TIBET: THE WATER TOWER OF
ASIA
Towards A Global Common Good
By
Dr. Tsewang Gyalpo Arya*
Abstract: Tibet, a country
situated on the world`s highest plateau with an average height of 4000 meters
from sea level, is known to the world as the Roof of the World. But for the
environment and climate scientists, it is popularly known as the Third Pole and
for the Southeast countries as the Water Tower of Asia. The ecology of Tibet is
said to be very important in the context of global climate change and as the source
of fresh water for the Southeast Asian nations. However, the plateau is
suffering great damage due to the increased Chinese militarization, damming,
and mining activities. In this paper, we shall study how Tibet is the water
tower of Asia and why the protection of the Tibetan plateau is incumbent on all
of us.
Keywords:
Tibet, Tibetan plateau, Roof of the World, Third Pole, Water Tower of Asia,
Damming of Tibet, Tibet Ecology
Why Tibet's environment
and ecosystem is important?
What
is happening to Tibet's ecology does not forebode well for Tibet, Asia, and the
world. Tibet has suffered great ecological disturbance and environmental damage
since the 1950s under the Chinese colonial policy of excessive mining,
deforestation, damming, and militarization of the plateau. Environmentalists
and scientists have realized that this continued damage to the Tibetan
environment will mean rapid melting of the Himalayan glaciers and permafrost
affecting the livelihood of more than 1.5 billion people down the stream and
further triggering global warming.
Tibet,
comprising the three traditional provinces of U-Tsang, Amdo, and Kham, has an
area of 2.5 million square kilometers, five times the size of Thailand and six
times the size of Japan. It has an elevation of more than 4000 meters and holds
the largest number of glaciers next to the North and the South pole, therefore,
it is referred to as the third pole. These glaciers are the source of ten major
rivers and tributaries sustaining and feeding the land and the people in
Southeast Asian countries of India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Bhutan, China,
Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam.
Photo: Tibet Museum, DIIR
Dharamsala
Tibet
has maintained a good and balanced relationship with its environment since
ancient times. The estimated population of Tibet is over 6 million, very sparse
for a vast land, and the people are devoted to their religion and spiritual
pursuits. Nature has it that way to make them the perfect guardians of the
plateau for the benefit of all sentient beings and global climate stability.
Mountains, rivers, and forests are revered and treated as the abode of gods and
goddesses. Mining, fishing, hunting, and deforestation are forbidden.
The
philosophy and the law of interdependence were at the core of the Tibetan value
system and civilization.
It
has environmental decrees issued occasionally to maintain this balance with
nature and other living beings. Ri-rgya-klung-rgya, Ri-rlung-rtsa-tshig,
bK`-bdus-tsa-tshig, and Yarlung-bya-gso-khang[1] are
some of such decrees protecting the environment and wildlife on the plateau. In
fact, scholars say that Tibetans were perhaps the first to have laws on the
environment. Man, animals, and nature all lived together harmoniously. This has
saved the Himalayan plateau and the glaciers, and the neighboring countries
could enjoy the blessing of the pure snow water of Tibet since ancient times
undisturbed.
How
Tibet is the water tower of Asia?
46,000
glaciers and the vast permafrost on the Tibetan plateau and the rivers are the
major sources of rivers in Asia. Senge-khabab, Langchen-khabab, Maja-khabab,
and Tachog-khabab are the four great rivers originating from the base of Mount
Kailash in western Tibet and flowing into India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.
Among the many reasons why Mount Kailash has been worshiped by Indians and
Tibetans of various religious schools since ancient times, this could be the
one logical reason. Senge-khabab flows through India to Pakistan as the Indus
River. Langchen-khabab flows southward as Sutlej in western India. Maja-khabab
becomes the sacred Ganges through Gangotri. Tachok-khabab flows eastward and,
joining Kyichu becomes Yarlung-tsangpo and flows to India and Bangladesh as
Brahmaputra.
International Campaign
for Tibet (ICT) Washington DC
Gyalmo-ngyulchu
from central Tibet flows to south China, Myanmar, and Thailand as Nujiang,
Thalween, and Salween. Zachu River of Tibet is the famous Mekong River. It is
5000 kilometers long from its source in Tibet to the South China Sea nourishing
millions of people in China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam[2].
Drichu
and Machu Rivers of Tibet are the sources of the Yangtse and Huangho Yellow
Rivers of China. These two rivers are the longest rivers in China and the
Huangho Yellow River is considered the cradle of Chinese civilization. From
this, we can understand how important Tibet is as the source of water in Asia.
How
this water tower is being damaged?
With
the occupation of Tibet by Communist China in 1950 and with the increased human
activities under Chinese colonial policy, we are witnessing great damage to the
Tibetan plateau and the ecosystem. This damage comes in the form of melting of
the glaciers and permafrost due to increased militarization of the Tibetan
plateau, increased housing, and industrial projects because of increased
migration from mainland China, excessive mining of the mountains, and damming
of the Tibetan rivers.
This
continued damage to the Tibetan environment has increased the temperatures at
the plateau negatively affecting the net accumulation of glaciers and
permafrost. The Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development has
reported that temperature warming more than 1 degree centigrade on the Tibetan
side of the Himalayas will result in rapid melting of the glaciers which will
be disastrous for the plateau and all the riparian states[3]. If the
current rate of increase in the temperature continues, scientists say that by
2050, 2/3 of the 46,000 glaciers in the Tibetan plateau will be lost[4].
This will cause an acute shortage of fresh and life-sustaining water in the
riparian Southeast Asian states.
On
top of this melting glacier crisis, China is building dams to contain these
rivers for its mega hydro projects and changing the rivers' course without
consultation with the riparian states below. Ms. Dechen Palmo, a research
fellow at the Tibet Policy Institute, writes, "Over the last seven
decades, the People's Republic of China has constructed more than 87,000 dams.
Collectively they generate 325.26 GW of power, more than the capacities of
Brazil, the United States, and Canada combined. On the other hand, these
projects have led to the displacement of over 23 million people."[5]
International
Campaign for Tibet (ITC) reports that the Chinese government plans to construct
large hydropower stations in Tibetan areas, likely to have a negative impact on
the environment and lead to the relocation of thousands of local people. At
least one project directly affects a UNESCO-protected World Heritage site.[6]
As
of now, China has built several thousand dams, dikes, and reservoirs in Tibet
and China. With these dams and dikes, China could release water to cause flood
and at the same time stop the tap creating a draught situation downstream. This
is very dangerous and intimidating. China already has 11 huge dams upstream of
the Mekong River putting Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam at the
mercy of China's "open and close tap" policy. China plans to build many more dams and dikes
in the Lower Mekong Basin under the guise of One Belt One Road (OBOR) or the
Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) promising mega hydropower and development.
How
this OBOR or BRI has benefitted the participating nations is an open secret and
well delineated in the report by the International Republican Institute (IRI)[7]Washington
for all to see. The developing countries should be careful enough not to be
taken for a ride by this Chinese overture to collaborate and generate
hydro-energy, it will only fulfill the strategic ambition of China's
hydro-hegemony. It is also said that most of the dams are constructed in highly
seismic-prone zones, this forebodes great dangers of flood and inundation in
the event of earthquake.
How
this damage to the water tower will affect the neighboring countries?
China's
continued militarization, excessive exploitation of mineral resources of the
Tibetan plateau, and damming of rivers in Tibet have adversely affected climate
change, global warming, and the stable flow of water to Southeast Asian
countries. The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development
(ICIMOD) has reported that at the current pace of melting glaciers with
increased temperature and human activities, the Ganges, Brahmaputra, Indus and
other rivers across the northern India plains would soon become seasonal
rivers. This would greatly affect the livelihood of millions of people in
India, Pakistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh. World Wildlife Fund (WWF) for Nature
has reported that the Indus River is one of the world`s ten rivers most at
risk. This is because China has built a dam on the dying river in the Ngari
region of Western Tibet without sharing the information with India and Pakistan[8].
Recent
news in Japan Times reports that the UN has declared South Asia the worst in
the world for water scarcity. "A staggering 347 million children under 18
are exposed to high or extremely high water scarcity in South Asia regions
plagued by floods, draughts, and other extreme weather events, triggered by
increasing climate change."[9]
Experts
blame China's mega dam projects as the cause of the historic drought crisis in
2019 where Mekong's water levels fell to their lowest[10] and
the livelihood of 70 million people in Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and
Vietnam were affected. Agriculture, fishery, forestry, tourism, trade, and
transportation industries suffered greatly. Just as the Huangho Yellow River
was the cradle of Chinese civilization, the Mekong River was the cradle of
Southeast Asian country's civilization.
We
come across many reports and articles on how the Mekong is drying up and how
people's lives, flora and fauna, agriculture, fisheries, and tourism are
affected. The Head of the Mekong Program at Mae Fah Luang University in
Thailand, Dr. Khen Suan Khai, writes "The once mighty and resourceful
Mekong is in a critical situation. The Mekong River is maltreated; the lands
are mismanaged; unconscious development projects in the region are cluttered.
All in all, the people are suffering and their voices need to be heard. The
Mekong's floodplains and 37 wetlands sustain about 61 million people living in
the five countries of Cambodia, Laos, Burma/Myanmar, Vietnam, and Thailand.
However, the development activities in the Upper Mekong Basin and unconscious
development projects in the lower Mekong have challenged regional stability and
the balance of power in the region."[11]
Figure 2: Sub-basins,
major rivers, and evaluation of the UMB in China
https://www.mrcmekong.org/our-work/topics/hydropower/
Another
major cause of co-disasters is China`s excessive mining of the Tibetan plateau.
Tibet has deposits of more than 132 different minerals like copper, silver,
coal, gold, lithium, lead, zinc, oil, gas, magnesium, uranium, etc. China
forced more than 2 million Tibetan nomads between 2006 and 2012 to the cities
under the slogan of development and protecting the environment[12].
Many nomads lost their land and livestock and found themselves on the street
without proper livelihoods. China made them dependent on the minimal government
subsidy to have total control over them.
China`s
colonial policy of aggressively mining Tibet's mountains for mineral resources
and taking the booty to mainland China is damaging the fragile Tibet's
ecosystem. It is reported, "China's booming electric vehicle industry is
fueling a lithium rush in the Tibetan plateau that risks damaging the troubled
region's fragile ecology and deepening rights violations." Around 85% of
the country's total lithium reserves are said to be in Tibet.”[13]
China has boasted of its environmental law in its white paper, but
environmental damage due to excessive mining in the Tibetan plateau has led to
water pollution and the death of aquatic life. Local environmental groups who
protested the mining of the sacred mountains were arrested under the charge of
"separatism, disrupting peace and security" in the region[14].
Gabriel
Lafitte, the author of "Spoiling Tibet" writes,
"Environmentalists are aghast. So certain these days are the arrest,
detention, tortures, and public confession, for publically questioning official
policy, they dare not speak directly. This is their plea."[15]
Water
pollution in the Tibetan plateau is not good for all the nations below the
streams.
What
H.H. the Dalai Lama has said about the planet Earth?
H.H.
the Dalai Lama has said, "This planet of ours is a delightful habitat. Its
life is our life, its future is our future. Indeed the earth acts like a mother
to us all. Like children, we are dependent on her. In the face of such global
problems as the effect of global heating and depletion of the ozone layer,
individual organizations and single nations are helpless. Unless we all work
together, no solution can be found. Our Mother Earth is teaching us a lesson in
universal responsibility. Take the issue of water as an example. Today, more
than ever, the welfare of citizens in many parts of the world, especially of
mothers and children, is at extreme risk because of the lack of adequate water,
sanitation, and hygienic conditions. It is concerning that the absence of these
essential health services throughout the world impacts nearly two billion
people.
"Interdependence
is a fundamental law of nature. Ignorance of interdependence has wounded not
just our natural environment, but our human society as well. Therefore, we
human beings must develop a greater sense of the oneness of all humanity. Each
of us must learn to work not only for his or herself, family, or nation but for
the benefit of all mankind."[16]
So,
we can see how we have greatly deviated from what His Holiness has said. What
is happening in Tibet, what is happening in Ukraine, and what is happening in
Gaza right now is all because of our divisive way of thinking about the
"I, you, and they" concept. We all must see that this Tibetan
Plateau, the Water Tower of Asia, belongs to all of us and we all need to
protect it if we want our children to continue to have a peaceful life with a continued
supply of fresh water from the Water Tower of Asia. For this, we all must
uphold the principle of global community and the need for universal
responsibility as advocated by H.H. the Dalai Lama.
What
do we all need to do to save this tower?
What
happens at the rivers upstream is definitely going to affect the rivers
downstream and the people. Therefore, the environment and ecology of Tibet is
not a matter of Tibetan people only. It is a critical issue for all of us, it
is a global issue. It affects global warming and climate change, and the lives
of more than 3 billion people, 40% of the world's population. So, we all need
to ensure that Tibet's environment and ecology are properly protected so that
people and lands dependent on the rivers from the Tibetan plateau are not
deprived of this water resource and their livelihood.
Prof.
Brahma Chellaney has in one of his writings concluded "China - with its
hold over Asia's transnational water resources and boasting more than half of
the world's 50,000 large dams - has made the control and manipulation of river
flows a pivot of its power and economic progress. Unless it is willing to play
a leadership role in developing a rule-based system, the economic and security
risks arising from the Asian water competition can scarcely be mitigated."[17]
Therefore,
we all need to urge China to share hydro project-related information with the
nations concerned and stop the China-centric hydro hegemonic policy. This
Chinese mad rush in damming all the rivers from Tibet will not only be
disastrous for Tibet and the riparian states but also to mainland China. The
riparian nations need to make the international community aware of this
critical water issue and chalk out a way to deal with this crisis not in
isolation but through collective effort for the global common good.
སེང་གླང་མ་རྟ་་ཨིན་སཊ་གང་བྷྲ་བཞི། བོད་ཀྱི་གཙང་པོ་འཕགས་ཡུལ་ཕྱོགས་ལ་འགྲིམ།
རྒྱལ་མོ་དངུལ་ཆུ་རྒྱ་བཱར་ཐཱེ་གསུམ་གྱི། ནུ་ཇིང་ཐལ་ཝིན་སལ་ཝིན་གཙང་པོ་ཡིན།
ཛ་ཆུ་རྒྱ་བཱར་ལའོ་ཐཱེ་ཀམ་ཝེཊ་ཡི། མེ་ཀོང་གཙང་པོ་ཆེན་པོ་དེ་ཡིན་ནོ།
བྲི་རྨ་རྒྱ་ཡི་གཡང་རྩེ་ཧུ་ཝང་ཧོ། གཙང་ཆེན་དག་གི་བྱུང་ཁུངས་བོད་ཡིན་ནོ།
བོད་ཀྱི་ཁོར་ཡུག་སྲུང་སྐྱོབས་འབད་གལ་ཆེ།
Senge,
Langchen, Maja, and Tachog Rivers of Tibet are the Indus, Sutlej, Ganges, and
Brahmaputra, Tibet's rivers flow to the Arya Bhumi.
Gyalmo-Nyulchu
is China, Burma, and Thailand's Nujinag, Thalween, and Salween Rivers.
Zachu
is China, Burma, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam's Mekong River
Drichu
and Machu are China's Yangtse and Huangho. All these great rivers` sources are
in Tibet. Therefore, it is very important to protect Tibet's environment.
*Dr.
Tsewang Gyalpo Arya is the Representative of the Liaison Office of H.H. the
Dalai Lama for Japan & East Asia. He is the former Secretary of the
Department of Information and International Relations (DIIR) and the Former
Director of the Tibet Policy Institute of the Central Tibetan Administration
(CTA) in Dharamsala, India. This paper was presented as an opening remark during
the 4th Tibet Environment Conference “Tibet: The Water Tower of Asia
– Towards A Global Common Good” from 27-28 November 2023 at Chulalongkorn
University, Bangkok, Thailand.
End Notes:
[1] Tenzin Norbu, Tibet: The Third Pole &
the Himalayas, FNVA
[2] Khen Suan Khai, Threats to the existence
of Riparian Communities of the Mekong, 17/08/2021, Heinrich Boll
[3] Institute for Governance &
Sustainable Development, Retreat of Tibetan Plateau Glaciers Caused by Global
Warming Threatens Water Supply and Food Security, August, 2010
[4]Zamlha Tempa Gyaltsen, The Tibetan
Plateau: Why it Matters to the Indian Subcontinent, Tibet Policy Journal, Vol-
issue
[5] Dechen Palmo, Tibet's Rivers Will
Determine Asia's Future, The Diplomat, 1/11/2019
[6] Damming Tibet`s Rivers
New Threats to Tibetan Area under UNESCO Protection, International Campaign for
Tibet (ICT) Report 2019
[7] Chinese Malign Influence and the
Corrosion of Democracy by the International Republican Institute (IRI) Report
2019
[8]Aashina Thakur, Tibet is “Third Pole and
Water Tower of Asia”: River flowed throughout Asia 1/02/2021
[9] South Asia worst in the world for water
scarcity, says U.N. Japan Times, p-6, 14/11/2023
[10] Lee Kok Leong, Mekong River Faces
Existential Threat From Chinese Dams, 23/06/2022, Maritime Fairtrade
[11]Khen Suan Khai, Threats to the Existence
of Riparian Communities of the Mekong, 17/08/2021, Heinrich Boll
[12] Tibet was never a part of China, p-129,
DIIR publications, 2018
[13] China's lithium boom harming fragile
Tibetan plateau, Japan Times, p-4, 4-5/11/2023
[14]https://tibet.net/chinese-government-sentences-seven-years-prison-term-to-a-tibetan-nomad-and-community-activist-after-sham-trial/
[15] Damming Tibet`s Rivers New Threats to
Tibetan Area under UNESCO Protection, International Campaign for Tibet (ICT)
Report 2019
[16] H.H. the Dalai Lama, Message for Earth
Day, 22/04/2021, www.dalailama.com
[17] Brahma Chellaney, Chellaney: China's
great water wall, The Washington Times, 8/04/2013
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