Qi Zheng Tibetan Medicine Committee Member Lei Jufang: Proposes Establishing a Tibetan Medicine Resource Conservation Zone.

　　The protection of traditional Chinese medicine resources has long been a call from the TCM and ethnic medicine industries. On the afternoon of March 2, Tibet Qizheng Tibetan Medicine Co., Ltd. held a symposium in Beijing titled “2016 National Two Sessions: A Proposal on Establishing a Tibetan Medicinal Herb Resource Conservation Zone.” At the symposium, Lei Jufang, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and Chairwoman of Tibet Qizheng Tibetan Medicine Co., Ltd., suggested that a Tibetan medicinal herb resource conservation zone should be established in Tibet to protect Tibetan medicinal culture and the sustainable use of Tibetan medicinal resources. The full text of Committee Member Lei Jufang’s proposal is as follows—

　　Qi Zheng Tibetan Medicine Committee Member Lei Jufang: Proposes Establishing a Tibetan Medicine Resource Conservation Zone.

　　Premier Li Keqiang sent a letter of congratulations on the Nobel Prize awarded to artemisinin, stating: “This is a testament to China’s thriving scientific and technological progress and reflects the tremendous contributions that traditional Chinese medicine has made to the cause of human health.” General Secretary Xi Jinping has also mentioned three times the generation of TCM professionals led by Researcher Tu Youyou, who have made significant contributions to the development of TCM and to improving human health. The remarkable achievements of TCM have become a landmark event of our time.

　　The “Plan for the Protection and Development of Chinese Medicinal Materials (2015-2020),” released by the State Council, points out that Chinese medicinal materials are the material foundation for the inheritance and development of traditional Chinese medicine and constitute a strategic resource vital to the national economy and people’s livelihoods. Protecting and developing Chinese medicinal materials is of great significance for deepening the reform of the medical and healthcare system, improving the health of the population, fostering the development of strategic emerging industries, increasing farmers’ incomes, and promoting ecological civilization. The Plan also clearly calls for the implementation of seven key tasks, including the Wild Chinese Medicinal Materials Resource Protection Project, the High-Quality Chinese Medicinal Materials Production Project, and the Chinese Medicinal Materials Technological Innovation Initiative.

　　At the 6th Central Conference on Aid-Tibet Work, it was emphasized that we must uphold the principle of prioritizing ecological protection, with a particular focus on three key areas: specialty industries, infrastructure development, and ecological conservation, thereby enhancing Tibet’s capacity for self-development. We must strictly enforce the bottom lines, red lines, and high-pressure measures for ecological security, refine the comprehensive ecological compensation mechanism, and effectively protect the snow-covered plateau, thus solidifying the nation’s ecological security barrier. We should invigorate the commercial and trade sectors and transform Tibet into an important gateway for China’s opening up to South Asia.

　　Recently, Premier Li Keqiang pointed out at the State Council Executive Meeting that leveraging the strengths of traditional Chinese medicine can better benefit human health. The meeting decided to strengthen the protection and utilization of Chinese medicinal material resources and to standardize their cultivation and breeding practices.

　　The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is one of China’s regions with the richest biodiversity. Tibetan medicinal herbs sourced from this region boast remarkable therapeutic effects and have played a vital role in safeguarding public health for thousands of years. Surveys indicate that Tibet is home to 2,436 species of Tibetan medicinal resources, including 2,172 plant species, 214 animal species, and 50 mineral species. At the same time, however, the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is also one of China’s most ecologically fragile regions. It serves as an important national ecological and security barrier, a sanctuary for the distinctive cultural heritage of the Chinese nation, and a world-class tourist destination. Moreover, it is a key corridor along the Belt and Road Initiative, linking Central Asia and serving as a vital gateway to South Asia—a crucial link in the nation’s implementation of the Belt and Road strategy.

　　Based on the above-mentioned macro-level guidance from national policies and Tibet’s strategic ecological position, establishing a Tibetan medicinal resource conservation area in Tibet is imperative.

　　First, there is a need to protect medicinal resources. With the rapid development of the Tibetan medicine industry, there has been a trend of exploitative harvesting of certain Tibetan medicinal resources, leading to a year-on-year depletion of these resources and even placing some at risk of extinction, thereby posing serious challenges to the sustainable development of the Tibetan medicine industry. Moreover, currently both domestically and internationally, efforts to protect Tibetan medicinal resources remain extremely weak; there is still no dedicated institution for the protection of Tibetan medicines nor any designated protected areas for Tibetan medicinal resources.

　　Second, it is necessary to protect the natural environment of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. By establishing protected areas for Tibetan medicinal resources, we can enhance our capacity for research and development in the utilization of these resources, promote the cultivation and conservation of wild and semi-wild Tibetan medicinal herbs, and simultaneously advance large-scale, standardized cultivation practices. This will enable us to use Tibetan medicinal resources effectively and rationally, reduce the overexploitation of precious wild resources, minimize human-induced environmental damage, and create conditions for both the environment’s self-recovery and human-assisted restoration efforts.

　　Third, it is necessary to protect the distinctive cultural heritage of Tibetan medicine. At present, traditional ethnic medicine is facing tremendous pressure from modern Western medicine, and it is confronted with significant challenges in areas such as the refinement of medical and pharmaceutical theories, the transmission of knowledge and skills, and the selection and cultivation of successors. Relying on Tibetan medicinal resource conservation areas and initiating cultural heritage education for Tibetan medicine right from the source is of great significance.

　　Fourth, it is necessary to promote economic development in the Tibet region. Wild medicinal flora and fauna, as well as minerals, constitute an important part of the biological resources on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. However, due to factors such as technological limitations and market conditions, these resource advantages have not been fully exploited. Currently, the Tibetan medicine industry faces numerous challenges, including insufficient efforts in resource conservation, which pose difficulties for sustainable development; a lack of innovation in Tibetan medicine products, leading to serious obsolescence; and non-standardized preparation and usage guidelines, making it difficult to ensure product quality. By establishing Tibetan medicine resource protection zones, we can facilitate the development and utilization of Tibetan medicine products, drive the sustainable development of the Tibetan medicine industry, and thereby achieve regional economic prosperity.

　　Fifth, it is necessary to promote ethnic unity. Tibet is a frontier region inhabited by multiple ethnic groups, with a total population of over 2.4 million and comprising 41 ethnic components (including the unidentified De’ang and Sherpa peoples). It is surrounded by the Himalayas, the Kunlun Mountains, and the Tanggula Mountains, and its border stretches nearly 4,000 kilometers, giving it a strategically vital location. By establishing Tibetan medicinal resource conservation areas, we can foster economic development in Tibet while simultaneously protecting its natural resources and environment—thus enriching the local people, stabilizing the frontier, and safeguarding and promoting ethnic unity.

　　Sixth, it is necessary to enhance the international standing of Tibetan medicine. As traditional medicine gains increasing attention worldwide, Tibetan medicine is steadily attracting growing interest from the international medical community. Establishing Tibetan medicinal resource conservation areas is one important way to enable people around the world to learn about, accept, and use Tibetan medicine, thereby elevating its international status.

　　Seventh, this is necessary for the state to carry out poverty alleviation efforts locally. It can create additional job opportunities in Tibet and contribute to lifting local farmers and herders out of poverty.

　　The survey indicates that, with the Nanyi Gou Valley in Linzhi, Tibet, serving as the core protection zone, and taking into account ecological characteristics across a comprehensive network of sites ranging from the high-altitude Ali region to the low-altitude Motuo, we can establish a Tibetan medicinal resource conservation area. By integrating conservation with utilization—and leveraging utilization to enhance conservation—this approach holds irreplaceable advantages and significance, particularly in helping local farmers escape poverty and find employment.

　　First, the Tibet region serves as a convergence point among the Southern Himalayan Flora Region, the Eastern Tibet Flora Region, the Yarlung Tsangpo River Valley Flora Region, and the Tanggut Flora Region, boasting rich and diverse plant resources. Milin County in Linzhi City is located in the southeastern part of the Tibet Autonomous Region, along the middle and lower reaches of the Yarlung Tsangpo River, between the Nyenchen Tanggula Mountains and the Himalayas. The terrain slopes from west to east, with an average elevation of 3,700 meters. The area features a plateau temperate subhumid monsoon climate, with an annual average temperature of 8.2°C, annual precipitation of 641 millimeters, and abundant sunshine. With a forested area of 4.8 million mu, it is a natural treasure trove of plant and Tibetan medicinal resources, harboring more than 360 commonly used Tibetan medicinal herbs.

　　Second, the Zagon Gou valley in Nanyi Township, Milin County, has historically served as a base for Tibetan medical education and research. The renowned Tibetan medical master Yutok Yundan Gonpo, who completed the monumental classic of Tibetan medicine—the “Four Medical Tantras”—more than 1,300 years ago, founded here the very first Tibetan medical school. This school widely implemented teaching and established a degree-granting system equivalent to today’s doctoral and master’s programs, thus pioneering the tradition of higher Tibetan medical education and degree conferral. Over the years, it has trained thousands of highly qualified Tibetan medical professionals and left behind numerous invaluable teachings and precepts.

　　Third, the Zagan Gou valley in Nanyi Gou, Milin County, already has a certain foundation. As early as 1996, Zagan Gou was designated by Milin County as a Tibetan medicine conservation zone. In 1998, Tibetan medical experts led by Qiangba Chilie, a renowned master of traditional Tibetan medicine, conducted on-site investigations and confirmed that Zagan Gou was the former site of Yutuo Yundan Gongbu’s Tibetan medical school, dating back 1,300 years. However, in recent years, purely commercial tourism—and even activities such as hunting—have increasingly caused severe damage to Zagan Gou. It is now urgently necessary to carry out rescue efforts and implement protective development measures for this site.

　　To this end, we recommend establishing a Tibetan medicinal resource conservation zone centered on Tibet and including it in the National Thirteenth Five-Year Plan’s major project database for the protection and development of Chinese medicinal materials. Specifically, this includes:

　　First, the Wild Tibetan Medicinal Herb Conservation Project. Centered on the conservation of Tibetan medicinal herb resources, this project will establish a Tibetan medicinal herb exhibition zone, a display zone for rare and endangered Tibetan medicinal herbs, and a Tibetan medicinal herb germplasm bank within the Zagan Gou area of Nanyi Gou in Milin County. The project will collect, protect, and propagate Tibetan medicinal herb resources, laying a solid foundation for their sustainable utilization. It will also carry out ex situ conservation efforts by establishing a Tibetan medicinal herb germplasm bank and a gene bank, preserving seeds, tissues and organs, DNA, and other organs or tissues of endangered or endemic Tibetan medicinal herb species. On this basis, the project will conduct research on germplasm conservation, wild cultivation, semi-wild cultivation, conversion from wild to cultivated, domestication, introduction of species from other regions, and development of substitutes for rare and endangered Tibetan medicinal herbs. While preventing genetic degradation, these efforts will rapidly increase population sizes, thereby promoting the protection, optimized regeneration, and sustainable utilization of rare and endangered Tibetan medicinal herb resources.

　　Second, the High-Quality Tibetan Medicinal Herb Production Base Project. Leveraging modern science, technology, and methods, this project aims to establish a demonstration base for Tibetan medicinal herb cultivation that features “large-scale planting, standardized production, branded products, and industrialized operations,” with a focus on Tibetan herb cultivation, seedling propagation, and the conservation of raw medicinal materials.

　　Third, the Tibetan Medicine Cultural Preservation Project. The Zagan Gou area in Nanyi Gou, Milin County, served as the base where Yutuo Yundan Gongbu, the founder of Tibetan medicine, conducted teaching and research on Tibetan medicine in those days. Through the establishment of an exhibition center, we will restore and recreate some aspects of the teaching and research activities carried out by Yutuo Yundan Gongbu during his time.

　　Fourth, the Tibetan Medicine Innovation (Center) Project. This project includes the Tibetan Medicine Seedling Breeding Research Laboratory, the Tibetan Medicine Cultivation Research Laboratory, and the Tibetan Medicine Product Development Research Laboratory, among others. It is dedicated to conducting research on Tibetan medicine seedling breeding technologies and developing products such as Tibetan medicinal drugs, health supplements, cosmetics, and novel food resources, thereby promoting the comprehensive utilization of Tibetan medicinal resources.

　　Reporting media: Phoenix Health

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