Hydrodams in the hindu kush-himalayas: Death by over 100 cuts and 100 blockages built during a ‘Development hype’ but without a relevant impact assessment or synthesis

Abstract

Rivers of the world haven taken their ways and flows downhill for millions of years. However, the last 50 years have been specifically devastating for them, and mankind changed flow regimes and watersheds in unprecedented terms. Over 100 barrages and dams are known for the wider Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region and many more are forthcoming and planned. Promoted and approved by the U.N. as ‘green’, China is leading those efforts internationally, but proper impact assessments and synthesis with good conclusions are not really known. This has far-reaching impacts with easily over 100 consequences reaching from biofilm modifications and human right violations to bank credit ratings, landscape, biodiversity and climate changes. Here an overview is provided how those impacts look like and what steps are taken to build dams and how they are argued for ‘green energy’ and modern ‘global progress’ when instead a brutal water and democracy crisis looms, based on the roof of the world downriver affecting watersheds for billions of people and global well-being.