Tibet: Plateau in Peril

Zhao, Michael; Schell, Orville

doi:10.1162/wopj.2008.25.3.171

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…The shifting patterns of climate change will likely put additional stress on water supplies in the iconic Hindu Kush-Himalaya region of Asia. No place is this more apparent than in the Tibetan Plateau where melting glaciers that source the Mekong mainstream are signaling the coming ecological cdsis (Zhao & Schell, 2008). Zhao & Schell (2008) decry the attendant effects of the altered flow regimes:…”

Section: Following the Proper Channels: Tributaries In The Mekong Legmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…If current trends continue, the Tibetan Plateau will lose two-thirds of its glacial ice cover by 2100 (Zhao & Schell, 2008). The 44% average annual flow contdbution of Mekong tdbutades to the mainstream will become increasingly important to the LMRB states as water quantity problems are exacerbated by this 'looming environmental meltdown' (Zhao & Schell, 2008).…”

Section: Following the Proper Channels: Tributaries In The Mekong Legmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The legal regime of the Mekong River: a look back and some proposals for the way ahead

Bearden

2009

Water Policy

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In 1957, the four lower Mekong River states jointly organized the development of the basin and established a legal regime that has spanned five decades of cooperatioti. In 1995, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Vietnam concluded the Agreement on the Cooperation for the Sustainable Development of the Mekong River Basin and fomied the Mekong River Commission, which has been lauded as the most progressive of river institutions and a model lor the world. At the core of the 1995 Mekong Agreetnent is the concept of sustainable developtnent. Guided by this sustainable development paradigm, the Lower Mekong River Basin states attempt to balance the maintenance of water quantity with protection of water quality, and agree to cooperate and use the Mekong's water resources in a manner in which the river system's environmental conditions and ecological balance ate conserved and maintained. However, development of the Mekong and its tributaries has rendered the efficacy of the Mekong legal regime to suppôt t holistic water resources management questionable. More than ten years of experience has shown that there are aspects of the 1995 Mekong Agreement that should be strengthened in order to secure the environmental, economic and social benefits that it promises.

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Section: Following the Proper Channels: Tributaries In The Mekong Legmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Following the Proper Channels: Tributaries In The Mekong Legmentioning

confidence: 99%

The legal regime of the Mekong River: a look back and some proposals for the way ahead

Bearden

2009

Water Policy

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“…Like the North and South poles, Tibet"s glaciers are remarkably sensitive to even the slightest fluctuations in temperature, and the glaciers" high altitude exposes them to more rapid rates of warming than other parts of Asia. As global warming intensifies, these icecaps will release an excess of meltwater in the coming decades (Chellaney, 2011;Immerzeel, van Beek, & Bierkens, 2010;Zhao & Schell, 2008). Projections warn that global warming will cause between one-third and two-thirds of the region"s 56,000 glaciers to vanish by 2100 (Wester, Mishra, Mukherji, & Shrestha, 2019), and without mitigating efforts, a billion souls across Asia could face critical water shortages by 2050 (Fant, Schlosser, Gao, Strzepek, & Reilly, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploiting Shangri-La: Assessing the Tibetan Plateau’s Natural Resources and the Work of Karl Wittfogel

Ternes¹

2019

RES

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This paper applies Karl Wittfogel' s theory of hydraulic societies to China’s relationship with Tibet. It argues that the Chinese are interested in control over Tibet not only for its land, location, or wealth of natural resources, but also for control of its headwaters. Hundreds of millions of people rely on the numerous large rivers that start in the Tibetan plateau, making the region a critically important water supply for Asia. Wittfogel’s work theorizes that China’s territory and authority has expanded with the need to secure water for its large population and food production. The paper contains two sections: the first summarizes Wittfogel’s arguments, a history of Tibet, and China’s control of it; the second describes China’s attempts to modernize Tibet, specifically through river development, and the environmental damage caused by such efforts. Tibet’s rivers are crucial for the entirety of Asia, and the Plateau’s massive supplies of water are just one of its many resources. By focusing on rivers, this article describes the importance of Tibet and how increasing levels of resource extraction legitimatize Chinese centralized authority.

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Approaching the Mekong in a Time of Turbulence

Coclanis

2018

Advances in Global Change Research

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Tibet: Plateau in Peril

Cited by 5 publications

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The legal regime of the Mekong River: a look back and some proposals for the way ahead

The legal regime of the Mekong River: a look back and some proposals for the way ahead

Exploiting Shangri-La: Assessing the Tibetan Plateau’s Natural Resources and the Work of Karl Wittfogel

Approaching the Mekong in a Time of Turbulence

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