"Chinese dam concerns raise fears of future water conflict" : SSPC Senior Fellow Avilash Roul was quoted in South China Morning Post

"Chinese dam concerns raise fears of future water conflict" SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST, 05 September, 2013

Beijing's coyness over hydro plans for Tibet's Yarlung Zangbo sparks mistrust from India over downstream impact on Brahmaputra.

The sensitive issue of water sharing between China and India is again under the spotlight.

India raised its longstanding concerns about Chinese dam construction on rivers that start in China and flow into the sub-continent at the 5th round of the India-China strategic dialogue in New Delhi last month.

India and China combined have more than a third of the world's population, but only a tenth of its water reserves. Both rapidly growing economies compete for access to the resource, yet they are among the world's least efficient users of water.

Almost two billion people in South and Southeast Asia depend on the melting waters from Tibet's glaciers, but few countries have been as alarmed as India over their vulnerability.

Avilash Roul, an expert on India's water security and senior fellow at the Delhi-based Society for the Study of Peace and Conflict, said China has not interfered in any neighbouring countries' unilateral development of shared water, except in controversial hydroelectric projects in Burma and Laos. "However, the potential to interfere is absolutely high," he said.

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http://www.scmp.com/news/chiSna/article/1303506/chinese-dam-concerns-ra…