THE ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY - HONG KONG

 

presents

 

“Saving Mount Everest and Tibet”

by

Dr. Daniel Taylor

 

on

Monday, 15 October 2007

 

2/F Olympic House, So Kong Po, Causeway Bay

Drinks Reception 6.30 pm; Lecture 7.30 pm

 

 

We are delighted to welcome Dr. Daniel Taylor, who has been working in Tibet for almost 25 years, to lecture on Saving the nature of Mount Everest and Tibet.  Dr. Taylor was also leader of three expeditions to discover the identity of the, until then, enigmatic “Abominable Snowman” or Yeti, which he found and solved to world acclaim in 1986.  This lecture promises to be a fascinating journey through Dr Taylor’s work, illustrated by his fine photograph collection.

 

The beauty and diversity of the Tibetan Plateau is staggering: from Mount Everest to the world’s deepest gorge, from tropical jungles to arctic-like tundra, from trees twenty feet in diameter to vast herds and solitary specimens of some of the least-known animals on the planet.  To protect the unique global environment surrounding the Mount Everest region, Dr. Taylor has worked directly with the Tibet Autonomous Region since the mid 1980s to formulate a conservation plan to protect the region in perpetuity, which led directly to it becoming a national nature reserve.

 

Starting from a situation of very little nature protection and environmental decline, the 1980s was a period of environmental decline in Tibet and only 1 per cent. of the land was under environmental conservation.  Over the next 25 years the environmental situation in Tibet saw steady and significant improvement where now 40 per cent. of the land area is protected under conservation management.  In addition, wild-animal population numbers are increasing for endangered species, including the snow leopard, Tibetan antelope, red ghoral and argali sheep.  A major success has been that deforestation rates have decreased by more than 80 per cent. and large-scale tree plantations are being started in fragile river drainages.

A new conservation-management approach is being developed, in which local people work in cooperation with government and scientists to form an effective conservation partnership. The Mount Everest National Nature Reserve now has over two decades of management success and points forward to a conservation approach that has worldwide relevance because it promotes conservation as the complimentary objective with the advancement of people.

Dr Taylor was educated at Johns Hopkins University, Harvard and Yale.  His early career was as a teaching Fellow at Harvard and then with the US Agency for International Development.  He has lectured and taught worldwide and is the author of more the 30 papers and books.  Since 1993 he has been President of Future Generations.  He holds the Order of the Golden Ark, presented by HRH Prince Bernhard of The Netherlands for work in international conservation, was knighted by His Majesty the King of Nepal and was a Commencement Speaker for U.S. Presidential Scholars.  Dr Taylor’s particular focus is on empowering communities, then scaling up community-based projects to large impact.  In 1985, he led the formation of Nepal’s Makalu-Barun National Park and then of the Everest National Nature Reserve in Tibet.  Subsequently, he led in the development of the Four Great Rivers Nature Reserve (upper drainages of Yangtze, Mekong, Salween and Brahmaputra Rivers), an area the size of Italy.  In addition, Dr Taylor led the series of expeditions that provided the scientific explanation for the Yeti (or Abominable Snowman), developed an extensive portfolio of nature and wildlife photography and founded five non-profit organisations.

 

Members and their guests are most welcome to attend this lecture, which is HK$50 for Members, HK$100 for Members' guests and HK$150 for others.