2010 Pendeba Training Program provides Community Workers with Eco-Tourism Skills in the Mt. Everest Region

In the Qomolangma (Mt. Everest) National Nature Preserve (QNNP) of Tibet, China, local people living within the protected area are learning skills to improve life and protect the environment. From May 5-10, the locally based Pendeba Society in partnership with Future Generations China held a training session in the QNNP to provide local volunteers known as Pendebas with skills to help their communities benefit from rapidly increasing tourism to the region.

The QNNP, a protected area the size of Massachusetts that neighbors Sagamartha National Park in Nepal, was established in 1989 with support from Future Generations. At the time, it was one of the first protected areas in the world to promote local stewardship instead of hiring outside wardens. Pendebas, Tibetan for “workers who benefit the village,” are locally-elected villagers who promote conservation and are trained in health and income generation skills.

The Pendeba Society, a non-profit organization in Tibet, China, provides training and strengthens a network of 220 Pendebas. With increased tourism in the QNNP, training focused on sustainable income generation and ecotourism. Currently, outside tourist businesses are reaping the benefits of tourism revenue in the Preserve. The Pendeba Society hopes to alter this trend by strengthening local's skills and promoting ecotourism opportunities for locals.

2010 training sessions were held at the Shigatze Training and Visitor’s Center.Participants included 26 Tibetan women, some who had prior training and are considered to be senior-level Pendebas. The trainees were welcomed with a banquet during which locals performed traditional Tibetan song and dance. Director and Founder of the Pendeba Society, Tsering Norbu facilitated the opening ceremony and eco-tourism discussions.

Pendeba trainees were shown a sand table model of the QNNP to give them an aerial view of the mountain ranges of the Preserve. Director Norbu explained the importance of establishing the QNNP, as it was one of the first protected areas in the world to use a new model of protected area management.  Trainees used this table demonstration as an opportunity to identify their villages and discuss the differences between the core zones, buffer zones, and economic development zones.

Director Gama of the Dingri Tourism Bureau introduced and discussed the eco-tourism with the volunteers. This dialogue emphasized how Pendebas and their communities could participate in tourism development and simultaneously gain benefits to improve their lives. Small communities in need of extra income can benefit from tourists by managing tourist facilities and providing hospitality services in restaurants.

Director Gama worked with trainees to identify the natural and cultural resources of Dingri County (one of the four counties of the QNNP that includes the most famous attraction, Qomolangma-Mt.Everest). Gama noted that not only does Dingri County include Mt. Everest, but a large number of Buddhist temples and pilgrimage sites. The workshop underscored the importance of protecting and responsibly using these resources, which is essential for establishing a sustainable tourism industry in the QNNP.

Director Gama emphasized that, “Once we have identified these resources, we have to think carefully about how to give tourists the best quality services, particularly in terms of food, lodging, and entertainment.”

The Pendeba Society plans to continue to organize and conduct Pendeba trainings to ensure that the community can be compete with outside tourist businesses, while protecting the interests of the local people. Other training for the Pendebas will involve learning from other best practices in eco-tourism.

To learn more about the Pendeba Society, please visit www.pendeba.org.

Contact:  Director of the Pendeba Society, Norbu Tsering, norbu@future.org

The Pendeba Society accepts online donations through its partner organization, Future Generations.

To Donate, please click <here>

A Tibetan from the QNNP, Norbu Tsering, founded the Pendeba Society in 2009.  He serves as Director of the Pendeba Society and is a recent Future Generations Master’s Degree Graduate in Applied Community Change and Conservation.  Other key attendees of the 2010 Pendeba training session included: QNNP Dingri County Deputy Director Ms. Micang.