8 j' c! d5 A6 Z: J. z: y* QGreenpeace, the environmental-protection group, expressed concern over a Chinese government plan to put a blacktop highway on the world's highest mountain, adding to controversy over China's practices ahead of next year's Summer Olympics here. 2 I# N B, l; l5 O; W ; r) U; ]! Q( `, nChina announced last month plans to pave a 107.2-kilometer stretch of a rough gravel road from the foot of Mount Everest to a base camp for climbers at about 5,200 meters, in Tibet. The new highway is to be completed in time for the Olympic torch relay to the top of the world's highest mountain. " m3 ?( l, z7 F- J# m4 G+ D3 {7 }% K/ W6 D" z4 @/ w
'Greenpeace is concerned about the potential environmental impact of the road project to the base camp,' said Lo Sze-ping, Greenpeace campaign director for China. 'We are monitoring the situation to understand how the local environment may be affected, and whether the road project has followed necessary environmental impact assessment' guidelines, he said.7 O/ |$ y/ F6 k& _0 O
) H4 c3 [& O) O3 L8 cEven without a new blacktop road, the Chinese side of Everest is the second-most visited site in Tibet, after Lhasa, the capital. Some are worried that the area could be overrun in the stampede to cash in on development.+ r2 }& A6 n* y% ^
& M3 p5 P/ T) j+ l4 x'I think if they don't pave a highway, it may actually be better for tourism,' said Luo Zhiyong, an attorney and environmental volunteer just back from a trip to Everest. 'You may reduce Everest's value if you make it easier to see.'9 ?+ O% `+ N5 F& T* W: V8 F
7 u1 h2 }3 W& `. a3 SThe highway plan is getting caught up in broader concern about China's treatment of Tibet, which China's Communist Party government has controlled since the early 1950s. The 136,000-kilometer, 130-day Olympic relay has already drawn sharp criticism from activists who think Beijing is using the route to underline its sovereignty claims over Tibet, as well as Taiwan, which has been ruled separately since 1949 but which Beijing claims as part of its territory.% X1 \9 ?/ h) \& M! H( [
5 o# ^6 h p; f+ d: w! ^
In April, four activists were detained on Everest for protesting the planned route through Tibet. In addition, critics are targeting the 2008 Games to pressure Beijing to do more to stop the fighting in the Darfur region of Sudan, where China has invested heavily in oil. * G( ~% a% C9 s: P ! D) U M# A: J WEven without the Olympics, China's presence in Tibet has been criticized as causing overdevelopment and pollution in the once isolated region. The recent opening of a railroad to Tibet is expected to bring in an additional 800,000 visitors a year, potentially overwhelming Tibet's strained infrastructure.0 \5 n. Q0 j0 j3 Q
' c) `, v, ]- }% d5 WEnvironmentalists are also concerned about changes taking place in Tibet. ; C# [( B) k4 G+ Y2 K6 B2 ?, `+ d6 x
The region is home to rare animal and plant species as well as to glaciers that feed important rivers in Asia, such as the Yangtze in China and the Mekong, which runs through Southeast Asia. Environmentalists say the Tibetan glaciers are receding from climate change.$ x' y- |1 I7 D0 A0 @, _! j' Z
