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From April to September 2019, China’s portion of the upper Mekong received uncommonly high levels of precipitation, yet its dams blocked or restricted more water than ever before - even as downstream countries suffered through an unprecedented drought Brian Eyler

The survey, undertaken by the United State Geological Survey's Eyes on Earth podcast, used physical river gauge evidence from the Mekong River Commission, coupled with remote sensing processes, to prove what scientists have long feared - that the ongoing drought in the region is the result of Chinese water management policies. And with Beijing facing questions about its perceived failure to offer full disclosure about the severity of the coronavirus outbreak which has become a global pandemic, there are similar criticisms with respect to its control of water supplies, with an assessment published by US-based think tank the Stimson Centre accusing it of treating the issue as a "state secret".

In the assessment, author Brian Eyler said: "From April to September 2019, China’s portion of the upper Mekong received uncommonly high levels of precipitation, yet its dams blocked or restricted more water than ever before - even as downstream countries suffered through an unprecedented drought. "In the 1990s when China built the first dam on the upper Mekong, many speculated that China could use its dams to restrict water from the Mekong downstream, effectively turning off the tap for the countries which rely on the Mekong’s provisions for economic stability and security. "Today a total of eleven mega-dams dot China’s upper Mekong reaches and collectively store as much water as the Chesapeake Bay.

A fisherman in the Mekong River in Thailand

Mekong Dam 2015-2019 drought water level

"The frequency and severity of the downstream drought have increased over the last two decades, and Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam are currently suffering through the worst drought in history." The Eyes on Earth study showed when China has restricted water from its downstream neighbours, for how long it has restricted the water, and the enormous quantity of water China has restricted over the last three decades, with one dam, in Nuozhadu, capable of holding a staggering 27 billion cubic metres. Mr Eyler added: "The report’s most significant finding is that from April to November 2019 China’s portion of the upper Mekong received uncommonly high levels of precipitation, yet its dams blocked or restricted more water than ever as downstream countries suffered through an unprecedented drought. JUST IN: End of EU - Ex-German MEP warns over Macron's spending plans for EU

China's President Xi Jinping

"The amount of rainfall and snowmelt in China was enough to keep water levels in much of the Lower Mekong above average between April 2019 and March 2020 if China’s dams were not restricting that water." The Stimson report highlights the fact that of the last ten major droughts in the lower Mekong basin, eight have happened since China’s first dam began construction, in 1991-94; 1997-98; 2002; 2003-2005; 2008 – 2010; 2012 – 2013; 2015 – 2016; and 2019 – 2020. "Why would China’s dam operators hold back so much water in a time of dire need downstream in Southeast Asia? DON'T MISS

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Mekong dam chart 2012

Mekong dam release flooding

"If China’s choice to restrict unprecedented amounts of water were open knowledge among downstream stakeholders, such a decision would not bode well politically for China. "But China treats data about water flow and hydropower operations as a state secret. "This lack of transparency allowed China to set a narrative of shared suffering due to the drought and established a common cause for China to deepen its economic cooperation with the downstream through its Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Mechanism."

The upper Mekong basin received above-average rainfall during the 2019 wet season

Mr Eyler suggested Beijing considered water a "sovereign commodity" rather than a "shared resource" to be made available in an equitable manner to "downstream stakeholders". He added: "Stimson’s researchers have often heard Chinese stakeholders repeat a worrying position: Not one drop of China’s water should be shared without China using it first or without making those downstream pay for it. "Notably, China has not signed international treaties for most of its 40 transboundary rivers.

Mekong chart 1992-2020

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