Water seminar calls for Trans-border water sharing mechanism/ENG

2016. szeptember 26./Phayul.com/TibetPress

eredeti cikk

By Tenzin Dharpo

DHARAMSHALA, Sept 26: Students rights group SFT-India held its first ever seminar on the dangers of water security in the downstream nations and the repercussions and grave ecological threats posed by China’s extensive and reckless damming projects across the Tibetan plateau. The event held on Friday (Sept 23) at the India international Centre in New Delhi was attended by over 150 Indian and Tibetan students, civil society members and experts.

Tenzin Tselha, the National Director of SFT-India said Tibet, the source of all prominent rivers that sustain Asia is being recklessly exploited by China through a string of hydro power projects and river diverting projects that fail to heed ecological ramifications. “What we need is more awareness on this looming environmental disaster and trans-boundary mechanisms for accountability on water sharing. With this in mind, we are hosting an International Seminar on the ‘Damning Crisis in Tibet’ in the lead up to September 25, World Rivers Day to globalize the call for protecting Tibet’s river.” said Tselha.

The seminar engaged views from a diverse group of experts from Thailand, Bangladesh, India and Tibet who spoke on China’s mega-dam projects that affect and further pose grave danger to the inhabitants of nine downstream nations in Asia. Lobsang Tseten, Program Director at Students for a Free Tibet-India said, “Through this seminar our objective is to form an alliance of students, activists and environment stakeholders from the downstream countries, calling to protect Tibet’s rivers”.

As part of ‘Tibet’s Rivers, Asia’s LifeLine campaign, earlier in March, SFT observed the ‘International Day of Action for Rivers’ highlighting the plight of the many downstream countries of the trans-boundary river Brahmaputra (tib. Yarlung Tsangpo) that lay prone to the grave exploits by China near Guwahati in North Eastern India.

SFT- India told Phayul earlier that efforts are being made at both ends of the society to bring about awareness and change. It said, “There has been concern and interest from the authorities but for issues like this, the grass-root solidarity is crucial so we are organizing awareness talks and discussions. We have also lobbied to push the issues unto higher offices. We need to build on it and keep up the pressure on the governments and international communities to hold China accountable.”

On the Tibetan plateau where major rivers of Asia emerge from, China’s high handed pursuits poses irreversible dangers for the sustenance of the largest continent in the planet. Experts say that China’s use of the water resources as a bargaining chip in manoeuvring geo-political standings is a cause for concern and a matter that may cause instability in the area.