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The Thirsty Dragon: Yangtze Headwaters Under Threat
September 19th, 2016
Via China Water Risk, a sobering look at the threat faced by the Yangtze headwaters where models show as much as 67% of China’s glacier volume may disappear by 2100: The glaciers of the “Yangtze River Source Region” (YRSR) are in the “most sensitive area to global warming” atop the Tibetan Plateau, according to a study led by the Institute […]
Read more »China’s Dam Problem With Myanmar
September 12th, 2016
Via Project Syndicate, commentary on the issue of the Myitsone dam in Myanmar: China is a big fan of dams. Indeed, over the last 50 years, the country has constructed more dams than all other countries combined. But there is one dam that China never managed to get built: the Myitsone Dam in Myanmar. And […]
Read more »Chinese Interests in Myanmar’s Dams: Balancing Internal Stability and Development
September 1st, 2016
Via Future Directions International, a report on China’s interest in Myanmar dams: Background The issue of Chinese-constructed Dams in South-East Asia has been the cause of much unrest in recent decades. Myanmar’s stop-start development of the Myistone Dam, one of Myanmar’s largest projects, overseen by the state owned ‘China Power Investment Corporation,’ received extensive coverage after […]
Read more »The Thirsty Dragon: Irrigation In China
August 17th, 2016
Courtesy of China Water Risk, an interesting look at irrigation in China which – at 55% of total consumption – is the largest user of water in the nation: Irrigation has played an important role in human civilization. China, along with ancient Egypt, India and Mesopotamia, is considered a ‘hydraulic civilization’. The Dujiangyan Irrigation System […]
Read more »Laos’ Thirst For Mekong River Dams Imperils Region’s Fishing and Farming
August 16th, 2016
Courtesy of the Washington Post, a look at Laos’ desire for more Mekong River dams impacts its regional neighbors: Dismissing its neighbors’ pleas, impoverished Laos is rapidly building a Mekong River dam that threatens fisheries crucial to millions of Southeast Asia’s poorest people. The site of the Don Sahong dam, less than 2 kilometers (1 […]
Read more »The Thirsty Dragon: Three Gorges…Disgorged
August 11th, 2016
Via The Economist, a look at China’s Three Gorges dam: OUTSIDE China, the monster Three Gorges dam across the Yangzi river is one of the most reviled engineering projects ever built. It is blamed for fouling the environment and causing great suffering among the 1.2m people who were relocated to make way for its reservoir. […]
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