India conveys concern to China over Dam constructions on BrahamaPutra

[beijingwalker]

Dammed Tibet - Extracting Wealth and Power from the World’s Biggest Water Tank
Wed, January 16, 2013 | By: Hank Pellissier

Did China conquer the Himalayan theocracy to “liberate the peasants”? No. Was it lust for Tibet’s agricultural land? No, only 0.3% is arable. Minerals? Getting closer. What’s critically valuable on the “roof of the world”? Three syllables: H20

Tibet has more freshwater - aka “blue gold” - than any place on the planet, except the North and South Poles. Averaging 11,000 feet in altitude, Tibet contains 1,000 lakes and an enormous freezer of snow in the sky-scraping Himalayas. Melted, it’s the wellspring for seven monstrous rivers: the Yangtze, the Yellow, the Indus, the Mekong, the Ganges, the Brahmaputra, and the Salween.

Rivers are the critical life-blood of humanity, essential for hydration, irrigation, and industry. Possession of Tibet gives China a stranglehold on the arteries of South Asia, where nearly 2 billion people reside in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, and Burma.

Mega-dams are easily built by China - they constructed the world’s largest at Three Rivers Gorge. They’ve erected a staggering 28,500 large dams, and 80,000 total, the most in the world. Hydropower is the initial intent of Chinese dams in the Himalayas (90% of rural Tibet will have electricity by 2015), but water diversion is tempting for the thirsty population of 1.3 billon. Although China has 20% of the world’s population, it’s only got 7% of the fresh water supply.

Thirteen provinces of China have suffered drought since 2010 and vast regions are habitually parched, like the sprawling Xinjiang in the northwest. Could pipelines from Tibet lead to faucets in distant reaches of the Middle Kingdom? Li Ling, author of Tibet’s Water Will Save China, believes it is essential for China’s future.

Michael Buckley - producer of the “Meltdown in Tibet” documentary - notes that, “60% of Chinese leadership… have an engineering background and many have vested interests in damming companies.” What are their intentions? India Today reports that “the dragons” are “gung-ho on [the] $62 billion South-North Water Transfer Project. It aims to divert 44.8 billion cubic meter water per year from southern China to the Yellow River basin in arid northern China.” Several different water-diversion projects are under discussion.

Below is a brief report on five major “international rivers” that have headwaters in Tibet:

Indus River - In 2009, British journalist Alice Albina - author of Empires of the Indus - discovered that China was secretly building a huge dam on an Indus tributary, at Senge-Ali, in Western Tibet. This caused only a tiny flap in the extremely tight relationship between the two nations. Two years later, China’s Three Gorges Project Corporation proposed a $15 billion plan to Pakistan, on Pakistani soil, that would block the Indus River at numerous points. The dams would control the devastating floods that regularly wash through Pakistan, and they’d provide much-needed hydroelectricity, enabling Pakistan to develop its gas, oil, and coal resources. The generosity of the Chinese offer typifies the alliance - China is Pakistan’s biggest arms supplier, third-largest trad*ing partner, it supported Pakistan’s war against India in 1965, and it assists Pakistan’s civilian nuclear program. All this frustrates and alarms India, of course. Will the dams on the Indus give China leverage over Pakistan, if their coziness ever sours? 92% of Pakistan is dependent on the Indus River system, with 50% of its population employed in agriculture.

Mekong River - The Mekong is the longest river in SE Asia, winding 4,880 kilometers to the South China Sea. China is building eight dams here - the first, at Manwan, was constructed without consulting neighbors downstream. 60 million people depend on the river for food; particularly at risk are fish stocks in Cambodia’s huge Tonle Sap lake, and the rice bowl of Vietnam’s Mekong Delta. China’s fourth Mekong dam, at Xiaowan, is the world’s tallest at 292 meters. The Mekong is also the second-most bio-diverse river on the planet, trailing only the Amazon. 781 species of freshwater fish paddle here, including a giant catfish that can grow to be as long as a car.

Ganges River - Tibet provides major tributaries for the Ganges, the world’s most densely populated riverine area. Revered as “Mother Ganges” in India, it is even more important to Bangladesh, where it enters the Bay of Bengal in the world’s largest delta. Two-thirds of all Bangladeshis farm and fish here on the fertile floodplains. Presently, there are only two dams on the Ganges, both in India. Any construction by China that sabotaged the flow of this holy-but-horribly-polluted river would be greeted with downstream wrath.

Salween River - This 2,815 kilometers long river flows through China, Burma and Thailand into the Andaman Sea. Called the Nu (“Angry River”) in Mandarin, this swift, beautiful watercourse traverses a “Grand Canyon of the Orient” that is 4,500 meters deep. A United Nations assessment described its region as ‘maybe the most biologically diverse temperate eco-system in the world’ with 80 endangered species, including snow leopards and snub-nosed monkeys. When China announced 13 dams would be constructed on the Salween, vigorous campaigning by Chinese activists resulted, amazing because opposition to Beijing often ends in jail sentences. China is also helping its ally Burma build dams in its northern regions; these constructions are vilified because they threaten ethnic tribes like the Shan and Karenni. Salween Watch

Brahmaputra River - Last but most important is the Brahmaputra, named after the Hindu god of creation. China - after vigorous denials for a more than a decade - intends to build 28 dams on the Brahmaputra, to the consternation of India and Bangladesh. Chinese designs include the utilization of “peaceful nuclear explosions” and constructing a station with 2X the hydro-power of Three Gorges Dam. One proposal aims to transport Brahmanputra water from Shuomatan, Tibet, to the city of Tianjin on China’s northeast coast via a “Shuotian Canal.” Boosters believe this would solve China’s demand for more water, electricity, grain and oil, and alleviate pollution. But… would it impact downstream flow to India, which relies on the river for 30% of its freshwater? China offers assurances, but Indian concern is justified.

 

[Gautam]

Go ahead China.... just do it while the CONgress is in power. Trust me they can't do anything. Do it before next general election please.

 

[Lightningbolt]

Go ahead China.... just do it while the CONgress is in power. Trust me they can't do anything. Do it before next general election please.

None of your parties or politicians have the guts to mess with us. Doesn't matter what party is in power.

 

[beijingwalker]

Tibetan Waters: A Source of Cooperation or Conflict?

Hari Bansh

In recent times, the world has witnessed a major surge in regional unrests caused primarily by the shortage of water. Tension builds up between two or more countries when an effort is made by any upper riparian country to control the waterways of transboundary rivers. Factors like population surge, industrialization and other development activities compel a country to control waterways. When such activities begin to affect the livelihood, ecology and growth of the lower riparian countries, they become a source of dispute.

As in other parts of the world, tension has also been growing both in South Asia and Southeast Asia due to China’s unilateral decision to construct dams and river diversion projects in Tibet. Since 1989, Chinese engineers have been thinking of constructing dams and developing south-north water diversion projects partly driven by internal economic compulsions and partly by the desire to acquire a dominant external position.

As is well known, the Tibetan plateau happens to be the largest water tank in the world. All the 10 major river systems of Asia including the Indus, Sutlej, Brahmaputra, Irrawady, Salween and Mekong originate in the Tibetan plateau. Of the world’s 6.92 billion people, for nearly 2 billion (29 per cent) living in South Asia from Afghanistan to the Ganga-Meghna-Brahmaputra basin and in Southeast Asia the rivers flowing from Tibet constitute the lifeline.

According to media reports, China has already built a barrage on the Sutlej river. Since November 2010, it has started construction work for damming/diversion of the Tsangpo (Brahmaputra) in Tibet.1 The detailed planning for the Tsangpo project was approved by the State Council in 2006 and has the support of both Chen Chuanyu, its main architect, and Hu Jintao. 2 Apart from the diversion project on the Brahmaputra river, China also plans to construct 15 dams along the Lancang (Mekong) river. In addition, China plans to tap the waters of most of the big rivers flowing from the Tibetan plateau. 3

There are also reports that China’s state owned electric power companies have already contracted with the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) government for the development of hydropower in different rivers of Tibet. China is also working towards developing road connectivity with Nepal and other South Asian countries. It wants to develop hydropower partly to reduce the development gap between its eastern and western provinces but also to sell the electricity generated to neighbours and thus promote cross-border integration of economies. The energy produced in Tibet might also be used to tap the region’s rich mineral reserves including uranium, borax, lithium, copper, zinc and iron.

Some of these Chinese activities might affect Nepal as well. Some of Nepal’s major rivers originate in Tibet before finally merging into the Ganga in India. Of them, the most important is Karnali (507 km), Nepal’s longest river. Tibet is also the origin of some parts of Kali Gandaki River, Budhi Gandaki River and the larger part of Trishuli River, which are the major tributaries of the Gandaki River system in Nepal. Similarly, the major tributaries of the Koshi river such as the Sun Koshi/Bhote Koshi, the Tama Koshi and Arun originate in Tibet. 4 Nepal would be affected seriously if dams and diversion projects are built in upper riparian Tibet on such rivers as the Karnali in the west, Gandaki in the central and Kosi in the eastern part of the country.

Any diversion of waters from Nepalese rivers originating in Tibet would directly affect the flow of water of the Ganga, the soul of the people living in the Indian sub-continent including in Nepal. As is well known, the Ganga desperately needs fresh water from its tributaries. Nepal alone accounts for 46 per cent of the flow in the Ganga and its contribution grows to 71 per cent during the lean season. 5 What will happen to the Ganga if dams and diversion projects are built on rivers flowing from Tibet into Nepal?

The building of dams and diversion projects in Tibet by China is a matter of serious concern for the lower riparian states. But the Chinese government downplays the issue by stating that the projects are in the conceptual stage. When the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei was asked about this issue on April 19, 2011, he said that China would not do anything that would harm the interests of the lower riparian states. However, an April 24, 2011 report in the People’s Daily conceded that China would undertake certain measures to ensure strategic water reserves, diversion of water, recharging ground water, etc. 6

Perhaps, China well understands what George Ginsburg wrote: that it could dominate the Himalayan piedmont by virtue of holding Tibet and by doing so it could even threaten the Indian subcontinent and thereby further threaten the entire South-east Asia and so to say all of Asia. 7 Is this why China has so far not signed any bilateral treaty in regard to the utilization of water resources with any of its neighbours?

There are already reports that the quantity of water in many of the rivers flowing from Tibet to South Asia and South East Asia is on the decline. This is partly attributed to the decline in the formation of glaciers in Tibet and in the Himalayas. Besides, the industrial, nuclear and other construction activities in Tibet have been polluting the quality of water, which ultimately affects the lives sustained by the river waters flowing from Tibet – be it through the Indus, Sutlej, Karnali, Gandaki, Koshi, Brahmaputra, Mekong or any other river.

Unfortunately, Beijing is not transparent and is reluctant to share hydrological data with the lower riparian countries. It has not yet signed the 1997 UN Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational Uses of International Waterways. It did not notify the lower riparian countries when it started constructing three dams on the Mekong river. In the same way, it started work on the Brahmaputra river in November 2010 without sharing any information about it with the lower riparian countries. Can China accept a delegation from India, Nepal, Bangladesh or Vietnam to inspect the sites of projects that it is developing on the Indus, Sutlej, Brahmaputra or Mekong?

Of late, China has drawn strong opposition from 263 international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) for its effort to construct dams on the Mekong river. 8 These NGOs feel that China has been using the water resources in Tibet as a political tool. As such, they want a moratorium on the lower Mekong dams for at least 10 years.

China’s decision to dam all the major rivers originating on the Tibetan plateau has invited strong reactions in various Asian capitals from Islamabad to Hanoi. 9 In fact, China has been using its river water as a weapon. Some analysts have predicted even wars or war like situations of various intensity in the region resulting from China’s damming and diversion of Tibetan river waters.

Tibetan land is delicate and it cannot absorb the damming, river water diversion projects, mining and transportation, industrial and other related activities. Many fear that such activities would lead to receding glaciers in Tibet and in the Himalayas. There are also reports that the Tibetan nomads are gradually being made to shift from their traditional grassland and resettle in bleak villages. Unfortunately, some of these activities might invite eco-disaster. This might aggravate the meltdown of Himalayan glaciers, further resulting in the drying of rivers. Therefore, the Tibet water resources should be accepted as a global commons. Any distortion in the ecology of Tibet and its delicate river system is likely to affect the global environment.

Under the existing situation, what should the lower riparian countries do? The best strategy appears to be one of engaging China in a dialogue process and persuading it not to construct dams and diversion projects on Tibetan rivers at the cost of environmental degradation and the livelihood of nearly 2 billion people living in Afghanistan, the Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghana basin and the Mekong basin countries including Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam. Such a dialogue could be initiated bilaterally or multilaterally by the lower riparian countries that are likely to be affected by China’s construction of dams and river diversion projects in Tibet.

 

[beijingwalker]

Damming and diverting Tibetan rivers means getting control of Asia's faucet and the power of cutting or allocating fresh water to lower riparian countries,basically almost all countries in Asia,that will give China a huge advantage strategically.

 

[Gautam]

None of your parties or politicians have the guts to mess with us. Doesn't matter what party is in power.

Yeah right, I am wondering when will you stop crying and get "your" Arunachal Pradesh! We have been waiting for so long now.

 

[beijingwalker]

Yeah right, I am wondering when will you stop crying and get "your" Arunachal Pradesh! We have been waiting for so long now.

We are starting doing that,haven't you felt the heat yet.but we don't like to draw too much world's attention.

 

[Gautam]

We are starting doing that,haven't you felt the heat yet.but we don't like to draw too much world's attention.

What makes you think that we wanna draw the world's attention too?

 

[Gautam]

Silence....???? ....surprised ....!!!!

 

[Lightningbolt]

Yeah right, I am wondering when will you stop crying and get "your" Arunachal Pradesh! We have been waiting for so long now.

We are in the process of it, if you haven't read the news lately.

 

[Gautam]

We are in the process of it, if you haven't read the news lately.

No I have not. Please enlighten me and set me free.

 

[kurup]

Poor Bangladesh .

That is the thought coming to my mind ............

 

[Gautam]

Poor Bangladesh .

That is the thought coming to my mind ............

I think China will make an underground pipeline through sea via Hong Kong to give water to BD.

 

[cirr]

Judging by Indians' reactions here，India's concern over China daming rivers in the Himalayas is totally unwarranted。