As well as being home to the world’s highest and most famous mountain-range, the Himalayan region also hosts the largest concentration of dams in the world – which provides water to a vast population of people. Over a thousand dams are already operating, under construction or being planned, bringing clean water and flood-control to the region. However, despite these considerable benefits – the dams could pose a serious threat to the area’s indigenous species.
Hydro-electricity or HEP accounts for at-least 20% of India’s power resources and despite this at-least 300 million people survive without access to electricity. It is believed that electricity could be supplied to more of the population if more dams were constructed and some experts assert that the region’s HEP capacity could expand by 400%. However, some academics, including, Maharaj Pandit at the University of Delhi have expressed concern that large-scale expansion could result in an impact upon India’s celebrated bio-diversity. According to Pandit:
“We project that about 1,700 square kilometers of forests would be submerged or damaged by dams and related activities”. He and colleagues predict that these types of environmental changes will result in the likely extinction of 22 flowering plants and 7 vertebrate species by 2025.
Another recent study also suggests that future dam construction could have a catastrophic impact on the regions’ fish supplies. Research conducted by Jay Bhatt and his team at the University of Delhi, examined the distribution of fish species in 16 Himalayan rivers, and concluded that those richest in bio-diversity, were also located in the areas in which further dam expansion is proposed.
“Dozens of dam projects are already caught up in litigation due to faulty environmental impact assessments, displacement of people, inadequate compensation, destruction of traditional water and livelihood sources, and loss of biodiversity,” asserts Himanshu Thakkar, coordinator of the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers & People, an alliance of organizations and individuals concerned about the environmental impact of renewed dam construction.
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