China officially approved in December a mega-project of hydroelectric dam installed in Tibet, downstream from the Yarlung Zangbo river. This project arouses concerns in India and Bangladesh, as well as from activists for human rights and the environment in Tibet.
What is it?
Called Moto, this 60 gigawatts hydroelectric dam project is planned to be three times larger than that of the three gorges (22.5 GW), the largest current hydroelectric installation in the world. It would be installed on the Yarlung Tsangpo, the longest river in Tibet. It is part of a series of hydroelectric damage projects, some already under construction, China wishing to increase its share of renewable energies in its electricity consumption “by 28.8 % in 2020 to 33 % this year”, according to An article in the economic newspaper Financial Times. A detailed report From the international association Campaign for Tibet thus shows that 193 dams have already been built in Tibet since 2000.
The Chinese government officially approved this new mega-project in December. “The hydroelectric project of the lower course of the Yarlung Zangbo river is an ecological project aimed at promoting development with a low carbon issue,” said a press release published on December 25 by the Chinese news agency Xinhuawho adds that it is a “popular project aimed at ensuring the prosperity of Tibet” and which “respects ecological priorities.”
Why is the project challenged?
The project is disputed on several fronts, in particular because China has given little specific information about it. According to the New York Times“even the basic design of the dam is unknown”. However in India, the Yarlung Tsangpo is called Brahmapoutre and then throws itself into the Jamuna in Bangladesh. The dam is also near the border with the Indian State of the Arunachal Pradesh, a territory where the Financial Timesthe two parties waged a war in 1962. “India and Bangladesh fear that the dam will modify the natural flow of the river, which could disrupt access to water for agriculture, drink and Other essential human needs “, according to the specialist in rivers and water supply in South Asia, Neeraj Singh Manhas, interviewed by the economic newspaper.
India prayed to China in early January “to ensure that the interests of states located downstream of the Brahmapoutre”, that is to say India and Bangladesh, “do not suffer any damage due to upstream activities,” said The spokesman for the Indian Foreign Minister, Randir Jaiswal. “This is a megaprojet which leads to many ecological disturbances and which does not take into account the interests of states” located downstream, he added.
Population displacements and ecological impact
In addition, the dam is located in a seismic activity area, which could cause floods in the event of a crack or mudslides. As journalists from the New York Timesthe Chinese authorities have declared cracks on five hydroelectric dams in Tibet after an earthquake of magnitude 7.1 this month.
The international association Campaign for Tibet also deplores the forced displacements of the population caused by this dam work, as well as environmental damage. “Given the size of the hydroelectric project and the risks of landslides linked to construction, it is very likely that at least 928 people living in an area of impact […] will be expelled, “calculated the NGO. According to their database, at least 144,000 people are known to have been expelled and relocated due to a hydroelectric installation in Tibet, while they estimate more than 750 000 The number of people really affected. “In addition to negatively changing ecologically unique ecosystems by flooding agricultural land, forests, prairies and wildlife habitats and digging the mountains, dams interrupt aquatic life , the soil, water and nutrient flows, essential to the maintenance of life in countries downstream “, still deplores the association.
Last year, Tibetans had demonstrated against a dam project which threatened monasteries and sacred places of destruction. The uprising had been harshly repressed by the Chinese authorities, with battered and arrested demonstrators, according to a BBC survey.