Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon - Yarlung Tsangpo Hydroelectric and Water Diversion Project

Yarlung Tsangpo Hydroelectric and Water Diversion Project

While the government of the PRC has declared the establishment of a "Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon National Reservation", there have also been governmental plans and feasibility studies for a major dam to harness hydroelectric power and divert water to other areas in China. The size of the dam in the Tsongpo gorge would exceed that of Three Gorges Dam as it is anticipated that such a plant would generate 40,000 megawatts electricity, more than twice the output of Three Gorges. It is feared that there will be displacement of local populations, destruction of ecosystems, and an impact for downstream people in India and Bangladesh. The project is criticized by India because of its potential negative impact upon the residents downstream.

However, another type of dam, the inflatable, is possible that would obviate any necessity for a huge concrete structure. R.B. Cathcart, in 1999, first suggested a fabric dam—inflatable with freshwater or air—could block the Yarlung Tsangpo Canyon upstream of Namcha Barwa. Water would then be conveyed via a hardrock tunnel to a point downstream from that mountain, affording the generation of tens of thousands of megawatts—power which would have to be distributed internationally and equitably through a Himalayan power grid. Defenders of the project state that currently most of the water flows into the Indian Ocean, and the project will only take away superfluous unused water resources from the rivers south of Tibet. Some even speculate that the project would positively affect places like Bangladesh by reducing flooding.