Mountains of Concrete - International Rivers

Mountains of Concrete:Dam Building in the HimalayasAs a region of great geographic, ecological, social, and culturaldiversity, the Himalayas are a true global heritage. They arealso the source of some of Asia’s longest rivers, on whichmillions of people depend for their livelihoods. Pakistan, India,Nepal and Bhutan are planning to build hundreds of megadamson these great rivers, and to transform them into thepowerhouse of South Asia.Yet climate change is affecting the Himalayas faster than anyother region of the world. The glaciers which feed most largeAsian rivers are melting.The new dams will destroy thousands of villages, fields,spiritual sites and even parts of the world’s highest highway,the Karakoram highway. Who is pushing these projects, andwho is funding them? Who will bear their costs, and who willreap the benefits? And how much electricity will the reservoirsgenerate once the glaciers that feed them have vanished?Mountains of Concrete is the first report which analyzesdam building in the Himalayas in an integrated manner.Published by International Rivers, the report was written byShripad Dharmadhikary, one of South Asia’s foremost waterand energy experts.