“The experience of being a LEAD Fellow has been extremely valuable, both to rethink a number of sustainability-related issues, and because of the peer-support that the network brings. Such a level of peer-support has been difficult to find, especially when working in remote settings, and so I greatly appreciate what the LEAD programme has added to my network, connections, and colleagues.”Challenge
The vast highlands of the Tibetan Plateau have been the home of Tibetan pastoralists for thousands of years, and they also provide habitat for a unique assemblage of wildlife species, many recognised as internationally rare or endangered. The region is disproportionately affected by climate change with many of the Tibetan glaciers now melting away. Through the plateau’s rivers and watersheds, climate change will soon affect not only local Tibetan communities but also agricultural production throughout Southeast Asia.
Action
Marc is committed to building the capacity of local communities and organisations in the Tibetan Plateau to promote sustainable livelihoods and protect the natural beauty of the area from the harmful effects of climate change and environmental degradation. In 1998, Marc founded Plateau Perspectives, an NGO focused on building capacity within the Tibetan Plateau region at the grassroots level. Gongbo Tashi, a LEAD Fellow from China, joined Marc in 2007. Their focus is to engage local communities, NGOs and government leaders to promote education and environmental awareness as well as to enhance the provision of social services, leading to more community-based conservation. Since starting, they have established community health centres; trained village doctors and women’s health workers; built village schools and trained teachers on conservation awareness; delivered veterinarian training for animal health workers; and installed wind powered water pumps.
Impact
Plateau Perspectives community health initiatives have succeeded in training over a hundred village doctors and twenty-four female health workers who are specialized in maternal and child health. The best of these health staff are now working in newly established village health centres. Their environmental education initiatives have led to the establishment of community-based protected areas (PAs) and several wildlife monitoring teams. Through such capacity building programmes, Plateau Perspectives has effectively implemented and demonstrated the viability of a more people-centred approach to conservation, ‘community co-management’, and thus has helped advance sustainable development in the Tibetan Plateau region.
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