China is to build the world’s largest hydroelectric dam in Tibet, sparking concerns and reactions over the environmental costs.

Scientists «they knock” sounded the alarm, expressing fears that the colossal construction will change the map of the region, as communities of Tibetan monks will be displaced and even the environment of India and Bangladesh will be affected.

China has given the green light to the construction of the world’s largest hydroelectric dam on the Yarlung Zangbo River in Tibet. The ambitious project aims to generate 300 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually – three times the energy of the dam Three Gorges, the largest hydroelectric plant in the world today.

Chinese state media, as reported by the BBC, have described the development as “a safe project that prioritizes ecological protection”saying it will boost local prosperity and contribute to Beijing’s climate neutrality goals.

Human rights groups and experts, however, have raised concerns about the negative impact of the development.

Among them are fears that the construction of the dam – first announced in late 2020 – could displace local communities, as well as significantly alter the natural landscape and damage local ecosystems, which are among the richest and more diversely on the Tibetan Plateau.

Reports say the colossal development requires at least four 20km long tunnels to be cut through the Namcha Barwa mountain, diverting the flow of the Yarlung Tsangpo, Tibet’s largest river.

Chinese authorities have stressed that the project will not have significant environmental impacts – but have not indicated how many people it will displace. The Three Gorges Hydroelectric Dam requires the resettlement of 1.4 million people.

Experts and officials have also raised concerns that the dam would empower China to control or divert the flow of the transboundary river, which flows south through India’s Arunachal Pradesh and Assam states and then into Bangladesh.

China’s foreign ministry, responding to India’s concerns about the proposed dam, said it had a “legal right” to dam the river and that it had considered the implications.

Worries about earthquakes and landslides

China has built many hydroelectric plants over the past decade in an effort to harness the power of water as a source of renewable energy.

It plans to build in the deepest canyon on Earth, where a section of the river falls with incredible force from a waterfall of 2,000 meters in a short distance of only 50 kilometers, offering huge potential for hydroelectric power generation.

The river’s dramatic topography, however, also poses major engineering challenges – and this latest dam is by far China’s largest and most ambitious to date.

In addition, the works will be done along a tectonic plate. Chinese researchers have also previously raised concerns that such extensive excavation and construction in the steep and narrow gorge would increase the frequency of landslides.

The project is estimated to cost up to $127 billion, according to estimates by the Chongyi Water Resources Bureau.