US coordinator highlights Tibet’s role as regional freshwater source

Regional Freshwater Source:- A U.S. official who handles Tibetan issues has called for information sharing about environmental changes taking place in Tibetan areas of China to help scientists prepare for climate change. 

Uzra Zeya, the U.S. special coordinator for Tibetan issues, emphasized the critical role of the Tibetan Plateau in advancing global water security in virtual remarks given on Saturday to the World Water Week 2024 conference in Stockholm.

Zeya highlighted the negative effects of the increase in Chinese hydropower and water diversion projects in Tibet, including their impact on the Brahmaputra, Indus, and Mekong rivers for South and Southeast Asian nations. 

The projects have been carried out without input from the 6 million Tibetans living in China, she said as part of a panel of speakers on water security.

“Opaque governance institutions and infrastructure development without inclusive public input exacerbate the impact of warming temperatures,” Zeya said.

The glaciers, alpine lakes and waterfalls of the vast Tibetan Plateau are water sources for many of Asia’s largest rivers. 

But the region’s warming climate is causing quicker melting and evaporation, threatening the plateau’s freshwater reserves. Industrial activity, deforestation and mining have also affected the quantity and quality of Tibet’s water sources.

These factors could lead to water scarcity in the future, scientists say. 

Displaced by dams

Nevertheless, the Chinese government has increasingly sought to manage and control Tibet’s water resources for its own benefit, building dozens of hydropower dams on rivers originating upstream in the Tibetan Plateau. 

In some cases, the projects have been met with anger by Tibetans facing displacement and loss of agricultural and grazing land. 

In February, over 300 Tibetans in Dege county of Kardze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan province staged a rare protest against China’s plans to build the 1,100-megawatt Gangtuo hydropower dam on the Drichu River.

The project was expected to displace residents of at least two villages and destroy several monasteries with religious and historical significance, including the Wonto and Yena monasteries.

A video shared exclusively with Radio Free Asia by a source who recorded it in early July shows that nothing remains of the religious structure, with the monastery’s main prayer halls and the many stupas that surround it completely razed to the ground. 

RFA was able to independently verify the authenticity of the video with two sources from Tibet and in exile. 

In April, Chinese authorities began relocating another 19th-century Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Dragkar county, or Xinghai in Chinese, in Qinghai province due to the expansion of the Yangqu hydropower station on the Yellow River — known as the Machu River among Tibetans.

By July, authorities had demolished the Atsok Dechen Choekhorling Monastery, with video shared exclusively with RFA showing that nothing remained of the religious structure. 

‘Preserve these majestic glaciers’

Zeya, who is also U.S. under secretary for civilian security, democracy and human rights, highlighted the need for data sharing on climate changes taking place in Tibet. 

“Scientists also struggle to obtain and verify data from Tibetan areas of China, which has vast implications for research and policy development,” she said in her address. 

“Without transparent information on areas like snowpack melt, regional partners are hindered from preventing, preparing for, and adapting to our changing climate,” Zeya said. 

Earlier this month, Chinese scientists warned that global warming is causing the rate of glacier evaporation in Tibet to outpace the rate of precipitation, and could result in the permanent disappearance of some low-elevation glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau. 

“The Himalayan Region and Tibetan Plateau and their fragile ecosystems are particularly vulnerable to climate change,” Zeya said. 

“As increased temperatures imperil this frozen cache of freshwater high in the mountains, we are reminded of the imperative to accelerate the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions … to help preserve these majestic glaciers,” she said. 

Stretching across the southern border of the Tibetan Plateau, the Himalayan Mountain region includes over 100,000 square kilometers (38,600 square miles) of glaciers, is one of the largest stores of frozen water in the world, and serves as crucial sources of freshwater for those in the region as well as for over 1.8 billion people downstream, said Zeya, noting that the U.N. General Assembly has declared 2025 as the “Year of International Glaciers’ Preservation.” 

World Water Week 2024, which runs Aug. 24-29, explores the theme “Bridging Borders: Water for a Peaceful and Sustainable Future.” 

The event highlights the critical role of water cooperation in fostering peace and security across communities and nations. RFA/SP