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The Thirsty Dragon: China Plans More Dams In Tibet
March 23rd, 2016
Via Third Pole, a look at China’s new Five Year Plan which calls for a fresh wave of hydropower and major infrastructure projects on a Tibetan plateau already hit by desertification and climate change: China’s just-released 13th Five Year Plan — which sets out the country’s economic and social blueprint — promises to be the greenest […]
Read more »The Thirsty Dragon: China’s Watergy Challenge To Quench The Thirst of China’s Dry North
March 20th, 2016
Via the Wilson Center’s China Environment series, an extensive report on what some have long considered the “black box” of China’s energy-water nexus challenge, namely the energy footprint of cleaning, treating, and transporting water to quench the thirst of cities in China’s dry north: China’s dramatic urbanization over the past four decades has fundamentally reshaped […]
Read more »The Thirsty Dragon: China’s Dam Boom Stokes Concerns In Asia
March 16th, 2016
Via Nikkei Asian Review, some interesting commentary on the concerns arising in Asia that China is seeking to turn water into a potential political weapon: China’s centralized, megaprojects-driven approach to water resources is the antithesis of the situation in another demographic titan, India, where the constitution makes water an issue for state governments and where […]
Read more »The Thirsty Dragon: Water, The 13 FYP, and Beautiful China 2020
March 16th, 2016
Via China Water Risk, a summary of water’s role in the 13 FYP and Beautiful China 2020 initiative: Highlights -Target reduction in water use per unit of GDP by 23% by 2020; also reduction in COD & NH discharge by 10% each -Expect more eco-red lines + tech & policy innovations. Insurance, green bonds & […]
Read more »The Thirsty Dragon and Parched Tiger: Geopolitics of India and China’s Shared Water Sources
March 15th, 2016
Via Future Directions International, an interesting look at the geopolitics of India and China’s shared water sources: Key Points China and India are water-scarce countries that will face significant challenges to food and water security in the future. As lower riparians, India and Bangladesh rely on the Brahmaputra River for water, agriculture and livelihoods. Upstream, China […]
Read more »Mekong: Can One Of The World’s Great Rivers Survive Its Development?
March 2nd, 2016
Via The Economist, a series of three articles on the Mekong River. The first looks at GUO, the driver, pulls his car to a merciful halt high above a crevasse: time for a cigarette, and after seven hours of shuddering along narrow, twisting roads, time for his passengers to check that their fillings remain in place. Lighting […]
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