The Chinese government has announced it will move more than 52,000 Tibetan herders and farmers into permanent housing this year, a practice condemned by rights groups.
The project, which China says is aimed at improving living conditions, began in 2006 when the regional government set a target of building 220,000 homes.
That would mean housing 80% of the region's farmers and herders by the end of 2010.
The government has spent 1.3 billion Yuan (€121.8m) in the last two years 'to help farmers move into brick houses from wood-and-earth residences and nomadic herders to settle down.'
China claims it resettles Tibetans, not just in Tibet but in Sichuan and Qinghai provinces too, to help protect the environment and boost living standards.
But the resettlements often involve the slaughter of animals belonging to the mostly nomadic herders, relocation to poorly built accommodation and inability to find work due to lack of skills.
Others are forcibly evicted to make room for public works projects, like dams and roads, according to Human Rights Watch.
Beijing has controlled the remote Himalayan region of Tibet since People's Liberation Army troops entered in 1950.
Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, fled to India in 1959 after a failed uprising against Communist rule.
