Endless rivers, snowy mountaintops and awe-inspiring cloud formations... here is the Qinghai Plateau. At the source of the three longest rivers in Asia: the Yangtze, the Yellow River and the Mekong, known as the Sanjiangyuan area, are some of the vastest stretches of raw nature in China, home to an incredibly diverse animal population. 

From majestic eagles in the sky, to yaks, deer and snow leopards on the ground. These animals are in desperate need of protection.

In an area like Qinghai, there is a strong connection with Buddhist principles, one of which is that of not harming other forms of life. Respecting and cherishing nature is ingrained in traditional belief. It should therefore come as little surprise that one locally-famous protector of the plateau is a monk.

Tashi Sange is more commonly known as the bird-watching lama. The Buddhist scholar from Baiyu Monastery in Golog has been receiving a lot of attention for his sketches, paintings and photographs of the Tibetan plateau’s bird population. It is a calling he discovered at the young age of 13, when his parents sent him to Baiyu Monastery. With free time on his hands, he would spend lunchtime exploring the largest forest in Qinghai. 

Over the years he has catalogued almost 400 varieties of birds from all over the plateau. Yet, he modestly insists that this appreciation for animals and their welfare is just something ingrained in all traditional Tibetans.

“The Tibetan approach to and concept of protection is unique. Firstly, what are we protecting? There are animals listed as endangered nationally or globally, and they are protected. Tibetans don’t have this concept. We believe all life is equal,” said Sange.

However, there is also a different concept of what “protecting the environment” means, the monk explains.

“We don’t touch [the environment]. We’re not allowed to. That’s environmental protection to us. If you plant greenery in the desert people think that’s protecting the environment. But Tibetans think that’s destroying it. The grasslands have their own ecosystem. So does the desert. If you plant trees in the desert inappropriately the animals and plants will be changed forever. They may even become extinct. It may look good in the short term but in the long term, maybe within a century, it’s destructive." Sange said.

Aside from painting birds and taking photos of them, he has developed a teaching curriculum to introduce the local population to environmental protection. However, the idea of a monk crusading for the preservation of wildlife does not necessarily sit well with everyone.

“Many people think I should stay in the monastery reciting scripture, meditating and teaching," he said. "They think: climbing all over the mountains, painting and taking pictures of birds, protecting the environment – is this appropriate? ”

“We have 253 commandments and more than 100 of them are related to protecting the environment. There are different ways of practicing Buddhism. Mine is protecting the environment,” said Sange.