The Central Government and the local government of Tibet have been keen on the coordination between environment and economic development to better protect the fragile ecological environment in Tibet.

They planned to invest 22.7 billion yuan (2.7 billion U.S. dollars) and initiate a number of key projects for ecological protection by the mid-21st century to further protect and improve its ecological environment.

The white paper says Tibet has made rapid progress in education,science and technology, and medical and health care. The enrollment rate of school-age children increased to 85.8 percent in 2000 from less than two percent in the past.

By 2000, Tibet has set up 25 scientific research institutes, engaging in studies on history, economics, linguistics and religion, as well as Tibetan medicine and pharmacology.

The number of medical and health organizations in the region has reached 1,237. The cooperative medical service has covered 80 percent of the Tibetan rural areas. The average life expectancy of Tibetan people has risen from 35.5 years in the 1950s to the present 67 years. Tibet's population had increased to 2.5983 million by 2000, or an increase of more than 160 percent over the figure for the early 1950s.

The white paper says the State has invested a huge amount of fund, gold and silver in protecting and maintaining the key historical heritage in Tibet. Some fine folk art works have been collected and published for the sake of protection and development.