China will build the largest hydroelectric dam in the world in Tibet

China has approved the construction of what will be the world’s largest hydroelectric dam, stoking concerns about the displacement of communities in Tibet and environmental impacts downstream in India and Bangladesh.

The dam, which will be located on the lower reaches of the Yarlung Tsangpo River, could generate three times more energy than the Three Gorges Dam, currently the largest hydroelectric power station in the world.

Chinese state media has described the development as “a safe project that prioritizes ecological protection”, saying it will boost local prosperity and contribute to Beijing’s climate neutrality goals.

However, human rights groups and experts have expressed concern about the side effects of the development.

Among them is fear that the construction of the dam, first announced in late 2020, could displace local communities, as well as significantly alter the natural landscape and damage local ecosystems, which are among the richest. and diverse of the Tibetan plateau.

China has built several dams in Tibetan areas, a contentious issue in a region closely controlled by Beijing since it was annexed in the 1950s.

Activists previously told the BBC that the dams are the latest example of Beijing’s exploitation of Tibetans and their land. Buddhist-majority Tibet has seen waves of repression over the years, in which thousands of people are believed to have died.

Earlier this year, the Chinese government detained hundreds of Tibetans who had been protesting another hydroelectric dam. It ended in arrests and beatings, with some people seriously injured, the The BBC found out through verified sources and images..

They had opposed plans to build the Gangtuo dam and hydroelectric plant, which would displace several villages and submerge ancient monasteries with sacred relics. Beijing, however, said it had relocated and compensated locals, and moved the ancient murals to a safe location.

In the case of the Yarlung Tsangpo dam, Chinese authorities have stressed that the project would not have a major environmental impact, but have not indicated how many people it would displace. The Three Gorges hydroelectric dam required the resettlement of 1.4 million people.

Reports indicate that the colossal development would require the drilling of at least four 20 kilometer-long tunnels through the Namcha Barwa mountain, diverting the flow of the Yarlung Tsangpo, Tibet’s longest river.

Experts and officials have also raised concerns that the dam would allow China to control or divert the flow of the cross-border river, which flows south into the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam and then into Bangladesh.

A 2020 report published by the Lowy Institute, an Australia-based think tank, noted that “control over these rivers (on the Tibetan Plateau) effectively gives China strangled control over India’s economy.”

Shortly after China announced its plans for the Yarlung Tsangpo Dam project in 2020, a senior Indian government official told Reuters that the Indian government was exploring the development of a large dam and hydroelectric reservoir “to mitigate the adverse impact of Chinese dam projects”.

China’s Foreign Ministry previously responded to India’s concerns over the proposed dam, saying in 2020 that China has a “legitimate right” to dam the river and has considered downstream impacts.

China has built multiple hydropower plants along the course of the Yarlung Tsangpo over the past decade in a bid to harness the river’s power as a renewable energy source. A section of the river, which flows through the deepest canyon on Earth, drops 2,000 meters in a short stretch of just 50 km, offering enormous potential for generating hydroelectric power.

However, the river’s spectacular topography also poses significant engineering challenges, and this latest dam is by far China’s largest and most ambitious to date.

The development site is located along the boundary of an earthquake-prone tectonic plate. Chinese researchers have also previously raised concerns that such extensive excavation and construction in the narrow, steep gorge would increase the frequency of landslides.

“Earthquake-induced landslides and mud and rock flows are often uncontrollable and will also pose a great threat to the project,” a senior engineer at the Sichuan provincial geological bureau said in 2022.

The project could cost up to one trillion yuan ($127bn; £109.3bn) according to estimates by the Chongyi Water Resources office.