Ron van Maurik
Times of India
Sep 2, 2014
China is assessing necessary policies to cope with their water shortage. These policies do, however, entail detrimental international implications; something which should not go unnoticed.
The northern regions of China and China’s major cities are having dire levels of water scarcity, and, needless to say, China is deploying the necessary measures to cope with these shortages. Besides its South-to-North Water Diversion Project (SNWDP), China is also conducting projects in trans-boundary rivers, leading to direct consequences for lower-riparian regions and countries.
The Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (also known as the roof of the world) is home to the largest freshwater reserves outside the north and south poles. This region is also home to the headwaters of many of Asia’s main rivers. It further provides residence for an increasing number of dams, which entails ecological and economic effects for countries in South- and Southeast Asia. Currently, there are five mega dams in use in the Lancang river (which eventually flows into the Mekong), already leading to sedimentation, erosion of riverbanks, and reduction of fish, in countries like Thailand and Laos. The flow of the river has also become more unpredictable, leading to unexpected droughts or floods in downstream regions. China is currently constructing another eight dams in this river, and has plans present for even more.
Earlier this year, China announced its latest five-year energy plan, containing proposals for more hydroelectric plants, including three more dams on the Brahmaputra river, which is one of the larger rivers that runs through India and Bangladesh. These proposals had rung alarm bells in India, who for good and obvious reasons showed concern for their own future water resources.
Considering that there are no clear international agreements revolving China’s water management, further and larger scaled projects could be in sight, as is the perhaps entailed geopolitical tension in that region. The countries that are affected by China’s water management will probably not have a significant impact on China’s policy, as they are unlikely to unite themselves against China, for they are too caught up in fighting each other over their own water issues. Increased water shortages in these countries will only fuel their own conflicts; potentially including Indian-Pakistan conflicts and Sino-Indian border disputes.
Diverting water from countries or regions could result in humanitarian crises caused by water scarcity and drought. If China deprives India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and other countries from water from trans-boundary rivers, agricultural production will take a dire hit in those countries. In order to meet their demand their agricultural import will probably increase, possible resulting in food price hikes, which will further aggravate the region’s instability. The world has witnessed food price upsurges for a couple of times this last decade, and showed to have grim implications for developing countries, especially for their less fortunate inhabitants.
It is evident that national water policy entails direct effects on lower riparian states or regions, and might even result in effects on a global scale. This makes it important that national water policy should not simply be conducted with national consideration. Considering ecological, economical, and humanitarian reasons, it is of the utmost importance that water policies with international implications should be analyzed, checked, and agreed upon on an international level.
