Himalayan Water Security: The Challenges for South and Southeast Asia -Kenneth Pomeranz Jennifer L. Turner, Susan Chan Shifflett, and Robert Batten Robert G. Wirsing Tushaar Shah and Mark Giordano Richard P. Cronin Richard Matthew Jayanta Bandyopadhyay

Asia’s ten largest rivers by volume—including the Yangtze, Mekong, Brahmaputra (which becomes part of the Ganges), and Indus—originate in the Himalayas or on the Tibetan Plateau and collectively serve 47% of the world’s population. Inadequate or unreliable water supplies pose serious and worsening problems in all the countries along these rivers, as do energy shortages. To varying degrees, these issues threaten domestic stability throughout the region, leading countries to build dams to control water flows and generate hydroelectric power. Such projects not only pose significant environmental risks but create international tension over water- sharing on transborder rivers. Furthermore, nine of Asia’s ten largest rivers begin in China, which has no water-sharing agreements with downstream countries; in some cases, the downstream countries also have no agreements with countries further downstream. Even the sharing of hydrological data is spotty. That China, as the upstream country, is increasingly capable of undertaking projects that would address its needs at the expense of its downstream neighbors makes the situation even more tense. While China has promised to be mindful of other countries’ interests, it continues to make decisions unilaterally and often secretly. Climate change, which is likely to reduce the water supply at the source of many Himalayan rivers, will only magnify these disputes and probably make any solution that guarantees specific amounts of water or parts of a joint river to specific countries unfeasible.
http://www.nbr.org/publications/asia_policy/free/ap16/Asia_Policy_16_WaterRoundtable_July2013.pdf