BLOG
China, Tibet, and the strategic power of water
May 23rd, 2008
As reported by Circle of Blue, a number of experts say that control and management of an even more vital resource – the Tibetan Plateau’s vast supply of freshwater – is also emerging at the center of the increasingly tense political and cultural strife between China and Tibet. As the article notes: “…the Tibetan Plateau […]
Read more »The Thirsty Dragon: Olympics Water Diversion Causing Olympian Problems
February 29th, 2008
As recently reported by The Financial Times, the diversion of water to Beijing for the Olympics and for big hydropower projects threatens the lives of millions of peasant farmers in China’s north-western provinces. According to the senior Chinese government official quoted in the report, Beijing will need an estimated 300m cubic metres of additional water […]
Read more »China and Russia Agree on The Use & Protection of Trans-Border Waterways
February 3rd, 2008
As reported by Xinhua News, China and Russia recently signed an agreement on the use and protection of the approximately 3,500 kilometers of trans-border water bodies shared by the two nations, including the Ergun, Heilongjiang and Wusuli rivers, and Xingkai Lake. As the report notes: “…The agreement indicates the two countries have entered a new […]
Read more »The Thirsty Dragon and An Iron Dust Bowl: The Politics of Water & Sand in Northern China
January 22nd, 2008
Northern China is drying out, and there is little to suggest that the situation will change for the better. As a China Environmental Forum document noted in 2006, water scarcity — a problem throughout China — is most acute in the north where per capita resources are only 750 cubic meters per year (1,700 cubic […]
Read more »Water & Politics in Bangladesh’s “Waterworld”
January 21st, 2008
An excellent article by Robert Kaplan in the January/February ’08 edition of The Atlantic Monthly, examining the catastrophic threats that global warming & climate change hold for Bangladesh, a nation already with too little land for its 150 million people. While the majority of the report focuses on the massive impacts that rising sea levels […]
Read more »Poised For A Future Diplomatic Meltdown? Indo-Chinese Tensions over Use of Tibet’s Water
January 20th, 2008
Lost in the generally enthusiastic media coverage of the recent Indo-Chinese bilateral meetings is the long-standing issue of water resource management between the two emerging giants. Given its presence in Tibet, China controls India’s river water and flooding. Even without any fully completed projects in place to tap into this source, many Indians feel this […]
Read more »