| Asia


months, which, coupled with reduced meltwater from glaciers, decreases river flows. Low river flows, combined with high electricity demand for heating in winters, creates the need to import electricity from neighbouring Kazakhstan and Tajikistan. The report says that hydropower projects should be developed and operated sustainably according to international best practices. It gives the examples of the construction of Kambarata-1 where the environmental benefits have outweighed any impacts. The project is described as having had a mainly beneficial impact in the Syr Darya river basin, improving the management of the Central Asian water- energy-food nexus. It can provide the Kyrgyz Republic with electricity during winters, and allow the Toktogul reservoir to store water during the winter, thereby reducing the risk of flooding in the lower reaches of the river and providing sufficient water for irrigation of the downstream countries in spring and summer.


Transboundary management The absence of effective and sustainable governance


mechanisms, particularly in relation to cross-border river governance, is a key challenge across Asia, Donnellon-May and Hongzhou warn in a recent paper. Furthermore, they state it is one of this century’s most pressing concerns and that “careful management of hydropower resources is essential to ensure its positive impacts on climate change and avoid transboundary river conflicts”. In Asia, water and water-related challenges are notably severe. While the region is home to more than 50% of the global population, it has less freshwater than other continents, aside from Antarctica. Yet recent studies demonstrate that climate change is impacting Asia’s water insecurity by reshaping future water availability. From 2050, water availability will decrease in most rivers The Tibetan Plateau and the surrounding Hindu Kush-Himalayan regions, also known as the “Asian water tower,” is the source of ten major Asian rivers. Abundant glacier ice reservoirs and alpine lakes feed an extended river system that supplies freshwater to downstream areas. Holding the world’s third-largest global reservoir of snow and ice after the Arctic and Antarctica, the area provides nearly two billion people with freshwater, meaning that around 25 percent of the Earth’s population depends on the region. Recent studies demonstrate that climate change is significantly affecting the region; not just in the short term but also causing long-term hydrological, socio- economic, humanitarian, and security challenges. The region has warmed at rates considerably higher than the global average, disrupting the water cycle. Annual and seasonal temperatures have increased more at higher elevation zones, while precipitation patterns have shifted. At the same time, glaciers are shrinking, groundwater is depleting, permafrost is degrading, and snow cover days are dwindling. As the Tibetan Plateau glaciers melt, they can create


large amounts of runoff, increasing the risk of landslides and flash floods in the region. These natural disasters can cause significant damage to infrastructure and crops and disputes between countries over how to address and mitigate the impacts. Additionally, the authors warn, melting of Tibetan Plateau glaciers could have significant implications for regional security. As the


Ranking of countries across Asia by total installed hydropower capacity (including pumped storage)


Rank Country/Territory 1


2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9


10 11 12 13


China Russia India Japan


Vietnam Iran


Pakistan Laos


Indonesia


South Korea Tajikistan Malaysia


North Korea


14 Chinese Taipei (China) 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35


Thailand


Philippines Kyrgyzstan Georgia


Myanmar


Kazakhstan Iraq


Bhutan


Uzbekistan Nepal


Sri Lanka Syria


Cambodia Armenia


Azerbaijan Afghanistan Israel


Lebanon


Bangladesh Jordan


Turkmenistan Installed


capacity (MW) 391,000


55,674 51,352 49,643 17,333 12,187 9929 8108 6602 6541 6444 6275 5010 4696 4515 4470 3892 3459 3311 3087 2753 2335 2081 1988 1857 1505 1332 1324 1149 461 307 282 230 12 5


Source: The International Hydropower Association’s 2022 Hydropower Status report.


Tibetan Plateau is a vital water source for many countries in the region, including China, India, and Nepal, changes in water availability could lead to tensions between these countries. Further complicating water security issues are growing water tensions between China and India. The authors say that China, “the upstream superpower of many of Asia’s longest and most important rivers and regional hydro-hegemon”, does not have an independent transboundary river policy. Instead, the management of transnational water resources falls under the much broader framework of foreign relations with various downstream countries. Given China’s distrust of multilateral frameworks to resolve international disputes, Donnellon-May and Hongzhou say that Beijing has not signed any water-sharing agreements with its neighbours or an international transboundary-governing water treaty, causing concern in the downstream region over the potential for conflict over access to and control of shared water resources. ●


References


IRENA (2022), Renewables readiness assessment: The Kyrgyz Republic, International Renewable


Energy Agency, Abu Dhabi. www. irena.org/Publications/2022/ Dec/RRA-Kyrgyz-Republic


Donnellon-May, Genevieve & Zhang, Hongzhou. (2022). Transboundary Water Governance is a Regional Security Issue in


Asia. www.researchgate.net/ publication/366659191_ Transboundary_Water_ Governance_is_a_Regional_


Security_Issue_in_Asia


IHA 2022 Hydropower Status Report www.hydropower.org


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