We in our prayers also say that Tibet is the heavenly abode, the land surrounded by snow mountains. The westerners starting calling Tibet “the roof of the world”. Asians started calling Tibet “the water tower of Asia”. Now the Chinese environmental scientists call Tibet the third pole, because Tibet has the largest number of glaciers and permafrost, which feed all these major rivers that flow into Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Burma, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam and into China itself. In China 50% of the water is polluted. Tibet is the only place that has pristine water and a pristine, fragile environment.
It's very important for the whole region that Tibet's environmental issues are addressed and ecological issues are taken care of. There should be more collaboration between the Chinese environmental scientists and international environmental scientists to come out with detailed, analytical studies of the environmental situation. That will help the whole region.