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Tibetan Officer's 16-Year Quest to Clean Yangtze Source
27 Jul
Summary
- A Tibetan officer dedicates 16 years to cleaning waste.
- The effort targets the ecologically vital Yangtze River source region.
- Early conditions lacked modern waste management systems.
In Zhidoi county, Qinghai province, an ecological protection effort has been underway for 16 years, led by a Tibetan auxiliary police officer named Jamwen Phuntsok. Operating near the source of the Yangtze River, at an altitude exceeding 4,500 meters, Phuntsok has spent his free time collecting litter across grasslands, rivers, and wetlands.
His initiative began in 2010, prompted by the sight of widespread pollution. At the time, Zhidoi, known as the "first county of the Yangtze River," lacked modern waste treatment facilities, leading to plastic bottles and other debris accumulating on the land and in waterways.
Phuntsok's commitment involved personal sacrifice, facing harsh weather conditions and occasional ridicule. Despite these challenges, he persisted, using his own resources to acquire supplies and transport waste, driven by a deep-seated discomfort with the environmental degradation he witnessed.
