNGOs in China. Emphasizing that the process of registration, management,
and annual reporting of the FNGOs must conform to China’s Ministry of Public Security. Also,
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all registered organizations should have an official Chinese sponsor,21 which is the critical
regulation for FNGO registration. According to China’s new FNGO law, the “overseas NGOs”
are referred to as “non-prot, non-governmental social organizations legally formed abroad,
including foundations, social groups, and think- tanks”.22 It was estimated that there were
approximately 7,000 non-prot, non-governmental social organizations (such as foundations,
social groups) that are active in China.23 However, since the implementation of the China’s new
FNGO Law from January, 87 FNGOs had been successfully approved by Ministry of Public
Security in China.24 The MPS ocial website revealed that among the 87 ocially registered
FNGOs, 34 NGOs are registered for Business and International Trade, 13 are registered for
Health Care and Education, and 3 are recorded for Environmental Conservation.25 The new
FNGOs Law has triggered intense responses from both foreign and domestic organizations.
The new FNGO law will surely bring dramatic influences on domestic NGOs, especially
the ground based grass root organizations like BWC. Even though BWC is approved by the
local government as a legitimate conservation eort in local areas, the lack of prociency in
management limits the sustainable development of the organization.
1. The intrinsic functions of the monastery
The monastery, especially BWC, can be described as the “guardian” of this unique ecosystem
in Three Rivers Region. The essential roles of the monastery have transformed from a
traditionally Buddhist study center to a market centered tourist hotspots under the context
of socio-economic development and socio- politic changes.26 According to Tibetan historian
Tsering Shakya, “Buddhism had always been seen as the core of Tibetan identity, and its clergy
the epitome of ‘Tibetnanness’”.27 Tibetan Buddhism is well known for its intimate connection
with the environment. “Tibetan Buddhism exists with the earth, the waters, and the sky in
Tibet”.28 The landscape in Shar 'od monastery includes not only humans, plants, and animals
but more critically the landscape coexists with the spiritual world. As Yu wrote, “the landscape
of Tibet is both the religious mindscape and natural landscape interact and bond with each other
21 Ministry of Security, PRC. 2017. Retrieved June 21, 2017, from http://ngo.mps.gov.cn.
22 Yu Sui, 2016. Retrieved June 21, 2017, Retrieved from http://www.chinausfocus.com/energy-environment/ngos-
in-china.
23 Su Smith, 2013: 5.
24 Ministry of Security, PRC. 2017. Retrieved June 21, 2017, from http://ngo.mps.gov.cn.
25 Ministry of Security, PRC. 2017. Retrieved June 21, 2017, from http://ngo.mps.gov.cn.
26 Xu Jun, 2008: 67-80.
27 Tsering Shakya, 1999: 78.
28 Dan Smyer Yu, 2012: 45-48.
230
in the same enclosure.”29 The existence of Shar 'od monastery has secured the surrounding
environment with its pro-environmental awareness from religious teachings and practices.
In turn, the unique ecosystem and the rich biodiversity of Badma Rinto have mystified and
virtualized the monastery. Thus, a question was designed to interpret dierent perceptions on
relationship between conservation and Buddhist monastery from both groups (Fig. 2).
29 Dan Smyer Yu, 2012: 45-48.
Figure 2. Priorities for Tibetan Buddhist monasteries, ranking from the highest to the lowest (left to right).
(a) Priorities for monasteries from insider group
(b) Priorities for monasteries from outsider group
231
In terms of the relationship between conservation and monastery, the insider group had put
conservation as the second most important priority of the monastery, while the outsider group
considered conservation as less signicant for the monastery (Fig. 2). The dierence between
these two groups is due to the identity of the participants. The insider group mostly consists of
Buddhist monks and religious practitioners that are geologically and psychologically attached
to the monastic landscape. One of the latest study by Li and her coworkers had indicated that
Tibetan Buddhist monasteries play an important role in snow leopard conservation in Three
Rivers Region.30 The geological distance has formed a much closer bond between these people
and the monastery. According to the questionnaire, 75% of the participants from the insider
group have participated in environmental activities led by BWC in the past five years. In
contrast, the outsider participants are mainly from neighboring Counties and Townships, which
are much more social and economically ‘urbanized’ than those from monastic communities.
Differences in access to the monastic landscape has formed different mindscapes in these
two groups, resulting in dierent expectations toward monasteries’ role in conservation. The
monastic landscape here refers to the various of territorial properties that are under the care
of the monastery, including the visual landscape such as sacred mountains, the sacred water
sources, and sacred religious relics. Moreover, the attached intangible mindscapes based
on these landscape, such as the religious rituals, traditional ecological knowledges, and the
alpine pastoral, pro-environmental way of life. These are the core elements of shaping the
unique worldview and collective identity of the monastic communities. People from monastic
communities consider themselves as an inseparable part of the landscape, their daily life
depends on the nature itself, and the change of the nature matters to the maintenance of
the pastoral lifestyle. Comparatively, 70% of the outside group chose culture preservation
as the top priority for monasteries (Fig. 2b), which expressed their concern of losing the
traditional culture under context of urbanization. Participants from the outside group are
more psychologically alienated from the virtual landscape, the geological distance has limited
their access to traditional Buddhist monastic based cultural practices. Particularly in younger
generations from outside of monastic communities, ideas like sacred monastic relics, sacred
sites, and traditional ecological knowledge are being repressed by the urban education and
social norms.
2. Expectations for more TMOs in local areas
“……altruism in Buddhism is not just for our kind (human beings), but also for
30 Li Jan et al. 2013: 118-123.
232
the environment we humans depend on. It is our obligation to protect the environment
together, and this is the essence of altruism from the religious point of view.”31
Conservation can be dened as “sustainable management of natural resources as well as their
protection and restoration”.32 BWC has inherited the Buddhist way of interpreting conservation
and conceptualized it as the action of treating nature with equity, with contributions from all
human beings, to obtain harmonious way of living. As the rst registered monastic organization
in Gabdey County, BWC has conducted various and extensive projects from 2013 to 2016,
including attempts to resolve human-wildlife conflicts, waste management, to maintain the
Blue sheep population, regional biodiversity baseline study, to monitor grassland and wetlands
conditions in the sacred mountain areas, to promote awareness, and environmental education
for local communities. In 2017, BWC is also actively involved in community participatory
film-making efforts. With several successfully conducted conservational projects, BWC has
achieved significant recognition from local government and domestic organizations. One of
the questions was designed to see if participants have more expectations for TMOs to take
participate in conservation (Fig. 3).
Figure 3. Expectations for TMOs from both inside and outside group
As the chart showed, 75% percent of the participants believed that works towards
conservation will prot from enlarging the number of established TMOs around Three Rivers
Region. A study from Gelissen had concluded that “one could hypothesize that more religious
individuals will express greater support for the environment than those who are less religious”.33
31 Interview with Shar 'od Monastery Tulku at 17th May 2017, recording at 37.34'.
32 Andrew M. Fischer, 2008: 46.
33 John Gelissen, 2007: 123-136.
233
This hypothesis can be partially accepted and rejected under the context of BWC in Gabdey.
First, it might be accepted because all 141 participants are Buddhist practitioners; according
to Gelissen’s assumption they are likely to express greater support for the environment. As
the livelihood of participants from monastic communities are dependent on natural resources,
such as alpine grassland, water, and the plants. As Andrew Fischer concluded, the “subsistence
(a) Views from insider group
(b) Views from outsider group
Figure 4. The insider and outsider groups express dierent views on the priorities of the TMO
234
capacity” of the pastoralists are depended on the nature itself on the Tibetan plateau.34 All
of these factors have weakened the outsiders’ accesses to monasteries, which means that
insiders are able to provide their rst-hand support through volunteering in conservation and
environment protection because they rely upon these natural resources. In contrast, outsiders do
not have direct access to the monasteries because of their geographic location, and they are less
dependent on these natural resources.
In terms of BWC’s functions, the questionnaire revealed that 75% of the insiders
considered conservation as the top preference for BWC (Fig. 4), followed by public education
and health. In contrast, only 52% of the outsiders chose public health as their highest priority
(Fig. 4), followed by public education and conservation. We found that outsiders hold a
mutual perception toward conservation. A total of 29% of the participants chose conservation
as a signicant priority for BWC, and it is noticeable that outsiders sustain conservative and
traditional perspectives toward the monastery and monastic organizations. Whereas insiders
expressed wider expectations for monastic organizations, and revealed further expectations of
diverse involvements from monastic organizations.
3. Establishment of TMO
As the manager of BWC stated in his interview, “there were two main reasons to establish
BWC. Firstly, mitigate the constant anthropogenic damages. Secondly, get the legitimate
authority from the government to practice conservation rights in the local area.”35 According
to the questionnaire, two substantial conditions are particularly important for establishing a
TMO, approval from the government and the support from the monastery. As the collected data
demonstrated, 66% of the outsider participants believed that support from the monastery and
government are core elements for establishing BWC, whereas 27% of the participants believed
leadership and collective ideas (support from local people) are more minor points (Fig. 5). The
support from the monastery, including the support from the abbot and monastery management
committee, is considered highly important by the outsider group. In contrast, the insider group
is more focused on leadership, such as the ultimate support from the abbot of the monastery,
which 80% of the inside participants emphasized as the key element for establishing the BWC
in 2013. The leadership of BWC belongs to the abbot of the monastery, who is also the tulku
(Tibetan, incarnated Lama) in Shar 'od monastery. According to the Central United Front Work
Department in China, there are “a presence of 4 million Catholics, 10 million Protestants,
34 Andrew M. Fischer, 2008: 87.
35 Interview with Manager of BWC on 22nd May 2017, recording at 43.11'.
235
18 million Muslims, and over 100 million Buddhists in China”.36 The charisma of Tibetan
Lamas, especially incarnate Lamas, is called “religious charisma”.37 A tulku is the abbot of the
monastery, the spiritual leader of the visualized landscape, “and they are increasingly outspoken
in political debates and are unafraid to criticize the government”.38 As Wang described in his
interview,
“…there are charismatic characters in Tibetan Buddhist monasteries, they are
always the tulku and Khanbos from the monasteries. They can always get sources for
funding through their connections and charisma.”39
The forming of this charisma relies on its interdependent connections with “its worldly
institution and community”.40 First, the monastic landscape provides visual support for
mind-scaping, which “refers to knowledge system that gives cultural and psychological
meanings to the physical landscape”.41 Second, the lineage is significant for the personality
of the charismatic gure. Third, the community, both the monastic communities and outside
communities, provide disciples and followers for the charismatic leader. Tibetan Buddhist
tulkus are highly idealized by Tibetan and Chinese pilgrims, and some tulkus have used their
charisma to start local enterprises, “and some local entrepreneurs have invited them to join their
boards of directors”.42
Figure 5. Preconditions for establishing a TMO in Tibet
36 CUFWD, 2006. Retrieved from http://www.zytzb.org.cn/zytzbwz/religion/index.htm (accessed 4th July 2017).
37 Stanley Jeyaraja Tambiah, 1984: 67.
38 Ben Hillman, 2005: 54.
39 Interview with Wang on 23rd May 2017, recording at 28.11'.
40 Dan Smyer Yu, 2012: 124.
41 Dan Smyer Yu, 2012: 124.
42 Ben Hillman, 2005: 54.
236
Searching for a secure fund source for their future projects is always the key target for BWC.
According to the interview with the monastery abbot and the secretary of BWC, BWC had
three main fund sources supporting their annual environmental projects from 2013 to 2016.
Firstly, fund from local government. BWC had received two small grants from the local
Propaganda Department in 2014 and the United Front Work Department in 2015.43 For local
TMOs like BWC, more initiative is needed and mutual targets are required due to BWC’s
interests and benets. Secondly, fund from both international and national organizations. BWC
had received both small grants and technical supports from both international and national
organizations since 2014. As a grantee, BWC had implemented projects such as the Sacred Site
Biodiversity Baseline Study and awareness building within the local communities. The fund
that BWC received from domestic and international organizations were temporarily dominant,
usually lasting for 1-2 years, and normally with a small amount. Besides, the outcomes are
always aimed to fulll the research interests of bigger organizations rather than mitigating the
existing environmental crisis in the local area. Thirdly, fund from Buddhist disciples. This can
be considered as the most financially stable support for both the monastery and BWC. This
fund source is based on the personal charisma of the abbot (tulku) and his social connections.
Usually, Buddhist practitioners from other areas are always willing to provide support to the
monastery. For example, during 2014–2016, with the support from some private sponsors, Shar
'od monastery had successfully nancialized the constructions of few public facilities in the
monastery, such as a monastic primary school which had over 100 students in 2017, a home-
care center for the elders from monastic communities, and a Mantra hall for the monastery.
These funds are comparatively stable and flexible, which provides a platform for both the
monastery and BWC to carry out further plans in conservation and community development.
4. Relationship among monastery, BWC, and local community
Monastery plays a significant role in promoting conservation. To improve awareness in
environment protection among local communities, Shar 'od monastery has combined traditional
pro-environmental religious concepts such as no-harm and sacred sites into practice. Since the
establishment of BWC under Shar 'od monastery, conservation and community development
have become the core targets for BWC. Through early self-funded attempts to rising recognition
from outside of the monastic communities, BWC better positioned to reach out for external
funds and support, which has helped BWC to contribute to both environmental protection and
the wellbeing of the local community. Monastic communities are as well as geologically and
43 Suo Darje, 2000: 45-48.
237
psychologically attached to Shar 'od monastery in a “reciprocal relationship”. The “Lhade”
provides resources such as yak butter, tsemba (Tibetan barley our), and cash money to the
monastery through aperiodic almsgiving, and the monastery provides religious services in
return. The relationship between the local herding communities and the Shar 'od monastery is
established through the concept of interdependent, this relationship in turn promote joint work
between the communities and the monastery to conduct conservation and development projects.
The relationship of these sectors can be described as reciprocal. Firstly, the Tibetan
Buddhist monasteries have the tradition of receiving the sanctioned “religious offer” or
“donations” from local communities. In return, beyond the traditional offering of religious
ceremonies to the communities, Shar 'od monastery has also advocated in various of social
services, such as promoting basic education, care for elders, and providing medical care for
local communities. In 2009, a monastic primary school was established in the monastery to
serve both Buddhist monks and lay children from the local community, with an attendance
of 113 students and 15 teachers in 2017. In addition, since 2009, a seasonal literacy training
program has been operated by Shar 'od monastery and BWC to provide basic Tibetan and
Chinese reading and writing lessons for illiterate nomads from the local communities. As the
abbot of the monastery had stated in his interview,
“…this (training program) has created adequate opportunities for nomads to
obtain language skills, which might help with searches for alternative livelihoods.”44
Secondly, we consider the existence of monastic business as a core element for the
maintain of the local economy. Shar 'od monastery owns several businesses under supports
from various sources. Including one grocery stores, one restaurant, and a hotel in Gabdey
Town. The monastery doesn’t directly get involve in these businesses, rather leasing these
assets to other people. The revenue of the business is distributed into two parts, where 70%
percent of the annual income goes to the monastery, and another 30% goes to the pocket of
the business managers. Moreover, most of the revenue is oered as a monthly stipend for the
monastics in the monastery, where each monastic receives a monthly 600 to 800 CYN stipends.
Thirdly, monasteries in the post-Maoist era “served as a powerful partner in the local
government’s pursuit of its social and economic policies”.45 Local governors are fully
aware of the potential profit of “cooperating with religious leaders and monasteries, and
local government has shown willingness to provide a monastic discourse in local policy
making”.46 Under the pressures of achieving state economic growth and social stability, “the
44 Interview with Donyun on 16th May 2017, recording at 34.44'.
45 Ben Hillman, 2005: 54.
46 Ben Hillman, 2005: 54.
238
local government comprehends that cooperation with the monastery has provided the local
population with a strong sense of community and identity based on deep rooted Buddhist
belief”.47 Most of all, governments recognize that “the Tibetan Buddhist revival can help them
meet the development targets on the basis of which their performance is evaluated”.48 This
point was clearly expressed by one of the governors from Gunlung Township, as he stated in
the interview,
“…to us (government), it is easy to have monasteries to be the mouthpiece, all
the residents (including monastic communities) are Buddhist practitioners, and the
Buddhist monastic culture is a good asset to develop local tourist industry so it can
help government to alleviate territorial poverty.”49
The local government offers financial support to the monastery and BWC to conduct
state designed projects. Local communities oer the donation and get religious services from
the monastery. Meanwhile, the monastery provides funds for BWC to conduct conservation
projects, such as wildlife protection and waste management. Local pastoralists are also
motivated to participate in conservation projects voluntarily. The participation of the local
communities and volunteers from outside of the monastic communities are highly appreciated
47 Ben Hillman, 2005: 54.
48 Ben Hillman, 2005: 54.
49 Interview with Gande Governor A on 13th May 2017, recording at 23.11'.
Figure 6. The reciprocal relationship among monastery, BWC,
community and government.
239
by BWC. As the manager of BWC highlighted in the interview,
“…BWC welcome all voluntaries from outside, because more volunteers
mean more resources, and the more resources we get the better we can conduct
conservation works in local areas.”50
Each these sectors play a signicant role in conservation and sustainable development. The
interdependent connection between these sectors suggests that such a reciprocal relationship
leads to a healthier and much ecient traditional Tibetan community-based social governance
(Fig. 6).
5. Future concerns in conservation and development
BWC also has concerns for the limitations and obstacles for future works in conservation and
development of local communities. According to the interviews and participatory observation,
some of the related limitations were mentioned by the interviewees. Firstly, BWC has over
200 registered members, but 80% of which are Buddhist monastics. Therefore, the majority
of the members work as part-time for BWC, and these members are naturally “volunteer
environmentalists.” Secondly, BWC lacks detailed annual or quarterly targets and plans, which
makes BWC passive in designing and executing projects for conservation and development.
Even though BWC does design and deliver their own projects, but comparatively minor
to externally supported environmental projects. Moreover, no pre- or post-assessments are
designed for the environmental projects that conducted. Thirdly, BWC lacks the initiatives to
reach out for cooperation with both government and other organizations, this passivity restricts
BWC to search for cooperation with local government and international organizations. Finally,
BWC lacks contemporary communication and publicity skills, which is mainly restricted by
language and computer skills. The publicity of BWC is limited within an inner circle (mostly
the monastic communities) but they require a wider demographic to gain more recognition in
the future.
In terms of the future conservation and development, BWC showed major concerns toward
over populated Blue sheep and the establishment of the National Wetland Park. BWC’s
secretary explained the problem of Blue Sheep over population in his interview,
50 Interview with Tulku on 12th May 2017, recording at 52.13'.
240
“The number of the Blue sheep increased very fast. One barely sees any blue
sheep a few years ago around the mountain foot, but one can see hundreds of sheep
looking for grass near the mountain foot nowadays.”
“There are over 20,000 Blue sheep inhabiting in the area around Badma Rinto mountain,”
as the BWC secretary concluded. Local pastoralists used to hunt and kill Blue Sheep for the
meat and pelt. The pelt can be used for clothes and the meat is considered to have medicinal
value. With the traditional Buddhist norm on ahimsa (no harming) and increasing awareness of
Blue Sheep as an endemic endangered species (IUCN), the number of the Blue Sheep increased
over the last two decades, causing issues such as grass shortage for Blue sheep and livestock.
To address the grass shortage, the manager of BWC has considered offering alternative
livelihood for local pastoralists. However, this also raises concerns from cultural perspectives.
For example, the tulku, head of BWC, stated in his interview,
“…local herders are all Buddhist practitioners, they will never kill Blue Sheep
for not having enough grass for their own livestock. But if the population (of Blue
Sheep) keeps growing, there will not be enough grass for their own livestock. And
this is a problem we must deal with. BWC has tried to purchase grass from other
villages to feed the Blue Sheep in the past years, but this is not a sustainable way
to maintain the population. So, since killing is prohibited here, I think providing
alternative livelihood for the local pastoralists is one of the suitable options to
mitigate the problem (the grass shortage), but it is going to be a continued process
and requires long-term preparation and practice. Most importantly, I am worried that
this change in lifestyle will gradually become a threat for the maintenance of the
Tibetan pastoral culture.”
The pastoral or nomadic culture is the spirit of traditional Tibetan community, which is
historically practiced by nomads that scattered on Tibetan Plateau, with its richness in language,
livelihoods, traditional ceremonies, and its intrinsic connections with the nature. Tibetan secular
intellectuals are also concerned that pastoral culture is being demolished under the pressure of
state development and globalization. The loss of pastoral culture would ultimately result in the
loss of Tibetan language and Buddhist culture. Both the tulku and secretary of BWC are aware
on the loss of traditional pastoralist lifestyle, and they believe that pastoral culture is going to
disappear under the market-oriented economic developments.
“…with massive developments and urbanizations going on, they (local
pastoralists) will definitely lose the traditional pastoral culture. Like the black
tent they used to live, folk tales they used to tell, the language they used to speak,
241
and mostly, they are going to lose the profound relationship with the pastoral
communities, the nature and the sacred sites, and this will no longer make them a
Barog Ba (Nomad).”51
As Paige West clarified in her book, “environmental conservation interventions based on
neoliberal economic models move both the environment and social relationships into realm of
commodities.”52 Commodity here refers to the concept of exchanging objects and their values
for money. Her study in Papua New Guinea concludes that commodity breaks down social
connections in local communities,53 which is also the biggest concern for BWC under the
state development policies. The second obstacle that BWC has encountered is the provincial
project of establishing the “Badma Rinto Wetland National Park.” The alpine wetlands help to
maintain the ecological stability of the fragile and diversied ecosystem in the Tibetan Plateau.
Qinghai Province has recognized the Badma Rinto Wetland National Park since 2015. Also,
with a total of 3136 km2 and a 3116 million CYN investment from the government, the “Badma
Rinto sacred site” is expected to be a national park within the next ve years. According to
the questionnaire, 17% of the inside group interviewees were against the establishment of the
national park, while another 55% of the interviewees held a neutral point of view, but with a
high requirement for the priorities of ecosystem protection, pastoral cultural preservation, and
sustainable development of the local communities. Comparatively, 73% of the interviewees
from outside group were against with the establishment of the national park in Badma Rinto,
despite the danger of losing Tibetan traditional norms, outsiders are highly concerned due to
their lack of condence in local government. They worry that the local government will use
this opportunity to boost their tourist industry and make the national park another “tourist site”,
and that the monastery and BWC will have no say in the decision making and management of
the national park.
Conclusion
Global warming and environmental deterioration have had an enormous impact to the
Three Rivers Region. The rise of the monastic organizations in this region had its social-
politic factors such as the international impacts on “Green Tibetan” movement, China’s FNGO
policies, and the revitalization of Tibetan Buddhism. In this study, the maintenance of a healthy
relationship among monastery, monastic organization, and local government is highlighted. The
51 Interview with Tulku on 12th May 2017, recording at 56.44'.
52 Paige West, 2006: 12.
53 Paige West, 2006: 14.
242
study had illustrated that the conservation eorts from BWC is widely accepted from both local
communities and government, and surprisingly with expectation from communities on BWC to
bring greater inuence in terms of future conservation and community development. However,
the limitations of BWC must be confronted and gradually tackled for sustainable development.
Efforts on capacity building, staff training in proficiency, and communications skills can be
increased. Most importantly, community development based mutual beneficial collaboration
between outside organizations and the governments are mandatory for the future development
of BWC. Environmental work for conservation in Tibetan areas must be a collaborative eort
among residents, Buddhist monasteries, monastic organizations, environmental NGOs, and the
government. The lack of any of these ve bodies might result in unsuccessful and unsustainable
outcome, regardless of how these measurements are dened. Enabling and empowering local
communities to act according with its priorities are important. After all, to have a constructive
picture of the inter-connections and conicts between these bodies, a long-term investigation
and further research is required.
Acknowledgements: Thank JB and JY from Shar 'od Monastery for the eld assistance and
many herders and Buddhist practitioners in Gabdey who patiently answered the questions.
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藏区寺院组织在生态保护和社区发展中的作用
——以青海果洛夏日乎寺班玛仁拓为例
华旦才让
（英国肯特大学硕士研究生）
可以说，全球变暖与生态环境的日益恶化对于青海省三江源头区域脆弱的生态环境影响巨大。
同时也导致自古依赖于高原独特生态环境而生存的广大高原游牧群众传统生活生产方式、社会结
构和游牧文化的改变。2007 年，第一个藏区佛教寺院环保组织于果洛注册成立。自此之后，三江
源地区陆续有藏传佛教寺院通过注册保护组织或以其它形式投入到了地方生态环境保护与社区发
展的事业中。这些寺院保护组织不仅成为推进地方生态保护与社区发展的一大动力，而且，他们
在环保与发展中的作为，已使他们成为地方生态环保和社区发展中不可或缺的一股力量。本篇以
甘德县班玛仁拓野生动植物保护协会为例，通过问卷、参与观察、半结构化访谈等调查方法试图
探究地方政府、寺院及香火村对于三江源区域寺院环保组织的态度。通过分析调查数据发现，当
地政府、香火村及寺院三个主体对于班玛仁拓野生动植物保护协会在生态环境保护中的作用和影
响力极为认可。除外，当地政府、香火村及寺院也表达出了对于班玛仁拓野生动植物保护协会在
继续推动地方生态保护和社区发展的期待。地方这种基于藏区传统社区（以寺院喇嘛、寺院、香
火村三个主体建构）的信任与合作，完全可以考虑到长远有效稳定的地方社会治理机制中。而当
地生态环境保护和社区的可持续发展，需要地方政府、寺院、香火村、地方民间组织、寺院环保
组织等同心协力，在充分尊重和借鉴藏区传统社区的影响下，结合科学的社会治理方法以推动各
个主体在保护和发展中的作用。
