The Third Pole

Water in South Asia has always had a complicated history, right from early civilisations to the present day, where rivers are divided by political boundaries. Despite a shared tumultuous past, and often because of it, South Asia remains one of the least integrated regions in the world, despite its abundant resources and shared risks. In pursuing economic security, river basins have primarily been used for agriculture and energy, but are seldom seen as cohesive units that also require safeguarding.

“It took me three days to take the flood water out of the house,” says Asghar Baloch, a local fisher living in the congested and squalid Mulla Band area adjacent to the Gwadar Port. “It was knee-deep, damaging the carpets, furniture and other household items.

The beginning of 2024 for Nepal was marked by important talks to export hydropower produced electricity. In the first week of January, Nepal signed a 25-year trade deal with India. One key agreement was to sell 10,000 MW of electricity to India in the next 10 years. And in the third week of February, Kulman Ghising, the managing director of the Nepal Electricity Authority led a delegation to Bangladesh to discuss tariffs for electricity trade.

Early in 2023, monsoon rains hit hard in Nepal’s Koshi Province. The cascading nature of the flood damaged hydropower infrastructure and took the lives of several hydropower workers. The increasing frequency and intensity of climate hazards, including heatwaves, droughts, floods, landslides, windstorms and Glacial Lake Outburst Floods make Nepal particularly vulnerable to climate change.

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The Bengal Delta is undergoing significant changes, characterised by rising salinity levels. As the world’s largest delta – and home to over 100 million people across India and Bangladesh – these changes have large social, economic and political significance. And India’s recent political controversy in Sandeshkhali, West Bengal, highlights how adaptation to deal with rising salinity can go badly wrong: alleged landgrabs, economic oppression, and abuse.

On a three-day visit of a US delegation to Bangladesh last month, both refugees and climate change featured high on the diplomatic agenda. Delegates acknowledged Bangladesh as the world’sseventh most climate-vulnerable country, with Washington pledging support to help Bangladesh tackle climate change. They also discussed the Rohingya refugee crisis.

Flowing from the headwaters in Tibet, the Salween traverses China and Myanmar and defines part of Thailand’s western border. Stretching over 3,200km (2,000 miles), it is Asia’s longest free-flowing river, running from the Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan province in south-west China to the delta near Mawlamyine in south-east Myanmar, where it meets the Andaman Sea. However, plans for seven major hydropower projects along the Salween basin threaten this status.