Dharamshala — The Chinese authorities in Markam County, eastern Tibet, seized local Tibetan land for mining and construction without the consent of local residents, and built buildings on their farmland without any compensation. These activities seriously damaged the local ecological environment and endangered the lives of the local population.
According to reliable sources, the Chinese authorities have been forcibly occupying the land of the inhabitants of Zhongri village, Tsonga township (མཚོ་རྔ་ཤང), Markam county, Chamdo, Tibet, since 2020, for mining and construction purposes. Despite protests from local Tibetans. The massive destruction of the environment by mining and road building in the mountains has led to flooding and increased soil erosion, damage to farmland and the loss of grazing land and animals.
Videos from Tibet on March 20, 2025, showing local Tibetans calling on the Chinese government to stop mining and road building in their area. The video also shows vast floods resulting from mining and road building in the mountains, killing yaks, damaging farmland and causing the loss of grazing land.
Another video on March 15, 2025, shows a confrontation between the Chinese authorities and local Tibetans at a meeting, during which an elderly Tibetan man crying and urging Chinese officials to respond to the wishes or requests of local Tibetans, and not to destroy the environment by digging up land for minerals and building roads in the mountains for trucks, and taking resources from the mountains.
In one more video, on March 12, 2025, a Tibetan man declares, while showing the extensive destruction of Tibetan mountains and land: ‘The Chinese are destroying the land of our ancestors without taking into any consideration the protests of Tibetans, we have been living here for thousands of years, we have no right to protect our own land. They are destroying our land, our mountains and our farmland by mining and building roads in the mountains, without any compensation. This is seriously damaging the local ecological environment and endangering people's lives." Chinese officials have told the Tibetans that ‘the land belongs to the state, not to you, you have no property rights’.
Another Tibetan said in a different video: 'Since August 2020, illegal mining activities have been taking place in Zhongri village, Tsonga township, Markam county, Chamdo, Tibet. These activities have seriously damaged mountain vegetation and increased soil erosion. This year, flash floods triggered by ecological damage in the mining area have caused damage to farmland, loss of grazing land, risks to homes and deterioration of the environment.'
He described the damage to farmland: ‘Fields and arable land have been washed away by the floods, depriving the population of income and causing a loss of soil fertility, making it impossible to replant fields. 22 yaks have been washed away and most of the pastures have been covered by mudslides and washed away by the floods’.
"Many houses have been washed away by the floods and can no longer be occupied, rivers have silted up and water sources have been polluted, all of which threatens the living environment in the long term," he added.
