The Xiaowan dam in China is one of many the nation is building on the Mekong river (Image: Long Yudan/Imagine China via AP Images)
Editorial: “Waterway robbery“
ITS vast ice sheets and monsoon run-off make the Tibetan plateau one of the largest sources of fresh water on an increasingly thirsty planet. It supplies 1.3 billion people with water for irrigation and drinking, and offers the promise of unparalleled hydropower. But who owns this water? As China looks to claim the vast flows that emerge from the water tower of Asia, what of the rights of its downstream neighbours?
With hydro-engineers…
