Mountains of Concrete - International Rivers

our souls through this river…The hills, the rivers andthe mountains are deeply embedded in our ethos.It is the life force of our community. Destructionor endangerment of these will be a threat to thecommunity itself. Development at the cost of cultureand tradition is not acceptable to us.These two factors – the influx of large numbers ofmigrants and the destruction of the natural ecosystem thatis integral to the tribal community – are therefore likely tothreaten the very identity and culture of several communitieswho are already endangered due to small population size.Dam building in the Himalayas will also lead to thesubmergence of places of religious or historical significance.The Shaligram Shila, a very important religious site forHindus, now remains submerged quite often due to theKaligandaki project in Nepal. 94 The Bhagirathi River, sacredin India, is threatened by the number of projects planned onit. A huge treasure trove of rock carvings, dating back fromancient times, has been found along the Indus where theDiamer-Bhasha reservoir is planned. 95 All of these will besubmerged by the reservoir.Such impacts are likely to be seen in many of theprojects, as rivers have been the cradles of the earliest humancivilisations and centres of religious and spiritual significancefor most human societies.Ecological ImpactsThe Himalayas are recognized not only as a hotspotof biodiversity but also for their fragility. ConservationInternational 96 lists the Himalayas among the biodiversityhotspots of the world and says thatThe abrupt rise of the Himalayan Mountains fromless than 500 meters to more than 8,000 metersresults in a diversity of ecosystems that range, inonly a couple of hundred kilometers, from alluvialgrasslands (among the tallest in the world) andsubtropical broadleaf forests along the foothills totemperate broadleaf forests in the mid hills, mixedconifer and conifer forests in the higher hills, andalpine meadows above the treeline. 97Conservation International also says that of theestimated 10,000 species of plants in the Himalayas, about3,160 are endemic, as are 71 genera. Furthermore, five plantfamilies are endemic to the region. 98 About 300 mammalspecies have been recorded in the Himalayas, including adozen that are endemic.The Indian Ministry of Environment and Forests’Environmental Information System (ENVIS) 99 also talksabout the rich and diverse ecology of the Himalayan region.For Arunachal Pradesh, it says:The state is situated in the Eastern Himalaya and isthe richest biogeographical province of the entireIndian Himalayan zone. The province has beenSnow Leopard. Dam building in the Himalayas is a threat to animalsand endangered species such as the snow leopard. Photo: FritzPolking. Courtesy: Snow Leopard Trust.identified as one of the world’s 18 biodiversityhotspots. The richness of life forms, i.e., the flora andfauna that occur in these forests presents a panoramaof biological diversity with over 5,000 plants,about 85 terrestrial mammals, over 500 birds and alarge number of butterflies, insects and reptiles. Thisdiversity of topographical and climatic conditionshas favoured the growth of luxuriant forests that arehome to myriad plant and animal forms addingbeauty to the landscape. 100In the case of Sikkim, it states that “Its uniquegeographical position, varied topography and high annualrainfall make the state a treasure house of flowering plants.The vegetation of tropical forests occurring up to 900 mconsists of moist deciduous to semi-evergreen tree species.Sikkim is famous for its orchids and harbours about 45% of[the] orchid species found in the country.” 101These two states are planning to build a huge number ofdams. This is likely to have very serious effects on biodiversitydue to the destruction of habitats, natural ecosystems, floraand fauna. 102Many aspects of dam building, like the submergence offorests, large scale river diversions, disruption of aquatic ecosystems– both upstream and downstream, blasting, digging,excavation, debris dumping and other construction-relatedactivities, are likely to wreak havoc on the ecology of theHimalayan region.Conservation International identifies the constructionof big dams in the region as a threat to biodiversity andforests, along with habitat loss and degradation, mining andpollution from agrochemicals. 103M o u n ta i n s o f C o n c r e t e : D a m B u i l d i n g i n t h e H i m a l aya s | 2 7