Brahmaputra

eco-system

Submitted By

Karan Chopra
Roll No. 614240796
BBA Class 6th

Submitted to
Miss Manbir Gill
Lecture
Lovely Institute of Management
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents...................................................................................................2
Brahmaputra – An Introduction..............................................................................3
Ecosystem of Brahmaputra River..........................................................................3
Social Issue Related With Brahmaputra.................................................................4
Bibliography........................................................................................................... 7
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Brahmaputra – An Introduction

The Brahmaputra, also called Tsangpo-Brahmaputra, is a trans-boundary river

and one of the major rivers of Asia.

From its origin in southwestern Tibet as the Yarlung Zangbo River, it flows across
southern Tibet to break through the Himalayas in great gorges and into
Arunachal Pradesh where it is known as Dihang. It flows southwest through the
Assam Valley as Brahmaputra and south through Bangladesh as the Jamuna.
There it merges with the Ganges to form a vast delta. About 1,800 miles (2,900
km) long, the river is an important source for irrigation and transportation. Its
upper course was long unknown, and its identity with the Yarlung Tsangpo was
only established by exploration in 1884-86. This river is often called Tsangpo-
Brahmaputra river. The average depth of river is 124 feet (38 m) and maximum
depth is 380 feet (120 m). In Bangladesh the river merges with the Ganges and
splits into two: the Hugli and Padma River. When it merges with the Ganges it
forms the world's largest delta, the Sunderbans. The Sunderbans is known for
tigers and mangroves. While most Indian and Bangladeshi rivers bear female
names, this river has a rare male name, as it means "son of Brahma" in Sanskrit
(putra means "son").

The Brahmaputra is navigable for most of its length. The lower part reaches are
sacred to Hindus. The river is prone to catastrophic flooding in spring when the
Himalayan snows melt. It is also one of the few rivers in the world that exhibit a
tidal bore.

River Course of Brahmaputra

Ecosystem of Brahmaputra River

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The Brahmaputra enters India in the far eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh after
traveling hundreds of miles across Tibet as the Tsangpo from its birthplace near
the holy lake of Mansarovar. It is one of the world's largest, on a scale with the
Indus, Mississippi, and the Nile.

One of the great rivers of Asia, the Brahmaputra commences its 3,000-km
journey to the Bay of Bengal from the slopes of Kailash in western Tibet. As
Tibet's great river, the Tsangpo, transverses east across the high-altitude
Tibetan plateau north of the Great Himalayan Range, carving out myriad
channels and sandbanks on its way. As it tumbles from the Himalayan heights
towards the plains of the subcontinent it twists back on itself, cutting a deep and
still unnavigated gorge, until finally turning south it emerges in Arunachal
Pradesh as the Dihong. Just beyond Pasighat, it meets the Dibang and Lohit
where it finally becomes the Brahmaputra.

It runs through dense forests and tribal settlements. Our rafting trip starts in a
place called Tuting, so remote that we have to reach there via helicopter ride! A
seldom-run river, the Brahmputra offers beautiful scenery, excellent big white
water and great wild life in a less-visited corner of the sub-continent. After
having big fun and adventure, we finish our rafting at Passighat. The
Brahamputra has its source at holy Mount Kailash Mansarover in Tibet, traverses
the entire Tibetan plateau, and then makes its great bend into India, cutting into
the Himalaya the deepest gorge in the world, a canyon which has as yet eluded
all attempts at exploration.

The various adventurous sports held in the Bharmaputra river has helped the
India's poor high-end adventure reputation to be changed. The experienced crew
of rafters and kayakers have put together a rafting expedition down the mighty
Brahmaputra. aimed at putting India on the international white water map 180-
km stretch of the Brahmaputra will mark the first non-military expedition on the
river and the first commercial foray in the politically sensitive region.

Social Issue Related With Brahmaputra

China playing politics with Brahmaputra River

The majestic Brahmaputra River flows from the glaciers in southwest Tibet, where it is
known as Yarlung Tsangpo or Yarlong Zangbo and wends through Arunachal Pradesh and
Assam in India before entering Bangladesh. The river is the lifeline of Assam and entire
populations have moved with the river over several decades, making it the source of identity
for many communities in the state.

The river has impacted on the geography and economic conditions of the state in many ways;
its annual devastating floods cause large-scale erosion affecting millions of people. Erosion
has been a problem of great magnitude with large tracts of land being annually submerged by
the river, including the world heritage site, Majuli, whose existence has been threatened.
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The hydrological data on the Brahmaputra has been shared between India and China from
2002 onwards, when New Delhi negotiated a memorandum of understanding with Beijing on
information-sharing about the Brahmaputra's flow into downstream Assam during flood
season.

This was offered by China free of cost to India for the period 2002-2008. Beijing has now
conveyed to New Delhi that this hydrological information sharing on the Brahmaputra will
no longer come for free, and has demanded payment for the period 2008-2012.

The Sutlej River's hydrological data sharing between India and China has been paid for by
India over the years, and this development is therefore not out of context, as facilities have to
be maintained by the upper riparian country (China) in extremely inhospitable terrain.

There has also been a fresh bilateral understanding between India and China regarding the
sharing of hydrological information on the Brahmaputra, with India agreeing in principle to
pay a token amount, and to discuss other modalities later.

This helps India and China to jointly manage the flood effects of the rivers. The issue
however goes deeper, and there is a general perception among analysts of Northeast India
affairs, that Beijing's demand for payment for hydrological information on the Brahmaputra
is linked to its larger policy of making New Delhi uncomfortable, particularly on strategic
issues in India's northeastern states, primarily Arunachal Pradesh.

The Brahmaputra, before it enters Assam, passes through Arunachal Pradesh, and several
tributaries crisscross the state. There have been concerns in New Delhi about Beijing's plans
to divert the waters of the Brahmaputra to feed its drought-prone provinces of Xinjiang and
Gansu, with reports of elaborate plans being drawn up for an ambitious project titled "South-
North Water Diversion." China realizes that the issue of water and energy security would lead
to grave social and political consequences.

The project has three components, the eastern, central and western routes, of which the
western route is critical for the Brahmaputra and could have devastating effects in India and
Bangladesh. The project, centers on the "Great Bend" which is a sharp U-turn of the Yarlung
Tsangpo near the Indian border, and is estimated to generate 40,000 MW of hydroelectricity,
dwarfing other large-scale projects like the Three Gorges Dam in terms of hydroelectricity
potential and scale.

India is facing a security dilemma over the Chinese control over the principal watershed of
South and Southeast Asia, Tibet, from where 10 major rivers emanate. Interestingly, the
Tibetans consider the 'Great Bend" region near the Indian border very sacred, it being the
abode of the Goddess Dorjee Pagmo, Tibet's protecting deity, with the region locally known
as Pemako being referred in their scriptures as the last hidden Shangri-la.

The project therefore would not only trouble India, but will also evoke unrest among the
Tibetan population. China plans to use nuclear technology in its ambitious project, which
could lead to environmental concerns in the Eastern Himalayan region.

The enormity of the problem cannot be ignored by India and therefore it has come up in
several consultations between New Delhi and Beijing, the most prominent being the visit of
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Hu Jintao to India in November, 2006. The issue of river water diversion and the Great Bend
project could lead to serious issues in future, and for which India has to strategize in advance.

Meanwhile, India has set the wrong precedent by following a conscious policy of legitimizing
its sovereignty claims over Arunachal Pradesh, by planning huge hydroelectricity projects in
this critical biodiversity hotspot, which has not gone down well with Beijing.
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Bibliography
http://www.pilgrimage-india.com/holy-rivers/brahmaputra-river.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahmaputra_River

http://pcbassam.org/lab2.htm

http://www.indiachildren.com/environmentawareness/WATER/Page7.htm