Wildlife Awareness Campaign for Tibetans

(A brief report on the outcome of the wildlife awareness campaign since January 2006)

In January 2006, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama gave his 31st Kalachakra empowerment at an important Buddhist holy place called Amarvati, in Andra Pradesh, South India. There were over 100,000 devotees who came to receive the teaching. There were Tibetans living inside and outside Tibet, from the Himalayan regions and Buddhists coming from all corners of the world. His Holiness the Dalai Lama not only preached Kalachakra empowerment, but also talked about how to preserve the peaceful and respectful characteristics of the Tibetan people and made the strong statement to discontinue immediately the meaningless and unwise widespread fashion among Tibetans to wear dresses which were widely bordered by wildlife skins of tigers, leopards, and otters in Tibet.

During the Kalachakra empowerment, some NGOs organized public awareness campaigns on endangered wildlife and environmental issues. Especially, with the support of the Environmental International Agency (EIA), Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI), and The Fund for the Tiger, Khawa Karpo Tibet Culture Centre organized a huge program called HELP STOP THE SLAUGHTER, DO NOT BUY OR WEAR SKINS. In order to raise general public awareness of the program, people were provided with detailed oral and written explanations along with color posters and a color large-size photo exhibition. Also, we distributed hundreds of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s audio taped speech, documentary films and thousands of colorful leaflets with wildlife information to the devotees of the Kalachakra teaching and especially to the Tibetan new-comers. In addition, many leaflets, audio tapes, videos and posters reached Tibet.

During the Kalachakra teaching, His Holiness the Dalai Lama gave a serious speech focusing on Tibetans who wear clothing made from endangered wildlife skins such as tiger, leopard and otter and urged them to stop wearing such clothing. Repeated speeches were given by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and continuous programs launched by the NGOs in the exiled Tibetan community were widely broadcast by many radio stations. This had a strong impact on Tibetans inside Tibet. Therefore, many people in the Kham and Amdo regions of Tibet burned tiger, leopard, otter and fox skins with or without obstruction from the Chinese government. The program of burning endangered wildlife skins was started in Tibet within a few days of the speech given by H.H the Dalai Lama and campaigns from the NGOs.

Tibetans in Tibet didn’t exactly know why the existing current fashion and habit of wearing wildlife skins began and that this was endangering the existence of wildlife. After H H the Dalai Lamas’ repeated requests and informative speeches on the misuse of wildlife skins, many Tibetans in Tibet destroyed their expensive clothing made from wildlife skins, which has cost them several thousands in Chinese currency. Many Tibetans began to forsake these expensive dresses even though the Chinese authority placed strong restrictions on doing so. TheseTibetan people showed their strength to protect endangered animals by disregarding the Chinese authority.

Utilization of large quantities of tiger and leopard skins in Tibet has broken the National and International law of Wildlife Protection. Tibetans use of such dresses has not benefited them but has caused much harm to the Tibetan people in so many ways. Presently, the Chinese government is against the destruction of clothing made from wildlife skins in Tibet. Beside this, the Chinese government has detained many Tibetans who were involved in the destruction of such dresses. There are incidents where the Chinese authority paid a Qinghai TV presenter in Amdo province to wear a dress made from wildlife skins during their TV presentations. Nowadays, all the Tibetans in Tibet consider the wearing of wildlife skins as a shameful and bad deed. This is all because of the speech of H H the Dalai Lama and other awareness activities being carried out. Therefore, it is a great hope of all of us that wildlife skins should never be used again. The Wildlife Protection Society of India continues to organize Wildlife Awareness Campaigns for Tibetans by organizing campaigns in collaboration with Khawa Karpo Tibet Culture Centre with financial assistance from Sacharuna Foundation. Our first public Wildlife Awareness Campaign was organized by a workshop presentation and movie show at the main Temple’s ground at Dharamsala on 21 September. There were more than 500 people attended and leaflets and posters were distributed.

In the last three months, we have organized Wildlife Awareness Campaigns in North Indian based Tibetan communities in Himachal Pradesh and Uttaranchal. In total, there are 13 Tibetan settlements, 15 schools and 11 monasteries including two nunneries. The Campaign organizes workshops, presentations, movie shows, distributes colored leaflets and posters that include information and photos on Tibetan Antelope or Chirus as well as skin burning campaigns in Tibet. We have been distributing 12700 copies of leaflets. People show genuine interest and great support for the campaign and especially local leaders, monastery head lamas and school administrators are supporting the campaign strongly. Dignitaries and officials of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile have also supported our initiative and issued supporting letters. We have planned to continue to organize the same campaign in all the Tibetan settlements, schools and monasteries. We hope to bring awareness about wildlife to them. It has proven itself to be a very effective campaign and it seems that many people admire it.

Wildlife Protection Society of India based in New Delhi
Website: www.wpsi-india.org
Khawa Karpo Tibet Culture Centre based at Dharamsala
Website: www.khawakarpo.org
For more information contact us on this email: ngawang.raj@gmail.com

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