Himalayan destruction

THE Himalayas are virtually under bombardment—of dams. They would have the highest dam density in the world, with over a thousand water reservoirs dotting the mountain range in India, Bhutan, Nepal and Pakistan, over the next few years. These projects would have serious ecological and social impacts and would spell disaster for the biodiversity of the region. All this for the much-sought-after hydroelectricity, officially dubbed cleaner and cheaper.

Letters - July 15, 2012

Politics of drought

‘Scrap 24 dams, save Ganga’

A REPORT commissioned by the Union environment and forests ministry warns the Centre against going ahead with 24 hydropower projects planned on the Alaknanda and Bhagirathi river systems in Uttarakhand. The projects would destroy 22 per cent of the state’s forestland and affect the unique Himalayan ecology along one-third of lengths of the two main tributaries of the Ganga, states the report prepared by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun.

Sand slips

The fish barrier

THE Mekong River, which flows through China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, is already heavily dammed owing to its steep topography. Plans are to construct 11 more on the river and 41 on its tributaries in the next four years. Another 10-37 dams are planned on the tributaries between 2015 and 2030.

Tipaimukh Dam in Manipur driving a wedge?

The proposed 164-m-high dam will come up 500 m downstream of the confluence of the Barak and Tuivai rivers. Its reservoir will have a storage capacity of 15,900 million cubic m with a maximum depth of 1,725.5 m.

What it takes to clean a river

Romantic Rhine Salmon returns to the Rhine after decades of absence from the "biggest sewer of Europe"

Wooing back the salmon

In a country like the us , laws once framed are supposed to be implemented. An excellent example is the Endangered Species Act ( esa ). Adopted in 1973, the law was framed with the sole intention of saving species on the brink of extinction -- saving them at all costs.

Glaciers beating retreat

On august 4, 1985, a moraine-dammed glacial lake, Dig Tsho, burst in the Khumbu Himal area of Nepal. Within four to six hours, the lake had emptied into Lagmoche valley, one of the tributary valleys of the river Bhote Kosi, which flows along many Sherpa settlements.

Rivers at risk

THE world’s rivers are threatened due to mismanagement and pollution. This imperils eight of every 10 people as well as 10,000-20,000 species that call them home. This is the finding of the first global initiative that assessed water security for people and river biodiversity. Eleven scientists identified 23 stressors, such as pollution, intensive agriculture, catchment disturbance and dam building, and integrated them to prepare maps showing their impact on the health of rivers and associated habitat.