China and India 'water grab' dams put ecology of Himalayas in danger

Published on August 13, 2013 06:32 by Water Network Research, Official research team of The Water Network in Social

The future of the world's most famous mountain range could be endangered by a vast dam-building project, as a risky regional race for waterresources takes place in Asia.

Newacademic researchshows thatIndia, Nepal,BhutanandPakistanare engaged in a huge "water grab" in the Himalayas, as they seek new sources of electricity to power their economies. Taken together, the countries have plans for more than 400 hydro dams which, if built, could together provide more than 160,000MW of electricity - three times more than the UK uses.

In addition,Chinahas plans for around 100 dams to generate a similar amount of power from major rivers rising inTibet. A further 60 or more dams are being planned for the Mekong river which also rises in Tibet and flows south through south-east Asia.

Most of the Himalayan rivers have been relatively untouched by dams near their sources. Now the two great Asian powers, India and China, are rushing to harness them as they cut through some of the world's deepest valleys. Many of the proposed dams would be among the tallest in the world, able to generate more than 4,000MW, as much as the Hoover dam on the Colorado river in the US.

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