China’s massive megadam project in Tibet has sparked fierce criticism for its precarious location in a seismically volatile, ecologically fragile region on the Tibetan Plateau.

By Olivia Li | The Epoch Times

China has officially begun construction on a massive hydroelectric dam on the Yarlung Tsangpo River in Tibet, despite strong warnings from scientists about the region’s fragile ecosystem and complex geological conditions.

A Chinese hydrology expert has described the project as outright illegal, pointing out that it violates multiple international agreements and China’s environmental laws.

In Brief by Probe International

China’s launch of the Motuo Hydropower Station on Tibet’s Yarlung Tsangpo River—touted as the world’s “next” largest dam—has drawn fierce condemnation from scientists and environmentalists who warn of catastrophic ecological, geological, and legal risks.

Experts highlight the project’s violation of Chinese environmental laws (e.g., nature reserve protections) and international treaties including the UNESCO World Heritage Convention. Vocal critic Wang Weiluo, a hydrologist based in Germany, called the project “outright illegal.” 

Wang’s analysis warns that the dam’s diversion plan would drain a critical downstream stretch of the river entirely—“not a single drop of water” would remain—with flows only resurfacing after the Parlung Tsangpo tributary merges with the Yarlung Tsangpo near the Great Bend. This prolonged desiccation, he stressed, would devastate fish populations, vegetation, and aquatic habitats, triggering ecosystem collapse in a region where species survival hinges on the river’s natural flow.

“This is the ecological disaster that the Motuo Hydropower Station would bring,” he said.

Chinese geologist Yang Yong, director of the Hengduan Mountain Research Institute, emphasized the region’s unsuitability for siting. In a series of articles in 2014, Yang warned the Tibetan Plateau—often referred to as Asia’s vital “water tower”—is dependent on unstable glacier meltwater, scarce rainfall, and extreme seasonal shifts, which render hydropower output unreliable and ecologically risky.

Following China’s 2024 project approval, Y. Nithiyanandam of Bengaluru’s Takshashila Institution condemned the dam’s location on the landslide-prone, fault-riddled Yarlung Tsangbo, warning it imperils downstream nations. Seismic shifts or water diversion could trigger ecological and humanitarian crises in India and Bangladesh, said Nithiyanandam, citing Tibet’s powerful quake earlier this year as proof of the region’s instability, arguing such projects ignore hard lessons from building in earthquake corridors.

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Further Reading

China’s New “World’s Largest” Hydropower Project Commences Construction

The CCP Weaponizes Nature to Mislead Scientific Community

Stop the Lower Yarlung Tsangpo Hydropower Project

A Case of “Extreme Nationalism”