The first sub-project of Vale Award Project, the Wetland Conservation Project in Chuxi Village was officially launched on August 31, 2011 in QNNP’s Tingri County. Mr. Tsering Norbu, Executive Director of The Pendeba Society, village leaders like Mr. Basang and Mr. Gesang, staff from The Pendeba Society and over 30 Chuxi villagers attended the project launch ceremony. Supported by the People's Government of Shegar Town where Chuxi Village belongs, The Pendeba Society has signed an agreement with Ms. Gama, Chief Executive of the Shegar Town about implementing the project in Chuxi Village. It is a living demostration of our work strategy, i.e. the "Three-way Partnership" which involves "top-down" support from government agencies, "bottom-up" initiative from communities, and "outside-in" training and support from organizations.
“This project protects both wetland and farmland of Chuxi village,” said Mr. Tsering Norbu, “moreover, it also prevents desertification and regulates small climate in the village by increasing the air humidity and green space around the village.” In the meantime, Norbu also introduced to the villagers the importance of protecting wetland and practicing rotational grazing. He also provided some suggestions on how to make sustainable use of arable land, especially that close to river banks. And we hope the project will also raise the awareness of environmental conservation within the community and enhance their knowledge and skills on sustainable land use.
This project is part of 7 sub-projects within Vale Award Project, which are all funded by the Vale Award for Innovative Environmental Conservation Project in Western China. Other 6 projects will be implemented in QNNP’s other three counties including Nyalam, Tingkey and Keyrong. The Chuxi Project aims to help the village better conserve their precious wetland and meadow for houses, sheep and goats, and prevent livestock from treading farmland nearby. The project will protect 10 hectares of valuable wetland by setting enclosures around the wetland, letting animals feed freely and promoting rotational grazing on the land. It will benefit over 400 villagers and more than 2000 livestock in Chuxi Village. On August 30, villagers from Chuxi came to The Pendeba Society to take away the materials used for the enclosures to the project site. And on the first day of the project, without help from any technical person, staff of The Pendeba Society and Chuxi villagers have pulled together and built up an enclosure of over 1000 meters in just an afternoon, including 2 main gates. It was the first time for Chuxi Village to implement such a project and none of the villagers have relevant experience in setting up enclosures. However, with help from The Pendeba Society, the Chuxi villagers had the enclosures well set up and established. After the construction of the enclosures, in order to strengthen the impact of the project, some short trainings on enclosure maintenance, wetland conservation, and sustainable livelihood development will also be held by The Pendeba Society for Chuxi villagers.
“This project will be of great benefit to our surrounding natural environment by protecting the wetland. It will not only ensure the feed for our livestock in the village as well as water source for agriculture, but it also makes our village a better living place with increased air humidity where many other villages in the region faces dry weather all year round.” enthused Mr. Basang, Village Leader of Chuxi.
The villagers of Chuxi Village all have showed deep appreciation to The Pendeba Society for this project and they will follow the tips that The Pendeba Society gave to practice sustainable livelihood and environmental conservation in their community. They will also pass on this knowledge to their children to make this development mode lasting.
