Glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau – the source of rivers such as the Brahmaputra – have shrunk by as much as 15 per cent, retreating by 8,000 square kilometres since 1980, according to a new Chinese

Chinese authorities have granted approval for an environmental assessment of a controversial 2 GW dam project — slated to be the country’s tallest dam — despite concerns voiced by a number of environmental groups.

The Ministry of Environmental Protection this week said it had approved a year-long assessment of the Shuangjiangkou project on the Dadu river in the southwestern Sichuan province.

How to handle thorny issues is the crux of talks

The question how India and China can more effectively manage persisting thorny issues such as the border dispute and trans-boundary rivers is expected to emerge as the centre of talks as External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid arrives here on Thursday.

Authorities are facing unusual criticism over mining projects

Chinese authorities are facing unusual criticism over mining projects in Tibet from both Tibetan writers and a number of prominent Chinese public figures, in the wake of landslips on Friday that left at least 83 people buried in a county near Lhasa. As of Sunday, 11 bodies had been recovered from the site near the mining centre of Maizhokunggar, Xinhua news agency reported, leaving at least 72 people missing under piles of debris and rocks.

Pollutants brought in by monsoon winds from South Asia — and not industrial emissions from China — are behind the melting of glaciers on the Tibetan plateau, a leading Chinese scientist has claimed

China to build 3 hydropower projects on the Brahmaputra

The Chinese government said on Monday that the new hydropower dams it was planning to build on the Brahmaputra river would not impact flood control efforts or the ecological environment in downstream regions. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said it was maintaining “close communication and cooperation” with India on the issue, adding that it would ensure that there would be “no negative impact.”

Public concerns triggered by intense smog that blanketed Chinese cities for much of the past week have prompted the government to pledge fresh emission curbs and to suspend work in 58 factories.

The national environment watchdog announced on Tuesday that it would also put in place measures to limit vehicle emissions, after heavy smog prompted unusual criticism of China’s growth policies by state media outlets.

A Chinese state-run oil company’s offer of tenders to foreign partners for nine oil blocks in the South China Sea has triggered a protest from Vietnam, amid rising tensions between China and several of its neighbours over the disputed region.

Vietnam, which had earlier angered China by entering into joint exploration projects with India and Russia, described the offer from the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) as “illegal”.

Chinese plans to build a major tourism project and national park in a Tibetan county have dealt a blow to hydropower lobby groups who have proposed the construction of massive dam on the Brahmaputra’s ‘Great Bend’, where the river begins its course towards India.

The Chinese government announced on Saturday it had earmarked 400 million yuan ($63.5 million) to develop tourism in Nyingchi prefecture in south-eastern Tibet. The plans include an ambitious proposal to raise two billion yuan ($317.5 million) to build an “international tourism town” in the border prefecture.

China on Friday rejected reports in India suggesting that the dam it is building upstream on the Brahmaputra river was causing its lower reaches to dry up, and reiterated its commitment to Indian officials that it had neither embarked on any diversion projects nor built any large dams in Tibet.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei told reporters that China had not developed any new projects, besides the Zangmu dam on the river's middle reaches, work on which began in 2010 and which is a run-of-the-river project that would have minimal impact downstream.