]Photgrapher Gemma Thorpe is showing an exhibition of photographs from Inner Mongolia at Cafe Zarah until April 29. the Beijinger asked Gemma a few questions about the area and the challanges it faces today.     What are the environmental threats facing Inner Mongolia today?   The main issue is the degradation of grasslands, which is tipping the balance of the Inner Mongolian ecosystem. Recent surveys have shown that 90% of the grasslands are damaged: overpopulation and overgrazing is reducing the grasslands' ability to self-regenerate. As the grass-land disappears, so does the habitat of the animals that used to roam the grassland (such as gazelle, deer and wolves). Wind erosion exacerbates the problem; there isn't enough foliage cover to take the impact of the strong winds, which leads to the worsening dust and sand storms that end up here in Beijing.       What is life there like? How is it different from Beijing?   It's completely different to Beijing. Inner Mongolia is a vast province with huge open skies. I visited areas close to the border with Mongolia proper, where there are families still living a traditional, nomadic existence, and where the elders only spoke Mongolian. These lifestyles are linked closely to the environment, there is a very delicate balance between humans and nature on the grassland. The threat to the environment is a threat to these people's lives.    How it it changing?   Perhaps the biggest change is the mass influx of Han Chinese settlers, which has been taking place since the revolution onwards. A huge amount of new grazing animals has been introduced to the eco-system, and changed the way the land is used. The grasslands have even begun to be marketed as a tourist destination, with 'authentic' gers (made of concrete) for tourists to stay in. The impact of permanent populations has pushed the grassland beyond its self-recovery capacity.    How does the economy depend on the environment?   For Mongolian herders, they are interdependent; the natural environment provides the means to graze sheep, which are raised for food, clothing and felt for the ger walls; their very existence depends on the land. Yet the land also depends on this way of life. The nomadic cycles allow the land time to recover and regrow. This balance is key to the survival of both the land and the people.   

 

What was challenging about shooting these pictures?
  Interestingly some of the photos were taken as part of an organised programme; the remit was to show the 'beautiful' grasslands. I found this very stifling as we were constantly witnessing the causes and effects of mass environmental degradation, yet were encouraged to create pictures that only showed stunning landscapes. Myself and some other photographers left the official trip with our integrity only just intact, and it was only later during editing sessions that I realised the Inner Mongolia I had found was quite different to the one the organisers had wanted us to see.   

 

What sort of impact do you hope your pictures will have on your audience?   I hope that they will encourage people to consider the relationship between humans and the environment. In Inner Mongolia, this is a delicate balance that had formerly been kept in harmony by traditional nomadic practices.  It is these sustainable methods that have kept the grassland for so long, and without them the land quickly deteriorates. As such practices are under threat I feel its important to show the people and land that are part of this before they disappear.  

 

Anything else you'd like to say about this project?   Just to point people to read the incredible book Wolf Totem and that with the right ideas in place, the unique Inner Mongolian environment could be kept so for many more years to come.

Cafe Zarah is located at 42 Gulou Dongdajie 鼓楼东大街42号  (8403 9807).