Bangladesh will raise the issue of Chinese dam on the Brahmaputra at the upcoming bilateral meeting in Beijing on January 21, when the stalled Teesta project may also come up.
Sources in the foreign ministry told The Financial Express about the move as Bangladesh foreign adviser Touhid Hossain leaves for Beijing today (Monday) for meeting his counterpart, the foreign minister of China.
"Water-resources cooperation will highly be featured in the meeting," officials said, adding that Bangladesh "will try to understand whether the dam on the international river Brahmaputra to be constructed by the Chinese side will affect Bangladesh."
About the stalled Teesta project -- economic lifeline of agrarian northern Bangladesh -- officials said Teesta is not officially included in the meeting agenda but may come up as water cooperation will be a prime focus in talks.
They mentioned that though China completed primary feasibility study on the Teesta project on request of Bangladesh government during the Hasina regime two years ago, Bangladesh refrained from advancing the project.
Rather, during the visit of ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina last year, Bangladesh involved India with the project, which, practically, complicated the scheme.
Following that development, the Chinese Ambassador in Dhaka told the FE that if Bangladesh wanted, China was interested to implement the project in partnership with other countries. Talking about China's involvement with the multipurpose Teesta project, foreign adviser Towhid Hossain told the media that Bangladesh would renew the MoU on water-resources cooperation with China during his visit and Teesta issue would "naturally come up in connection with water-resources cooperation".
According to officials, Bangladesh will raise the issue of the Chinese dam upstream the Brahmaputra River during the meeting.
China announced its decision to build the dam four years ago, and recently, it approved the construction of the world's largest dam, rated as planet's biggest, on the Brahmaputra in Tibet near the Indian border.
In December last year, the Chinese government sanctioned the development of a hydropower facility on the lower section of the Yarlung Zangbo River, which is the Tibetan name for the Brahmaputra.
The US$137-billion, mega-infrastructure project has raised concerns in downstream countries, including India and Bangladesh, over potential impacts on water flow.
According to the South China Morning Post, the cost of this dam project will exceed any infrastructure project globally, including China's Three Gorges Dam, currently considered world's largest.
Bangladesh is heavily dependent on external sources for water. The 1,800-km-long Brahmaputra, which enters Bangladesh from India after originating from Tibet region under China, is the largest source of external water for Bangladesh.
If both the countries withdraw water in the upstream from the Brahmaputra, Bangladesh will be rendered a barren land, environmentalists forewarn.
The total water resource of Bangladesh is estimated at 1,210,644 million cubic metres, of which 1,105,644 cubic metres come from sources beyond the borders.
"We may see heavy water flow when we do not need water, and there might be no water in the dry season when we require it most," a senior official of the Ministry of Water Resources told the FE recently.
According to statistics, at least 60 per cent of Bangladesh's population relies on the Brahmaputra-catchment basin.
A catchment or basin is an ecological system of drainage that sees rainfall or river waters drained into the surrounding environment, and can be accessed through lakes, wells or small tributary rivers.
Officials say constructing dams in the upstream means that the countries concerned will have the leverage to withdraw or release water as per their requirement.
China first disclosed its plan to construct a dam on the Brahmaputra when Yan Zhiyong, chairman of the Power Construction Corp of China or POWERCHINA, said China would implement its hydropower-exploration plan in the downstream of the international river.
The new dam is planned to produce at least 60 gigawatts (GW) of electricity. To put that into perspective, one GW is the quantity of energy captured by 3.125 million solar panels or 412 wind turbines. One GW is also enough to power 110 million LED lights, says an analyst.
In March 2019, China's parliament adopted the 14th five-year plan, which included the hydropower project on the Brahmaputra in Tibet near India's Arunachal Pradesh.
India announced a plan to construction a hydroelectric dam with 10-GW capacity in Arunachal to mitigate adverse impact of the Chinese dam.
The planned dam would create a large water-storage capacity in India to offset effect of the Chinese dam on water flow, an official of the Indian water resources ministry said.
However, talking to the FE on the Chinese dam project, Dr Ainun Nishat, a leading environment expert, suggested trilateral cooperation to reap benefit from the Chinese dam project.
"If China is going to produce electricity through constructing a dam on the Brahmaputra in the upstream, Bangladesh can negotiate to have a share in the project," he said.
"We can invest partly, and have a share of the power generated from the project. India can also join us, so that the negative effect of the project can also be minimised through consultations."
About campaigns against construction of the proposed dams, he said dams are essential for many reasons, including flood management.
"I am not against construction of dams, but the dams should be constructed in a manner so that these will not cause serious harm to ecology and locality."
The expert adds: "Previously dams were built according to the design of engineers, but now we suggest stakeholder consultation before designing a dam."
On the other hand, Chinese officials have said they would address the concern of both India and Bangladesh over this issue.
"The project will not have a negative impact on the ecological environment, geological conditions and the rights and interests related to water resources of downstream countries," Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said earlier this week to allay India's concerns.
Earlier, soon after the disclosure of the dam-building plan, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying was asked about it in a media briefing in Beijing.
She said, "Hydropower development in the lower reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo River is China's legitimate right. When it comes to use and development of cross-border rivers, China always acts responsibly."
China has a policy featuring development and conservation, and all projects will go through science-based planning and assessment, giving full consideration to impact downstream and accommodating interests of both the upstream and downstream regions.
The development of the lower reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo is in the early stages of planning and assessment, she noted.
"There is no need to read too much into that."
Regarding the concerns in India and Bangladesh, she said, "For a long time, China, India and Bangladesh have had good cooperation in sharing hydrological information, flood and disaster reduction and contingency management. We will continue our communication through existing channels.
"There is no need for any anxiety in this matter."
According to international law, the countries that are upstream of a river have the sovereignty to build dams on their stretch of water, even though it may impact the countries further downstream.
However, the right is balanced by the principles of 'reasonable use' and 'no harm'.
But China is not a party to the UN Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes.
Meanwhile, Chinese Ambassador Yao Wen met Adviser for Foreign Affairs of the interim government Md. Touhid Hossain on Sunday morning at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs exchanging views on what to come out of the Dhaka-Beijing talks.
The envoy informed the Foreign Adviser that during his upcoming visit, the Chinese side is ready to sign implementation plan on exchange of hydrological information with Bangladesh which was previously sent by Bangladesh side.
He also apprised the adviser that China is seriously considering lowering its interest rates in lending to Bangladesh.
"China is the all-weather, time-tested friend of Bangladesh which firmly stands with the people of Bangladesh irrespective of its government," the Ambassador said.
He said standing beside Bangladesh with the spirit of good friend and neighbour, China will continue its support for the early repatriation of the forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals (FDMN) to their motherland in Myanmar.
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