Why does the United States and the West tarnish the development of water resources in the Qinghai Tibet Plateau?

Source: Global TimesAccording to foreign media reports, recently at the World Water Week forum held in Stockholm, Sweden, the United States and the West colluded with the Dalai Lama group to attack and discredit the development and utilization of water resources in China's Qinghai Tibet Plateau. They claim that large-scale hydropower development has had serious consequences downstream, such as inability to access freshwater, impact on ecosystems, and economic damage

Source: Global Times

According to foreign media reports, recently at the World Water Week forum held in Stockholm, Sweden, the United States and the West colluded with the Dalai Lama group to attack and discredit the development and utilization of water resources in China's Qinghai Tibet Plateau. They claim that large-scale hydropower development has had serious consequences downstream, such as inability to access freshwater, impact on ecosystems, and economic damage. In response, multiple Chinese water conservancy experts told Global Times reporters that the rhetoric of the United States, the West, and the Dalai Lama Group is completely disregarding scientific rumors and smearing. In recent years, China's Qinghai Tibet Plateau has achieved tremendous results in water resource protection and utilization, and has also played a significant role in disaster prevention and reduction for downstream countries such as Southeast Asia.

Aerial photo of Guoguo Pond, the Yarlung Zangbo River, Motuo County, Nyingchi, Tibet. (Visual China)

The claim that China's water resource development has caused downstream damage is completely unfounded

In recent years, the utilization and protection of water resources have become another issue in international relations and the game of major powers, especially the active involvement of Western countries in water security affairs in the Asia Pacific region, attempting to make it an important bargaining chip for influencing the affairs of the Asia Pacific region and balancing China. Arguments such as "China's dams are destroying the Mekong River" and "China's water conservancy projects on the Qinghai Tibet Plateau are causing water shortages in Southeast Asian countries" continue to appear in Western media under the guise of research institutions' achievements.

Regarding these arguments fabricated by the United States and the West, Jiang Yunzhong, the director of the Water Resources Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Water Resources and Hydroelectric Sciences, stated in an interview with a reporter from the Global Times that there is no scientific basis for the rumors and smears made by the United States and the West. Firstly, the Qinghai Tibet Plateau has low water consumption and excellent water quality, which does not affect downstream countries' water use. The average annual water resources of the Tibet Autonomous Region and Qinghai Province total more than 500 billion cubic meters, but the water consumption is less than 6 billion cubic meters, which is less than 1.2% of the water resources. It is one of the regions with the lowest water resources development and utilization rate in the world. The water resources of the the Yarlung Zangbo River, Nu River, Lancang River, southern Tibet and western Tibet rivers basically flow to downstream countries.

Jiang Yunzhong introduced that the average precipitation on the Qinghai Tibet Plateau is much smaller than that of downstream countries. Downstream countries have abundant water resources, and the impact of water conservancy engineering construction on downstream countries' water sources, ecology, and economy is very small. At the same time, the regulation of upstream reservoirs can not only regulate runoff to reduce extreme flood disasters in the downstream, but also enhance the flow of downstream rivers during the dry season, which is conducive to improving the regional response capacity to extreme disasters and improving the water supply guarantee rate in the downstream area.

The President of the Water Resources Planning Institute of Changjiang Design Group holds a similar viewpoint. In response to western controversies such as "China's large-scale hydropower development has damaged the ecological environment of the Qinghai Tibet Plateau and had serious consequences for the downstream", he told the Global Times reporter that the Qinghai Tibet Plateau has bred the Yarlung Zangbo River, Nu River, Lancang River and other big rivers, which are rich in water. In fact, the development and utilization rate of water resources of the above rivers in China is still very low at present. For example, the development and utilization rate of Lancang River is 3.9%, the development and utilization rate of Nu River is 2.0%, the development and utilization rate of the Yarlung Zangbo River is 1.3%, accounting for only 0.3% of the whole basin, and the overall development and utilization rate of cross-border rivers in the southwest is less than 3%.

According to public information, in recent years, China has promulgated the "Qinghai Tibet Plateau Ecological Protection Law of the People's Republic of China". As the first specialized law in China to legislate and regulate the ecological protection of the Qinghai Tibet Plateau at the national level, this law strengthens the ecological protection of the Qinghai Tibet Plateau at the legal level. The law clearly stipulates that major engineering construction should avoid important habitats for wild animals, migration and migration routes, and natural concentrated distribution areas of nationally protected wild plants; If it is impossible to avoid it, measures such as building wildlife passages and ex situ protection should be taken to avoid or reduce the impact on natural ecosystems and wildlife. In addition to ensuring residents' electricity use and consolidating border defense needs, it is prohibited to build new small hydropower projects on the Qinghai Tibet Plateau.

In addition, in the development and utilization of transboundary rivers such as the the Yarlung Zangbo River, the upstream reservoir of China is mainly used for power generation and does not consume water. According to Yao Wei, due to the influence of monsoon climate, the interannual and seasonal variations of river runoff in southwestern China are very significant. Due to the obvious function of reservoirs in regulating flood and supplementing drought, the development of hydropower actually increases the dry season runoff and reduces flood volume during the flood season, which is beneficial to the downstream to some extent.

"Taking the the Yarlung Zangbo River as an example, the development and utilization of water resources and hydropower development in China have not adversely affected the downstream Brahmaputra River, which is generally favorable." Yao Wei said that in terms of flood control, through the regulation of reservoirs in China in the flood season, the peak flow at the exit section will be reduced, which is beneficial to the flood control of the downstream Brahmaputra River; In terms of water volume, the water consumption of the the Yarlung Zangbo River basin in China accounts for only 0.3% of the whole basin, which is very small, and does not affect the water intake of downstream countries and regions. The construction of cascade power stations on the main stream will not adversely affect the agricultural irrigation along the Brahmaputra River; In terms of water quality, no pollutants are discharged during the operation of the reservoir, and the operation will not deteriorate the water quality. Moreover, with the implementation of planning schemes such as watershed water resource protection and soil and water conservation, it will have a good improvement effect on river water quality.

Yao Wei added that the United Nations and the World Bank attach great importance to prioritizing the development of hydropower, believing that hydropower is a clean and renewable energy source, accounting for about 80% of the world's developed renewable energy. It is an important form of energy that is conducive to sustained poverty reduction and effective reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, most industrialized countries have high hydropower development rates. The claims made by some media that the development of water resources has led to the inability of downstream access to fresh water, the impact on ecosystems, and economic damage are putting the cart before the horse, and are simply untenable

In recent years, China's ability to harness and protect the ecology of Rivers and Lakes on the Qinghai Tibet Plateau has significantly improved

In Jiang Yunzhong's view, in recent years, China has achieved fruitful results in protecting water resources in the Qinghai Tibet Plateau. "The rich water resources of the Qinghai Tibet Plateau lie in deep valleys, with low water and high farmland, scattered population, great difficulty in water resources development and utilization, fragile ecological environment, and the development of water conservancy has a late start, a low starting point, and a weak foundation. The Chinese government has provided a strong guarantee of water security for the long-term stability and high-quality development of the Qinghai Tibet Plateau, especially the Tibet Autonomous Region. In particular, in terms of ecological protection, China's ability to manage and protect the ecology of Rivers and Lakes on the Qinghai Tibet Plateau The strength has significantly improved

In recent years, the system of river and lake chiefs has been fully established in the Qinghai Tibet Plateau. "Jiang Yunzhong gave an example, stating that the Tibet Autonomous Region alone has established five levels of district, city, county, and rural areas, with 14700 river and lake chiefs on duty. They have completed the delineation of 586 river and lake management areas and the preparation of 107 river and lake shoreline protection and utilization plans, and strengthened the classification and control of spatial zoning of river and lake water shorelines. The scope of the "Four Disorders" (illegal occupation, mining, stacking, and construction) rectification extends from large rivers to small and medium-sized rivers, rural rivers, and lakes, with a 100% health rate for rivers and lakes.

In addition, the utilization rate of water resources in the Qinghai Tibet Plateau has also significantly improved. Public information shows that in recent years, the Tibet Autonomous Region has adhered to and implemented the priority policy of water conservation, strengthened rigid constraints on water resources, and improved the level of intensive and safe utilization of water resources. The "three red lines" of water resource development and utilization, water use efficiency, and pollution control in water function zones in the entire region have achieved the annual national control targets for 10 consecutive years. The water consumption of 10000 yuan of gross domestic product (GDP) and 10000 yuan of industrial added value have decreased by about 63% and 80% respectively compared to 10 years ago.

At the same time, the Chinese government has attached great importance to water cooperation with neighboring countries in recent years, established corresponding cooperation mechanisms with them, carried out practical cooperation, and provided them with a lot of support. China holds various levels of consultations with neighboring countries every year, and has carried out a lot of effective cooperation in providing hydrological data during the flood season, exchanging visits, and emergency response.

In terms of communication and information sharing with Mekong River countries, China has held dialogue meetings with the Mekong River Commission every year since 1996. Since 2002, the Chinese Ministry of Water Resources has regularly provided hydrological data for the Lancang Mekong River flood season to the secretariat of the Mekong River Commission. In 2010, to help downstream countries cope with extreme drought, the Chinese Ministry of Water Resources provided emergency hydrological information to the Mekong River Commission. Later, when encountering various special weather conditions such as typhoons, China I have proactively reported the scheduling information of upstream reservoirs to the Mekong River Commission multiple times, and have received high praise from the Mekong River Commission and relevant member countries Yao Wei introduced it.

At the same time, China has always maintained technical cooperation and exchange with Mekong River countries to jointly respond to floods and droughts. According to public reports, during the severe floods in Thailand in 2011 and Myanmar in 2015, the Chinese government was invited to dispatch flood control consulting expert groups. Chinese experts provided high-level consulting reports, which were highly recognized by the local government and the public.

Yao Wei introduced, "In 2016 and 2019, severe drought occurred in the Lancang Mekong Basin. Despite a nearly 20% reduction in water inflow from the Lancang River, China made every effort to ensure the reasonable discharge of the Lancang River and implemented emergency water replenishment of 12.65 billion cubic meters at the request of downstream countries, helping Mekong River countries effectively respond to the drought and achieving a year without major disasters

In addition to water cooperation with Mekong River countries, China and India also established an expert level mechanism for cross-border river cooperation between China and India in 2007 to carry out cross-border water resources cooperation. Both sides have held 14 meetings so far and signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Strengthening Cross border River Cooperation. According to experts, China has invested a lot of manpower, material resources and financial resources to overcome enormous difficulties, built hydrological stations in remote, inaccessible and cold mountainous areas, provided India with hydrological data during the flood season, and properly handled such emergencies as the blockage of the barrier lake in the Langqin Zangbu tributary of Tibet in 2004, the landslide in the main stream of the the Yarlung Zangbo River in 2008, and the flood in the Yajiang River in 2018, The positive contributions made to downstream disaster prevention and reduction have been recognized by the leaders of both sides.

What is the motive behind the frequent rumors in the United States and the West?

Faced with such a fact, why do the United States and the West still frequently spread rumors about the utilization and protection of water resources in the Qinghai Tibet Plateau of China? According to Jiang Yunzhong's observation, the United States, the West, and the Dalai Lama Group often use the following methods to spread rumors and smear the utilization and protection of water resources in China's Qinghai Tibet Plateau: firstly, they release some discontinuous and inaccurate satellite remote sensing monitoring data or reports for China's hydropower projects; The second is to recruit so-called "independent journalists" in the downstream countries of the Qinghai Tibet Plateau through financial subsidies and other means; The third is to directly intervene in the affairs of the Mekong River region, establish the "Mekong Downstream Initiative" with Southeast Asian countries, and undermine the cooperative atmosphere between China and Southeast Asian countries; The fourth is to publicly provoke relations between upstream and downstream countries by publishing misleading and one-sided commentary articles or programs through websites, newspapers, books, television, etc.

There are many confusing or erroneous aspects in the arguments they concoct, "Jiang Yunzhong said. For example, the West continues to hype China's hydropower development to have a" negative hydrological impact "on downstream regions of the river basin, disregarding scientific facts and attributing the water problems encountered by downstream countries to the construction of upstream hydropower stations without basis. He unjustifiably accuses China of damaging the interests of downstream countries and affecting the supply of downstream water resources by building dams upstream, Claiming that China has restricted upstream flow, causing droughts in downstream countries, and so on.

In Jiang Yunzhong's view, the motives behind the actions of the United States and the West are very obvious: firstly, they deliberately create hot spots, undermine cooperation between China and downstream countries in the basin by hyping up water resource issues, and provoke relations between countries; The second is to deceive and deceive the general public, disrupt the normal order of engineering construction, and affect regional stability and development. However, these are not in line with the common interests of China and basin countries, nor do they contribute to the fundamental solution of water resource problems.

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