{"id":14288,"date":"2021-03-09T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-03-09T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/current_affairs\/uncategorized\/09-03-2021\/chinese-approval-to-dam-on-brahmaputra\/"},"modified":"2021-03-09T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2021-03-09T00:00:00","slug":"chinese-approval-to-dam-on-brahmaputra","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/09-03-2021\/chinese-approval-to-dam-on-brahmaputra","title":{"rendered":"Chinese Approval to Dam on Brahmaputra"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>In News<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Recently, <strong>China has approved<\/strong> the first <strong>dams to be built on the lower reaches of the<\/strong> <strong>Brahmaputra<\/strong> (known as <strong>Yarlung Zangbo in Tibet<\/strong>).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Key Highlights<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The <strong>Chinese draft outline of the new Five-Year Pla<\/strong>n (FYP) for 2025 mentions the <strong>building of hydropower bases<\/strong> on the lower reaches of the river as among the<strong> priority energy projects<\/strong>.\n<ul>\n<li>The<strong> lower reaches <\/strong>refer to the<strong> sections of the river in Tibet before it flows into India<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>The authorities have<strong> approved to begin tapping the lower reaches for the first time<\/strong>, which <strong>marks a new chapter<\/strong> <strong>in the hydropower exploitation<\/strong> of the river.<\/li>\n<li>The <strong>precise location of the project has not been mentioned<\/strong>. However, the potential locations are the \u201c<strong>Great Bend<\/strong>\u201d of the Brahmaputra and at the <strong>Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon in Medog county<\/strong>, where the river falls over a 2,000 metre-drop and turns sharply to flow across the border into Arunachal Pradesh.\n<ul>\n<li>The <strong>50-km section at Great Bend <\/strong>alone offers the potential of <strong>70 million kWh<\/strong>, which will<strong> help in realising China\u2019s goal <\/strong>of reaching a <strong>carbon emissions peak before 2030 <\/strong>and<strong> carbon neutrality in 2060<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>It also suggests that <strong>various long-pending proposals<\/strong> from Chinese hydropower companies to build dams on the lower reaches <strong>may be approved <\/strong>in near future.<\/li>\n<li>Other major projects include the <strong>construction of coastal nuclear power plants<\/strong> and <strong>power transmission channels<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Earlier Projects<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>In <strong>2015<\/strong>, China operationalised its <strong>first hydropower project at Zangmu<\/strong> in Tibet, while three other dams at <strong>Dagu<\/strong>, <strong>Jiexu <\/strong>and <strong>Jiacha <\/strong>are being developed, all on the <strong>upper and middle reaches<\/strong> of the river.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Earlier efforts and plans for dams downstream did not pass technical feasibility studies <\/strong>because of <strong>concerns over the environmental impact<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>India\u2019s Stand<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>India has <strong>expressed concerns over the four planned dams on the upper and middle reaches<\/strong>.\n<ul>\n<li>As per Indian officials, these dams <strong>may not greatly impact Brahmaputra\u2019s flows<\/strong> in India because they are <strong>only storing water for power generation<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Also, <strong>Brahmaputra is not entirely dependent on upstream flows<\/strong> with an estimated 35% of its basin in India.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>However,<strong> dams on the lower reaches and at the Great Bend<\/strong> would raise<strong> fresh concerns<\/strong> because of the <strong>location across the border<\/strong> from Arunachal Pradesh and the <strong>potential impact downstream<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Major Concerns<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Risky Location<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The location poses a risk as the <strong>Himalayas are one of the most vulnerable to earthquakes and seismic activity<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Earthquake-induced landslides and flash floods<\/strong> pose a major threat to several dams and other facilities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Basin Degradation<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The dams will<strong> block the major amount of silt <\/strong>carried by the river which would lead to <strong>soil-degradation<\/strong> and ultimately<strong> reduce agricultural productivity<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Threat to Biodiversity<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>This region has various <strong>species of flora and fauna which are endemic<\/strong> to only this part of the world and any <strong>change in the river flow poses a threat to their existence<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>The region has multiple species listed as <strong>threatened in the IUCN Red List<\/strong>. For example, the<strong> Gangetic river dolphin<\/strong>, also found in the Brahmaputra is<strong> critically endangered<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Impact on Population<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Downstream damming <\/strong>would lead to water security, hampering the people living in India and further in Bangladesh.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Strategic Aspects<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>During <strong>standoffs and high tensions<\/strong>, there are<strong> chances of significant change in water flows<\/strong> or<strong> lack of communication on flows<\/strong> from the Chinese side.<\/li>\n<li>In <strong>2018<\/strong>, during the <strong>Doklam border standoff<\/strong>, China <strong>stopped communication of water flow levels<\/strong> from its dams, which led to India\u2019s total unawareness about floods at that time.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<table border=\"1\" cellspacing=\"0\" style=\"width:624px\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"vertical-align:top; width:468.0pt\">\n<p><strong>Brahmaputra<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>It is a<strong> major river of Central and South Asia<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>It originates from the <strong>Chemayungdung glacier of the Kailash range<\/strong> near the <strong>Mansarovar lake<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>It passes through the <strong>Tibet<\/strong> Autonomous Region of China, the Indian states of <strong>Arunachal Pradesh and Assam<\/strong>, and <strong>Bangladesh<\/strong> and enters India <strong>west of Sadiya town <\/strong>in Arunachal Pradesh.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Tributaries:<\/strong> Dibang, Lohit, Siang, Burhi Dihing, Tista, and Dhansari.<\/li>\n<li>It is a <strong>perennial river and has several peculiar characteristics<\/strong> due to the <strong>physiography <\/strong>and prevailing <strong>climatic conditions<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>In its lower course, the river is both <strong>a creator and a destroyer<\/strong> as it deposits <strong>huge quantities of fertile alluvial soil<\/strong> but also causes <strong>disastrous and frequent floods<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>It flows around 2,900 km from its source in the Himalayas to its <strong>confluence with the Ganges<\/strong> (Ganga) River, after which the mixed waters empty into the Bay of Bengal at <strong>Sunderban Delta<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Brahmaputra basin is <strong>one of the world\u2019s most ecologically sensitive zones<\/strong> and is <strong>identified as one of the world\u2019s 34 biological hotspots<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cfstatic.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/file_library\/mix_content\/709044791542152200_image.png\" style=\"height:308px; margin-left:50px; margin-right:50px; width:359px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em>(Image Courtesy: <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.downtoearth.org.in\/news\/landslide-dams-tsangpo-river-3476\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>DTE<\/em><\/a><em>)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><strong>Way Forward<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Both India and China<strong> must stop new constructions <\/strong>on the Brahmaputra and start <strong>looking for potentially less destructive solutions<\/strong> like building a decentralised network of check dams, rain-capturing lakes and using traditional means of water capture.<\/li>\n<li>These measures have shown striking results in <strong>restoring the ecological balance<\/strong> while <strong>supporting the populations<\/strong> of the regions in a sustainable manner.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Developmental and conservation policies<\/strong>, working on <strong>science-based planning<\/strong> and assessment can give full consideration to impact downstream and accommodate the interests of all regions.<\/li>\n<li>All these <strong>measures along with better communication <\/strong>among India, China and Bangladesh will lead to less stress and more development in the region.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/international\/china-gives-green-light-for-first-downstream-dams-on-brahmaputra\/article34014912.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source: TH<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In News Recently, China has approved the first dams to be built on the lower reaches of the Brahmaputra (known as Yarlung Zangbo in Tibet). Key Highlights The Chinese draft outline of the new Five-Year Plan (FYP) for 2025 mentions the building of hydropower bases on the lower reaches of the river as among the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14289,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[25],"class_list":["post-14288","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-current-affairs","tag-gs1"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2023\/07\/4649116current-affairs (1).jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14288","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14288"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14288\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14289"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14288"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14288"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14288"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}