China recently announced plans to build the largest hydropower dam in the world, with a capacity to generate three times more energy than the Three Gorges Dam, the new dam will be located on the transboundary Brahmaputra River.
However, China’s construction and operation of dams has sparked controversy as building river dams and artificial reservoirs causes “irreversible modification of natural landscapes” and “such extensive interfeence can even increase the risk of earthquakes, according to The Institute for Security and Development Policy Stockholm-paper on these dams.
The paper, “Chinese Water Projects in Tibet: A “Continental Challenge” written by Antonina Luszczykiewicz-Mendis noted, “In December 2024, Beijing announced plans to build the largest hydropower dam in the world. With a capacity to generate three times more energy than the Three Gorges Dam, the new dam will be located on the transboundary Brahmaputra River (known as the Yarlung Tsangpo River in Tibet). Despite China’s assurances regarding safety and ecological protection, the project has already generated significant controversy–particularly in India, where, due to engineering challenges, it has been labeled the “world’s riskiest project.”
According to the paper, the creation of reservoirs with much larger surface areas than rivers result in excessive water evaporation. Hydropower projects are not always reliable for energy generation, particularly during droughts and recalled the summer of 2022 in China when low water levels in rivers rendered dams unable to produce sufficient energy. Consequently, power cuts impacted the food industry and factory production.
In the paper, the institute said, “While hydroelectricity is generally considered a form of renewable energy, the construction and operation of dams have generated significant controversy. First, building river dams and artificial reservoirs results in an irreversible modification of natural landscapes. Such extensive interference can even increase the risk of earthquakes. Moreover, the creation of reservoirs with much larger surface areas than rivers leads to excessive water evaporation.”
According to the paper, local population is often forced to relocate due to the large scale hydrological projects. Relocation schemes combined with the destruction of historical and religiously significant sites have frequently sparked protests in Tibet. Chinese authorities have been accused of arresting Tibetan protesters and enforcing relocations, which have further impoverished “dam migrants.”
Despite these concerns, China continues to expand its river dam system, impacting both its local population and downstream countries. Concerns have been raised that China may manipulate water levels on transboundary rivers by either releasing excessive amounts of water, causing floods beyond China’s borders or “turning off” the taps to increase water scarcity downstream.
There is also growing concern regarding China’s plans and intentions regarding water-sharing practices among nations of both South and Southeast Asia. For South Asian states, the biggest threat, apart from development of a dam system is a potential diversion of water from the Brahmaputra River if the third phase of China’s South-North Water Diversion project is implemented.
In the paper, the author noted that the main concern for Southeast Asia seems to be the normalisation of incidents including lowering of water level on the Mekong River through dam operations and recalled the 2021 incident, when China reduced the water flow on the Mekong River by 50 per cent without prior warning, resulting “in a one-meter drop in water level which significantly disrupted fishing, farming, and transportation across Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam.”
On January 3, India urged the Chinese side to ensure that the downstream states of the Brahmaputra river are not harmed by activities in upstream areas. The remarks came close on the heels after reports emerged that the Chinese side is constructing a mega dam upstream of Brahmaputra on Chinese soil.
“The Chinese side has been urged to ensure that the interests of downstream states of the Brahmaputra are not harmed by activities in upstream areas,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told reporters on January 3, at a weekly presser here in the national capital.
Soon after the reports of the Dam construction emerged in the media, many, including citizens and strategic experts, raised concerns about its impact on the downstream region of India, along with neighbouring Bangladesh. Such concerns were also raised earlier from time to time when China indicated the building of hydropower projects on the upstream.
Jaiswal said the Indian government has seen the information released by Xinhua on December 25, 2024, regarding a hydropower project on the Yarlung Tsangpo River in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China.
Addressing the weekly presser, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India will continue to monitor and take necessary measures to protect its interests. “As a lower riparian state with established user rights to the waters of the river, we have consistently expressed, through expert-level as well as diplomatic channels, our views and concerns to the Chinese side over mega projects on rivers in their territory,” Jaiswal said.
“These have been reiterated, along with the need for transparency and consultation with downstream countries, following the latest report,” Jaiswal added.
(with inputs from ANI)
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