Tibetan antelope, black-necked crane and snow leopard. These are some of the many rare species seen in the Tibet Autonomous Region.

With an average altitude of more than 4.500 meters, the region is home to a huge diversity of wildlife. More than 100 species of animals and dozens of plants under national key protection live here.

It's also a major water tank in Asia and the source of many rivers. Hundreds of millions of people downstream depend on the water resources in Tibet.

Last November, an environment change evaluation report, which was organized by the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research under the Chinese Academy of Sciences and featured research from scientists from across the world, concluded that pollutant levels in the Tibetan plateau were similar to those in the Arctic.

This document warned that, in the worst scenario predicted, if the temperature continues to rise and reaches 4 degrees Celsius higher than preindustrial levels, the 81 per cent of the permafrost will have dissapeared by 2100.

The fragile ecosystem at "the roof of the world" is being threatened by global warming, hence the importance of the commitment of the Chinese Government to face this issue. China pledged to cut its carbon emissions per unit of GDP by 60-65 percent from 2005 levels by 2030, raise the share of non-fossil fuels in primary energy consumption to about 20 percent and peak its carbon emissions by the same year. The country also formally signed the Paris Agreement on climate change on April, 2016.

A total of 47 natural reservoirs, accounting for the 34.47 per cent of Tibet's territory, and many ecological function conservation zones and national forest parks are meant to protect the resources and wildlife in the region.

In 2009, the central Government passed a plan to protect and construct an ecological security barrier of Tibet with ten kinds of projects by 2030. Also, the region has been banning and restraining the development of heavy pollutant industries, such as iron, steel, chemical and paper-making companies.

Natural value is also an economic value, as it can translate into the development of an environment friendly tourism that helps to protect wildlife in the "third pole of the planet".

In Tibet's struggle for poverty alleviation, green and innovative economic activities have an important role.

Tibet faces the challenge of lifting another 690.000 people out of poverty by 2020 while protecting the environment. And these two goals could come together, contributing to a sustainable development.

During a week in Tibet, I would like to contemplate the astonishing landscape and rich wildlife, as well as the work done to protect it, and see the improvement of its inhabitant's living standard.

(Beatriz Mu?oz Tejo, Spanish expert of Overseas department in Xinhua News Agency)