TIBET’S RIVERS WILL DETERMINE ASIA’S FUTURE

By Dechen Palmo

At the dawn of a new era of building dams on the Yarlung Tsangpo, countless lives and ecosystems are being risked in the name of “development” and geopolitics.

This Map shows the Yarlung Tsangpo or the Brahmaputra river in Tibet with number of dams on it. Map prepared by Mingyur Tenpa, Environment & Development Desk, Tibet Policy Institute

Over the last seven decades, the People’s Republic of China has constructed more than 87,000 dams. Collectively they generate 352.26 GW of power, more than the capacities of Brazil, the United States, and Canada combined. On the other hand, these projects have led to the displacement of over 23 million people.

The Tibetan plateau is a rich repository of indispensable freshwater resources that are shared across Asia. After damming most of its rivers, China is now casting its eyes on the major international rivers flowing out from the Tibetan plateau, heralding a new era of damming Tibet’s rivers.

Tibet, known as the “Water Tower of Asia,” serves as the source of 10 major Asian river systems flowing into 10 countries, including many of the most densely populated nations in the world: China, India, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Burma, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, and Pakistan.

China, through its political control over Tibet, has complete upper riparian control over all major rivers flowing out of the Tibetan plateau. Compared to China, Tibet remains a virgin territory with less than 0.6 percent of its hydropower resources being utilized for developmental purposes. But this is changing rapidly. As China seeks to meet its renewable energy targets, Beijing will have to harness yet more hydropower. Chinese hydropower and energy companies have been lobbying the government to allow more hydropower projects to tap into Tibet’s fast-flowing rivers, with as many as 28 proposals awaiting approval.

Tibet is a geologically unstable region with an average elevation of 4,500 meters above sea level (14,800 feet). Despite the critical state of the Tibetan plateau which remains ecologically sensitive and seismically active, China is still moving on with its ambitious plan to expand the hydropower generation on the headwaters of Asia’s major rivers — the Yangtze, Yellow, Brahmaputra, Indus, Mekong, and Salween Rivers.

China’s State Council’s energy plan for the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-15) and 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020) confirm the government’s intentions to vigorously push forward the hydropower project on the Tibetan plateau. Hydropower is being promoted as the centerpiece of China’s plan to expand its renewable energy sector. By 2020, China wants to triple its hydropower capacity to 300 GW. Therefore it is increasingly damming transboundary rivers to achieve its hydropower targets.

The Brahmaputra, know as the Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibetan, is a major international river shared between Tibet, India, and Bangladesh. It stretches over a total length of 1,800 miles (2,900 km) from west to east, starting on the Tibetan plateau from its source, the Chemayungdung glaciers near the sacred Mount Kailash.

Once a free-flowing river, it is now dammed on every section. Starting from Zangmu hydroelectric power station, there has been a cascade of dams being built on the Brahmaputra.  Geologist Yang Yong had rightly said that the activity represents “the start of a hydropower era for Tibet’s rivers.”

In January 2013, China approved three dam projects on the Brahmaputra River as part of its 12th Five-Year Plan, which triggered concerns in the Indian media about the possible impact on downstream flows. In an attempt to downplay India’s concern over these matters, the Chinese government was quick to assure India that the project will be planned and reasoned scientifically. It maintained that the project was a Run-of-River (ROR) hydroelectricity generation project – meaning a part of the river was being diverted to run past electricity generating turbines, and then the water would flow back to join the river. Such a ROR project would, according to that argument, not reduce the water flow and not have any impact downstream.

These assertions are largely untrue. Instead, ROR projects require storing large volumes of water during the day, only to be released all at once in the evening for generating power during peak energy demand. These daily fluctuations in the river cause an incredible disruption to the river ecology. Moreover, large dams also increase the probabilities of earthquakes, destroy precious environments, and shatter the lives of millions of people who are dependent on the Brahmaputra River.

Rather than benefiting populations with non-polluting power, China’s dam builders are making a Faustian bargain with nature, selling Tibet’s soul in their drive for economic growth. Taken together there is much scientific evidence that dams are not the clean, green, or cheap source of electric power they are often made out to be.

This photo shows a construction site of Jiexu Dam. Photo taken on November 10, 2018. Photo@Dechen Palmo

It is no surprise that China has begun the construction of three hydropower dams (Dagu, Jiexu, and Jiacha) on the middle reaches of the Brahmaputra. The Dagu (660 MW) and Jiexu (560 MW) dams are being constructed upstream of Zangmu and the Jiacha dam (320 MW) downstream of Zangmu — all located within a few kilometers from each other.

The Zangmu hydropower station (510 MW) is only the start. China plans to build 11 hydropower stations on the Brahmaputra mainstream and several on its tributaries. Huaneng, Huadian, Guodian and Datang — four major power generation groups — have already taken root in Tibet. Among them, Huaneng is the largest hydropower development in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR).

Huaneng Tibet Power Generation Co. Ltd. (HTPG), a subsidiary of the state-owned China Huaneng Group, has signed multiple agreements with the TAR government regarding the development of clean energy in the region. According to the agreements between the company and the regional government, Huaneng’s installed capacity in Tibet will reach 10,000 megawatts by 2020. It is believed that hydropower resources in the TAR account for 29 percent of the national total.

According to the plan, Huaneng Group is responsible for the development of the Jiexu and Jiacha hydropower stations whereas Huadian group constructed Dagu.

In addition, the Bayu hydropower station began its survey in November last year. The installed capacity of that power station is 800 MW.

From time to time, whenever water issues such as floods and other disasters occur in the region, India raises its concerns to Chinese counterparts. Those concerns are met with a Memorandum of Understanding  (MoU) or Expert Level Mechanism (ELM), which remains nonbinding and without any governing body that ensures their implementation.

China has so far not communicated officially about the construction of these dams on the Brahmaputra. A lack of transparency about dam building on the Tibetan river raises questions about whether the Tibetan people and the downstream countries were fully informed about the risk and impacts on a river system that supports millions. These proposed dams will pose a serious ecological threat not only to the Tibetan plateau but also to the other side of the border. China, by constructing these dams, will be responsible for the overexploitation of the river, which can jeopardize the river ecosystem as well as alter water flows downstream, affecting the farmers and fishermen of India and Bangladesh.

Moreover, China can also easily manipulate the river flow, which puts India at a strategically disadvantageous position. It is high time for India to take a stand in order to ascertain their user rights on the river and monitor those dam activities on the upper part of the Brahmaputra River.

The environmental health of the Tibetan plateau is critical for around 1.3 billion people who live in the river basins downstream in Asia. The Tibetan river shouldn’t be seen only as a source of hydropower; its geological significance should also be taken into serious consideration.

(The article was originally published by The Diplomat on November 1, 2019)

Poisoning Tibetan Rivers: Why is it not so natural?

 “In the past, our rivers were crisp and clean, the mountains and valleys were known for their natural beauty. But now the rivers are polluted with poisonous waste from the mines,”  is what a local resident said to Radio Free Asia hoping that letting the  news out to the world would at least raise pressure on local authorities to act as the  people’s government,  rather than of the mining companies. Such grievances are numerous and wide spread among the Tibetan population in recent years due to the desecration of their mountains and poisoning of their rivers by destructive mining practices followed in Tibetan areas under Chinese occupation.

Fig1. River Poisoned by Gyama Mine

On September 23, 2014, more than 1000 local Tibetans of Dokar and Zibuk villages near Tibetan capital city Lhasa protested against poisoning of their rivers by Gyama Copper Poly-metallic Mine. The mine is located close to a stream that locals use for drinking, irrigation and animal feeding. But as always, the local officials conveniently declared that the water pollution in the rivers was caused by natural factors and not by the mine.

A similar official statement was issued back in 2013, when 83 mine workers of the same mine were killed in a mine induced landslide due to mismanagement of mine waste or over-piling of mine waste rocks on a steep V-shaped valley. The official statement was obediently published by Xinhua News without the slightest hint of journalistic objectivity despite the loss of so many lives. This systematic approach without any legal transparency and with no sense of compunction by the local Chinese government in Tibetan areas has become a dangerous trend and bizarre scenario.

The Gyama Mine is operated by Huatailong Mining Development, a subsidy of the China National Gold Group Corporation, and ironically is praised as eco-friendly and a model mine by China. If the standard and qualification for a model mine is of such, then the plight of the people and state of the environment is seriously in danger. The deliberate and systematic falsification of causes behind the Gyama mine landslide and river water poisoning by Chinese local government could only be explained by themselves.

But a 2010 article titled “Environmental impact of mining activity on the surface water quality in Tibet: Gyama valley,” by Xiang et al., firmly ascertains that “a localized severe heavy metal contamination is documented in the stream water of Gyamaxung-chu (chu means river) and wastewater treatment facilities in the Gyama valley.” It also states that “the environmental risk at the Gyamaxung-chu source area, where the measured contents correspond mainly to geochemical background was zero. However, there was a very high risk at the upper and middle parts of the stream and it appears to be both natural and accelerated by the extensive mining activities. The levels of metals (such as lead, copper, cadmium and zinc) represent the high risk for the environment, including local human populations and their livestock.”

Fig2. Dokar Village where the poisoned river flow through

The article further goes on to say that  “ the  great environmental concern are the many mining and processing deposits in the valley, containing large amount of heavy metals, such as lead, copper, zinc and manganese etc. These deposits are prone to leak its contaminants through seepage water and erosion of particulates, and pose therefore a future risk for the local environment and a potential threat to the downstream water quality.”

Gyamaxung-chu is a mountain spring fed by groundwater, rain and melting snow with continuous flow throughout the year providing life for the many villages situated on its path before draining into the Lhasa river and finally into the Yarlung Tsangpo or Brahmaputra.

A similar Assessment Report by Environment and Development Desk of Central Tibetan Administration back in 2013 after the Gyama mine landslide clearly produced strong evidence to link the landslide with the mismanagement of mine waste.

Considering the evidences, why do the relevant authorities refuse to see the truth and deny justice for its own people? Who granted mining companies so much power that they could get away with killing its own workers and poisoning community rivers? The only conclusion according to the local Tibetans is that there is an absolute cozy camaraderie between mining companies and local officials. The power of this nexus overrides everything else: ethnic cultural rights, local community interests, mineral resource extraction procedures and environmental laws. They could even manipulate official media and experts to validate outright crimes against its own people and the environment.

Fig3. Dokar Village with Gyama Mine Site seen in the background

The recent protest against river water poisoning is a desperate attempt after almost five years of continuous pleas to the  Chinese authorities in Lhasa.  The so called people’s government threatens and intimidates its own people for raising such issues of public interest. The people are left with no choice but to seek help from the outside world by appealing to international media, hoping Beijing would take notice and the central government would come to their rescue. I am sure Beijing cares about the welfare of its people. According to a report in China Daily (23-01-2013) the central urban areas of Beijing city alone have 300 water quality monitoring stations. How many such stations are there in the Tibetan areas and why are the people of Gyama valley denied of such rights?

The poisoning of Tibetan rivers will have catastrophic consequences to both China and the world, as Tibet is home to the largest store of accessible fresh water and source of Asia's six greatest rivers (Yangtze, Yellow, Mekong, Salween, Indus and Brahmaputra), feeding some of the world's most populated nations like Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and China.

Tibetans take great pride in the purity of their rivers and  causing river water pollution is simply against their way of life. In the 11^th century when Indian Buddhist scholar, Atisha Dipamkara visited Tibet, he was overjoyed by the freshness and purity of Tibetan rivers so much that he recommended the waters of Tibet be served as the greatest offering to Lord Buddha. Since then the unmistakable Tibetan culture of water offering is prominently visible in every home and monastery. But what will the people of Gyama valley would offer to the Gods, when the very basic necessity of drinking water for the community is poisoned?

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 Tempa Gyaltsen Zamlha is an Environment Research Fellow at the Tibet Policy Institute

Damming Tibetan and Himalayan Rivers

‘More than 60% of the world’s 227 largest rivers have been fragmented by infrastructures such as dams and diversions. Rivers are turned on and off instead of flowing by natural rhythms. Many rivers are thus but shadows of their former selves and the blue lines on the map are often tokens of faded glories’- UNESCO-IHP 

Rivers originating from the Himalayan ranges and other regions in Tibet drain approximately 6 million sq. km or more. These snow peaks and glaciers enable these regions to be the source of major rivers that flow into Asia, approximately sustaining 1.3 billion people. 

One could easily observe the Chinese dam building frenzy from their past records, as per the World Commission on Dams, China had only 22 large dams in 1949 and today there are more than 87,000 dams in China.  It even plans to dam the rivers that still remain free flowing, such as the Arun (Arun flows from Tibet as Bhumchu to Nepal and India) and the Subansiri (Subansiri River is a tributary of the Brahmaputra River flowing from Tibet to the Indian states of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh) before flowing into India. 

According to South China Morning Post , on the 23 of January 2013, the state council has released an energy-sector blue print for 2011-2015 in which they have decided to construct at least 54 hydro power stations with total capacity of 120 GW on the upper reaches of Yangtse, Mekong and Salween. It clearly disregards the geological risks, global biodiversity, resettlement and impacts on downstream communities.   This plan also includes the reopening of previously shelved damming projects on Salween River due to environmental concerns. 

According to International Rivers, many of these damming projects have forced over 23 million people from their homes and land, many of whom are still suffering the impacts of displacement and dislocation. Yet despite serious impacts of dam construction in China, the Chinese government has ambitious plans to expand hydropower generation.  Not only are these rivers subjected to hydropower projects but also these free flowing rivers and its power attracts major extractive industries from distant mainland. Now, with a strong policy backings from Beijing towards the mining sector, designating them as one of Beijing’s “Four Pillar” industries in Central Tibet. These transboundary rivers will obviously face more toxic pollutions and barriers along its path. The western rivers such as Yarlung Tsangpo (Brahmaputra) and its major tributaries in Tibet (Kyichu, Nyangchu, Tongchu, Nyang Trib Chu, Drakchu, Wolga Chu, Chllong Chu, Yiwong Chu, Parlung Chu) are now being increasingly interrupted by medium sized dams (Fig. 3). Such activities paint a bleak picture as they would definitely impede the downstream flow of water and alluvial sediment to the floodplains of India and Bangladesh. The information has it that, two new additional dams (Bayu and Daigu) are being planned along the mainstream of Yarlung Tsangpo along with the full swing construction of 510 megawatt project at Rdzam/ Zangmu.

The official narration from China towards these damming is, as usual, same except a small change in the date. 'The Chinese side always takes a responsible attitude towards the exploitation of cross border rivers and every new project will be planned and reasoned in a scientific way - before being started' was the response by Hong Lei, the foreign ministry during a daily press briefing. 

China is (indeed) the central (poker) player in many of the controversies surrounding shared water resources in Asia with more damming plans for its upstream reserves that will have dramatic impacts on the lower riparian countries.  

On this side of the political border, the hydropower potential for the remaining Himalayan countries also remains very attractive for the power companies. K. Pomeranz, estimated that for Pakistan, India, Bhutan and Nepal, the hydropower potential could be jaw dropping 192,000 megawatts with almost half of it on the Indian side.  

Fig1. Distribution of dams under various planning stages on the rivers flowing from Tibet and on The Indian Himalayan regions; Adapted from Zoomer & Tashi (2013) and Pandit and Grumbine, 2012.

According to Pandit and Grumbine , the hydropower potentials within the Indian Himalayan Rivers (Brahmaputra, Ganges and Indus) are enormous (50,000 MW) and the Government of India is keen to invest on these water resources. The authors also mentioned that this region could be the highest dam density in the world and would also cause huge loss and extinction of terrestrial species and change in land cover should all the 292 Dams (under construction and proposed - Fig. 1) are constructed as planned. A separate article published by Hindustan Times-Darjeeling discusses about the grand master plan as envisioned by the Central government of India in identifying the North-Eastern region as 'India’s future powerhouse' by building about 160 or more dams. It also quoted a statement from a former West Bengal State Planning Board member that the earthquake that struck Sikkim on September, 2011 could have been induced or accelerated by the multiple dams on Teesta River. 

A UNESCO-IHP report mentioned that both water and culture are strongly interrelated and their perfect blending is crucial for flourishing of human culture.  But, by looking at the current pace of damming activities and its various impacts, it appears that we have moved too far for a complete U-turn to a point close to ‘A’, but still, timely enough to admit our past errors in understanding the true value of these resources to sustain our ancestral culture and tradition.

The geological nature of the Tibetan plateau and the Himalayan belt indicates that the whole region in its entirety is still rising higher and often jolted with strong and weak earthquakes. The dams constructed on the seismic prone zones and near active fault lines could be a perfect recipe for an unfolded future disaster. In most cases, the locals were poorly informed or not consulted during this maddening spree of damming and traversing the natural rhythm of rivers in the name of developments.

In China, dam safety has always been treated as a sensitive subject. Now, incidents at a number of dams and reservoirs have cast doubt on the quality of these projects, but they are rarely reported to the general public.  In 2012, a study conducted by ‘Probe International’ mentioned that more than 99.7 percent of large dams in western China (in Tibet) are located in zones of moderate to very high seismic hazard (as defined by UN Global Seismic Hazard Assessment Program). 

Fig2. Seismic events (magnitude ≥ 5) that occurred between 1973-2013 and active structures within the Himalayan Regions. Source: EDD/ DIIR 2013.

Figure 2 explains the seismic prone areas within the Himalayan belt and warns us about the imminent threat posed by those 200 or more dams that are built or under construction throughout the Himalayan regions.

 

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References:

Water, Cultural Diversity, and Global Environmental Change, Emerging Trends and Sustainable Futures? (UNESCO-IHP, 2012); http://www.unesco.org/new/en/media-services/single-view/news/now_available_online_water_cultural_diversity_and_global_environmental_change_emerging_trends_sustainable_futures/

China, International Rivers,  http://www.internationalrivers.org/programs/china

China Holds the Key to Asia’s ‘Blue Gold’ (December 15, 2011), http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/opinion/china-holds-the-key-to-asias-blue-gold/484739

South China Morning Post, ‘Ban lifted on controversial Nu River dam projects’ January, 2013 http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1135463/ban-lifted-controversial-nu-river-dam-projects

International Rivers China Moves to Dam the Nu, Ignoring Seismic, Ecological, and Social Risks,  http://www.internationalrivers.org/resources/china-moves-to-dam-the-nu-ignoring-seismic-ecological-and-social-risks-7807

South China Morning Post, ‘Ban lifted on controversial Nu River dam projects’ January, 2013 http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1135463/ban-lifted-controversial-nu-river-dam-projects

China, Internaitonal Rivers, http://www.internationalrivers.org/programs/china

Xinhua, China justifies Yarlung Zangbo River exploitation, Updated: 2013-01-30

http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2013-01/30/content_16188880.htm 

Kenneth Pomeranz , ‘The Great Himalayan Watershed: Water Shortages, Mega-Projects and Environmental Politics in China, India, and Southeast Asia, http://japanfocus.org/-kenneth-pomeranz/3195

Maharaj K. Pandit  and R. Edward Grumbine, 'Potential Effects of Ongoing and Proposed Hydropower Development on Terrestrial Biological Diversity in the Indian Himalaya', Conservation Biology, Volume 26, No. 6, 1061–1071, 2012, Society for Conservation Biology, DOI: 10.1111/j.1523-1739.2012.01918.x

'Sikkim quake may have been induced by dams across Teesta', Hindustan Times  Darjeeling, September 21, 2011

 http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/WestBengal/Sikkim-quake-may-have-been-induced-by-dams-across-Teesta/Article1-748547.aspx

Water, Cultural Diversity, and Global Environmental Change, Emerging Trends and Sustainable Futures? (UNESCO-IHP, 2012); http://www.unesco.org/new/en/media-services/single-view/news/now_available_online_water_cultural_diversity_and_global_environmental_change_emerging_trends_sustainable_futures/

Lu Zongshu and ShenNianzu, Dams gone wrong: Is danger lurking in China's dams?, August 24, 2011,  http://journal.probeinternational.org/2011/08/24/dams-gone-wrong-is-danger-lurking-in-china%E2%80%99s-dams/     

John Jackson (2012), A Probe International Study, Earthquake Hazards and Large Dams in Western China.

Water availability and management

Growing industrialization, population growth, and increasing levels of consumption are placing heavy demands on water resources, which provide vital support for the subsistence livelihoods of millions of people. Figure 1 explains in brief the baseline water stress regions in Asia. The tension on water availability is further raised by the rate at which Chinese are commissioning damming projects on those trans-boundary rivers. With no foreseeable increase in the water availability and no water sharing treaty in action, all the riparian states from Pakistan till Vietnam are at the mercy of these massive reservoirs within Tibet and China. As for India, its water demand will double by 2030 reaching 1.5 trillion cubic meters, principally driven by population growth and the domestic need for agriculture [1]. 

Figure1. Baseline Water Stress Regions in Asia Map © EDD/ DIIR 

According to recent report released on Himalayan Glaciers, the combined river basin of Indus, Ganga/ Brahmaputra benefits/ supports more than 744 million people living within the contiguous arc from Afghanistan to Bangladesh (Fig 2). The use of water in the agricultural sector has increased over the past few decades. It is estimated as per 2000 data that the irrigation area for Indus (15 MHA), Ganga/ Brahmaputra basin (29 MHA) - million hectares and will continue to increase further[2]. 

Fig 2. Fraction of the land equipped for irrigation in the HKH region. Irrigation is widespread in both the Indus and Ganges/Brahmaputra basins. A relatively large amount of irrigated water consumption in the Indus basin is for cotton production. In the Brahmaputra basin, by comparison, irrigation water use is dominated by rice production, while in the Ganges basin, irrigated water is used primarily for wheat production.

Source: National Academy of Science (2012) http://www.nasonline.org/

Looking towards China, a survey data analyzed by the Joint Monitoring Program for Water and Sanitation of WHO and UNICEF mentioned that about 100 million Chinese still did not have access to an improved water source in 2008, and about 460 million did not have access to improved sanitation. Water scarcity threatens the ability of China's farmers to irrigate their crops, impacting food security as well as social stability, especially in northern China. A case in point is the impact in Yunnan province which is facing a severe drought and government is responding by proposing huge reservoirs and dams on the already stressed rivers flowing from the province[3].   Every year, water shortages cost the country an estimated 40-60 billion RMB  in lost economic output. Continued scarcity and uncertainty will affect the willingness of foreign and domestic companies to invest in China, further lowering the production of existing facilities, and ultimately affecting its job market[4]. 

For China, Tibet's rivers are proving as rich resources for hydro electric and geo-political power as its mineral wealth. Chinese 12th Five Year Plan (2011- 2015) has prioritized the development of Hydro power projects, it also plans to revive two third of those unfinished hydro power projects detailed in the 11th Five Year Plan. According to South China Morning Post, (on line edition -January 2013)[5], the Chinese state council has released an energy sector blueprint for 2011-2015 in which they have decided to construct at least 54 hydro power stations with a total capacity of 120 GW on the upper reaches of Drichu (Yangtse), Zachu (Mekong) and Salween. It clearly disregards the geological risks, global biodiversity, resettlement and impacts on downstream communities. This plan also includes the reopening of previously shelved dam projects on the Salween River due to environmental concerns. On a macro level, China is planning to install 1.2 TW (1200 GW) of water-reliant power capacity by 2030 and 277 GW of coal fired power plant by 2015. As for the latter case, the majority of the coal reserves in China are in water scarce regions of Shanxi and Inner Mongolia and it is a well known that coal mining requires heavy water use[6].

Managing and securing the water resource in Tibet could be the biggest and most important challenge for the new Chinese leaders. Downstream users of water originating in Tibet should establish a regional forum to create policies on trans boundary issues that effectively safeguard access and quality of water, at a time of accelerating glacier melt and damming activities.

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[1] As quoted in (‘The McKinsey Report’)by IDSA, Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi, 'Water Security For India: The External Dynamics,' IDSA Task Force Report, September, 2010, ISBN # 81-86019-83-9

[2] Himalayan Glaciers: Climate Change, Water Resources, and Water Security Committee on Himalayan Glaciers, Hydrology, Climate Change, and Implications for Water Security; Board on Atmospheric Studies and Climate; Division on Earth and Life Studies; National Research Council http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13449

[3] 'Why has water-rich Yunnan become a drought hotspot?', http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/en/5940-Why-has-water-rich-Yunnan-become-a-drought-hotspot-

[4] Yusha Hu, Foreign Investment in China’s Water Infrastructure, A New Strategy for National Security. http://www.chinasecurity.us/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=308&Itemid=8

[5] Ban lifted on controversial Nu River dam projects,

http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1135463/ban-lifted-controversial-nu-river-dam-projects

[6] HSBC Global research, ‘No water, no power, Is there enough water to fuel China’s power expansion?’ September, 2012.