Tibetans raise alarm on China's mega dams

Say it may trigger ecological and livelihood implications

Tibetan Sikyong (prime minister) in-exile Lobsang Sangay on Monday made a strong case against China when he raised apprehensions of ecological degradation in the eastern Himalayas due to the mega dams on the Yarlung Tsangpo, known as the Brahmaputra in India.

Addressing the fifth All India Tibet Support Groups Conference here on Monday, Sangay warned that dam construction in Tibet Autonomous region by China might trigger serious ecological and livelihood implications and might spell doom in the lower riparian region in India and Bangladesh.

“China has admitted about the construction. Also there are talks of China's plan to divert water from rivers in Tibet. Given China's significant chunk of its population facing shortage of freshwater, the diversion of water from rivers in Tibet is set to become a reality in coming days,” said Sangay in the conference, attended by Tibetan refugees from India and abroad. Sangay took the opportunity to raise ecological concerns on China’s big dam policy in the north-east, a region which has seen intense anti-big dam protests in the past.

The remark also comes at a time when in India there are severe concerns on the downstream impacts of the dams China is building on the Tsangpo. China recently operationalized a 510 MW hydropower project on the river in Tibet.

“Tibet is the source of 10 major rivers in Asia, including the Brahmaputra. Assam and even Bangladesh is green because of Brahmaputra. Already Tibet's glaciers where most of these rivers originate are fast depleting. On top of that there is deforestation and exploitation of water resources through dam construction and other activities,” Sangay added.

In a bid to send an indirect message to Beijing, Sangay also mentioned about the effects in upper reaches of Brahmaputra in Arunachal Pradesh, area over which China has laid claims.