BLOG
Dam Politics: Impact of Planned Niger River Dams
March 22nd, 2012
Via NewScientist, a report on the impact of planned Niger River dams: SEEN from space, it is a vast green and blue smudge on the edge of the Sahara desert. Close up, it is a watery wilderness of lakes and flooded forests and grasslands, home to 1.5 million fishers, cattle grazers and farmers, and millions […]
Read more »Will Water Tensions Threaten Peace in India’s Northeast?
March 22nd, 2012
Courtesy of The New York Times, a report on the water tension that is bubbling in India’s northeast region between India and China. As the article notes: For India’s Northeast to have a bright future, the region will need to avoid a few minefields. Most importantly, “a sustainable peace, including in the Kachin state (in […]
Read more »The Politics of Water Security in the Kabul River Basin
March 22nd, 2012
Via Future Directions, a look at the politics of water security in the Kabul River basin: Key Points The simmering water conflict between Afghanisation and Pakistan is rarely noted Water shortage and mismanagement in this region contributes to geopolitical upheaval Afghanistan and Pakistan should seek formalised bi-lateral cooperation for technical information exchanges, flow monitoring, and […]
Read more »The Thirsty Dragon: Chinese Dam Building Tests Southeast Asian Resilience
March 21st, 2012
Courtesy of HydroLogic, a look at how China’s hydropower development activities on the Mekong and Salween Rivers are a clear illustration of the country’s potentially destabilizing strategy, with both diplomatic and environmental impacts, in Southeast Asia. As the article notes: “…These waterways, along with the Yangtze River (one of China’s domestic targets for intensive development), […]
Read more »The Politics Of Water Security Between Afghanistan And Iran
March 21st, 2012
Via Future Directions, an analysis of the politics of water security between Afghanistan and Iran: Key Points Increasing development and water consumption in upstream Afghanistan negatively affects water supply to Iran, thereby exacerbating latent tensions between the two countries. Iran perceives the construction of hydroelectric dams on the Afghan side of the basins as a […]
Read more »The Thirsty Dragon: Hydropower In China
March 21st, 2012
Courtesy of Circle of Blue, a look at how China, the world’s largest energy consumer, is pushing its renewable energy agenda by investing in hydropower. By 2015, the Chinese government expects that the country’s hydropower installed capacity will amount to 300 million kilowatts, thus reducing the nation’s reliance on fossil fuels. The following dams are […]
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