BLOG
The Thirsty Dragon and Parched Tiger: China To Build World’s Biggest Dam on Sacred Tibetan River
February 13th, 2021
Via Al Jazeera, an article on China’s plan to build the world’s biggest dam on the Tsangpo River: In the foothills of the Himalayas, where the ancient Yarlung civilisation established the first Tibetan Empire, China has plans to build the world’s biggest hydroelectric dam. In November of last year, China’s state-owned media shared plans for […]
Read more »The Thirsty Dragon and Parched Tiger: China Risks A Himalayan Water War With India
January 30th, 2021
Via Asia Times, a look at how China’s plan to dam the Yarlung Zangbao, the world’s highest river, threatens to spark conflict with downstream India: China-India tensions in the Himalayas is shifting from confrontation and saber-rattling over contested border territory to a potentially more destabilizing conflict over water flows from the world’s highest mountain range. The […]
Read more »The Thirsty Dragon: China’s Water Challenges in 2021
January 28th, 2021
Courtesy of Circle of Blue, an interesting interview on China’s water challenges in 2021: What are the trends, hurdles, and big ideas for water in China in 2021? Domestically, the country’s leaders will respond to record-breaking floods in the southern provinces, advocate for water-absorbing “green” infrastructure, and contend with polluted water. In foreign affairs, tensions […]
Read more »China: At The Heart of Rising Nile River Conflict
January 19th, 2021
Via Asia Times, a report on the China-financed Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam which is Africa’s largest and most divisive development project: The Chinese-financed Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), despite a recent breakdown in talks on Africa’s largest development project, risks powering up a range of downstream tensions and rivalries. These run from rising rivalry between Egypt […]
Read more »Mountain Water Supply to Two Billion People Could Change
January 18th, 2021
Courtesy of Scientific American (subscription required), a detailed look at how data about Earth’s 78 most important mountaintops foretell changes in the amount and timing of snowmelt: The nights are long inside a tent 5,300 meters above sea level at the snout of Nepal’s Yala Glacier. At 8:00 P.M., after a meal of Nepali dal bhat (lentils […]
Read more »Asian Water Towers On Tighter Budget: More Runoff Won’t Quench Indus or Ganges Thirst
January 11th, 2021
Via Eureka Alert, notice of a new study on the Asian Water Towers: The Third Pole centered on the Tibetan Plateau is home to headwaters of over 10 major Asian rivers. These glacier-based water systems, also known as the Asian Water Towers, will have to struggle to quench the thirst of downstream communities despite more […]
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