Featuring Za Xi Duo Jie, volunteered environment protector

- Ke Ke Xi Li is my destiny

2007 01 22<Wai Tan News>

Volunteered environment protector, Za Xi Duo Jie

On Jan 20th, 44 years old Za Xi Duo Jie won the 2006 CCTV China

Economic Celebrities - Public Welfare Award

“There have always been someone saying to me that I’ve taken the wrong path”

He had taught, had been a government official, had shouldered gun, had been a teacher & had quit his government job to become a volunteered environmental protector.Last Saturday Ha Xi. Za Xi Duo Jie won the 2006 CCTV China Economic Celebrities - Public Welfare Award.When he was interviewed by <Wai Tan News>, he said: “ There are not too much choices in life, I’m glad that I can lead such a life.”

Written by Li Qing

On Jan 20th, 44 years old Za Xi Duo Jie won the 2006 CCTV China Economic Celebrities - Public Welfare Award.From 1992 to 2000, a small group of people & a large flock of sheep rocked China. The sheep were the ‘pride of Ke Ke Xi Li’ -the Tibetan antelope & the people were with 2 names: Working Committee for the West or Wild Yak team.

In 1992, to enhance the development & conservation of Ke Ke Xi Li, Working Committee for the West was set up in Zhiduo County of Yushu Prefecture, Qinghai Province.Tibetan cadre Jie Nan. Suo Nan Da Jie was Secretary of the Party Committee. The China government was then formally involved in the environmental protection of Ke Ke Xi Li.The 1st target was the endangered Tibetan antelope.Ha Xi. Za Xi Duo Jie was the 1st lot of volunteers recruited by the Working Committee & he was then the secretary of the Committee.2 years later, on Jan 18th, Suo Nan DaJie was shot dead by the poachers.Za Xi Duo Jie then left Ke Ke Xi Li and then more things happened there.

Working Committee for the West was then re-organized & was renamed as wild yak team but it was dissolved several years later.The whole country was in an uproar & then the film <Ke Ke Xi Li> made by Lu Chuan was popular all around China.Protagonist of the film was Working Committee for the West. The Suo Nan Da Jie Natural Protection Station was finally set up on the Qinghai-Tibet highway.The Tibetan antelope was also selected as one of the mascots of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.The voice for conservation was higher than ever, but there has been no news of Za Xi Duo Jie

Late in the night before the result of China Economic Celebrities- Public Welfare award was announced, in the home of a friend in Beijing, <Wai Tan News> interviewed Za Xi Duo Jie. Having gone across the country for a long time, this beard Kang Ba fellow had already had not too much Kang Ba accent in his mandarin. He had been a teacher, had shouldered gun & had been a government official. He quit his government job to become a volunteered environment protector.Thinking of the past, he only repeatedly said, “My home village is very remote, thus there are not too much choices in life, I’m very grateful that I can lead such a life.”

A discontented person

The home village of Za Duo is Suojia village in Zhiduo county, same as that of Suo Nan Da Jie.Suojia village is 200 miles from Zhiduo county.It is at the highest altitude, with the worst climate & worst transportation in the 4 villages in Zhiduo county.Only in a few months in a year, in which the snowing is not too serious, can the vehicles go to the town.At other times, rivers are frozen, the land is a piece of paste, Suojia is then secluded from the rest of the world.When Za Duo was at the age of eight, his parents passed away. He then had to rely on the help of other relatives & villagers for his survival.Remembering those years, Za Duo said he would always think of his childhood when he saw pictures of dirty children in the magazines.

After graduated from Qinghai Mail school, Za Duo worked in Yushu Prefecture Telegraph Co.“My salary at that time was 100 yuan per month, a handsome sum”.But his dream was to be a teacher.“The education in Zhiduo was backward. I was at that time highly aspiring & wanted to help the nation through education.”A year later, he was transferred to the National Secondary School in Zhiduo, to teach in the secondary school he had studied.“I’m a person who cannot be easily contented.If I have parents, I will not spend my life this way.”Za Duo said, with a smile.As soon as he started the job, he was thinking of a revolution in teaching.“We proposed that the class teacher be elected by parents & other teachers assigned by the class masters; teachers’ salary to be determined according to the students’ academic performance etc.” But the school couldn’t accept such advanced ideas, thus he left the school & was pushed to the mysterious Ke Ke Xi Li.

Maybe, Ke Ke Xi Li is my destiny

Ke Ke Xi Li is an un-inhabited area, is part of the administrative regions of Zhiduo County.Its area is 65% of the county but in the long time of history people in Zhiduo had not thought that Ke Ke Xi Li, west of Qinghai-Tibet, having an area of 50,000 sq. meters, belonged to them.Za Duo said, “Few people have been to Ke Ke Xi Li, thus it’s difficult for us to explain what we had done there.”

In July 1992, to enhance the development of Ke Ke Xi Li, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee, Suo Nan Duo Jie set up the Working Committee for the West & started to recruit.At this time, Za Duo just left his teaching job. “I always like to go for new things & as after leaving the teaching job I had nowhere to go, thus I went to Ke Ke Xi Li” Za Duo said with a smile, “Maybe Ke Ke Xi Li is my destiny.”Thus he became the 1st volunteer recruited by Suo Nan Duo Jie.“I did not ask for any advice from my kinsmen, but there’re always someone saying behind me that I was on the wrong path, I should be back on the right track: doing business, be a government official, lead a decent life” Za Duo recalled.

From the establishment of the Working Committee for the West till Suo Nan Duo Jie was murdered, there’re totally 545 days in which 12 inspections were carried out & 60,000 miles traveled in 354 days.Several persons betting their life on an un-inhabited land for a few years. I had thought of giving up, but as long as Secretary Suo stayed, I stayed.”Za Duo said.

Tough & cold - were Za Duo’s main memories of those days. Danger was neglected, until Suo Nan Duo Jie was shot dead. “After that incident, I was then aware that this could have happened many times before.Secretary Suo always said we had to do big deeds, we’re doing what nobody in Zhiduo had done, very tempting.”

When Working Committee for the West was set up, its purpose was not to protect the Tibetan antelope, as what was greatly publicized afterwards.Suo Nan Duo Jie had always said, “we Tibetans should not only fix our eyes on cattle & sheep.” - these words were originated from a great snow in 1985.The most disastrous place was in Suojia village: 220,000 out of 260,000 animals died.That year was such a good year that one could hardly find in the past & it was destroyed in a night’s time.The delicacy of the traditional animal husbandry business pushed Suo Nan Duo Jie to Ke Ke Xi Li. “At that time Secretary Suo was also the General Manager of Ke Ke Xi Li Economic Technology Exploration Company.This shell company did not have any money.Secretary Suo always said, “I have the largest co. in the world – it owns a land of 50,000 square miles.” Za Duo recalled, “conservation is the matter afterwards. Secretary Suo’s bag always carried books that I didn’t understand.The first was the ‘Exploring Industrial Mines’, then ‘List of endangered species.”

On Jan 18th, 1994, Suo Nan Duo Jie was shot dead by poachers. The dead body with a kneeling shooting posture was soon found.More than 2,000 Tibetan antelope skins were found beside the body & kept in 2 vehicles.On Feb 10th, the lunar New Year day, the body was taken back to Zhiduo from Ke Ke Xi Li.

Since then, Za Duo left the Working Committee for the West. He always uses ‘runaway’ to describe the event. “In the years afterwards, I’ve always dreamt of Suo Nan Duo Jie.Sometime ago I went to Ke Ke Xi Li, & to the place where he was shot dead, his death brought too much shock to me.”

Only on the grasslands can I feel that I’m living

In 1998, Za Duo & Wen Za set up the UYO.This was the 1st non-governmental environmental protection association on the Qinghai-Tibet plateau. Za Duo had been the Party Committee Secretary of Suojia village for 2 years then the Head of Propaganda Department of Zhiduo county for some time.His dual capacity of government official & NGO officier gave him much convenience.As Party Committee Secretary, he set up the snow leopard, black-necked crane, wetlands, wild deer & Tibetan antelope protection areas & had then set up the Suojia ecological management committee & applied for grants from foreign funds via UYO.In 2002, he joined the Snowland Great Rivers Environmental Protection Association as Deputy General Secretary, his main task was external liaison & fund raising.

He was most complacent with the setting up of the Green Community Network. Under the project, local Tibetans are encouraged to participate in the community conservation.There are altogether 6 projects, the Tibetan Auto Region Changdu district Gongjue county Xiangpi town Dongba village is one of them.This is quite a large area in China, but one can hardly find any information on it.It takes 3 to 4 days to go from Yushu to Dongba.Za Duo has been there many times, & has brought people there, or brought people from Dongba to meet members of other environmental protection associations.

A Tibetan traditional culture & environmental protection association was set up in Dongba.The association was not registered, all the members are the villagers.The association has laid down detailed conservation principles, including the collection of caterpillar fungus & reclamation of forests from cultivated lands.In these years, about 20,000 pine trees, 12,000 poplar were planted. Local species were also planted.Protection for long-necked white crane project is commencing. This project won the Ford Motor Co. environmental protection award in 2006.

Caochi is in the central conservation area of 3 Great Rivers sources with area around 2000 sq. miles.It is the nearest Tibetan village to Geermu.In Sept 2006, the 1st agreed environmental protection project of CI was implemented here, aiming at conserving the local bio-diversity.Za Duo said, “the project at Caochi is to explore a new mode of environment management.”In 2004, the ‘Friends of wild yak Organization’ was set up in Caochi. The Organization takes 4 wild animals inspections a year. A community conservation system was also set up, some herdsmen leave their pastures to the wild animals.

Za Duo won the 2006 CCTV China Economic Celebrities - Public Welfare Award because he is ‘the faithful guard of Ke Ke Xi Li’.From working alone to with more & more followers, he has faced the most severe conditions in 3 Great Rivers sources, created the ‘Agreed conservation areas’, promoted the harmony of man & Nature.

More of Za Duo’s past was revealed. In May 1998, he founded the 1st non-governmental environmental protection organization, UYO in the Qinghai-Tibet plateau & was the chairman.In his capacity as Party Committee Secretary of Suojia village he has facilitated the establishment of Suojia environmental protection management committee, Qinghai-Tibet plateau youth environmental protection education base etc.In 2002, he joined the Snowland Great Rivers Environmental Protection Association as Deputy General Secretary & won the Globe award in the same year.

These years, Za Duo has gone to the cities more often, the busy cities.He said, “ in the cities, I always feel that my soul is contaminated & lonely, I wish to go back to the grasslands.”At leisure he likes to form a circle with the Tibetans, drink the buttered tea & chat. “I can only then feel that I’m living, this makes me feel good.”