At the first forum on international aid for Tibet, which was jointly organized by the Chinese government and the Tibet Autonomous Region government, U.N. representatives warned Beijing that if they wished to obtain more foreign aid for development in Tibet, Tibetans would need to be allowed more input into the development process and protection of their cultural heritage. Kerstin Leitner, resident representative of the U.N. Development Program in China, reasoned, "Without their active engagement and cooperation, any development program will not take root in the Tibetan community and thus will only have a very limited impact."
