Page "Geography of Nepal" Paragraph 35

Building dams in Nepal is controversial for several reasons.

First, the region is seismically active.

Dam failures caused by earthquakes could cause tremendous death and destruction downstream, particularly on the densely populated Gangetic Plain.

Second, global warming has led to the formation of glacial lakes dammed by unstable moraines.

Sudden failures of these moraines could lead to cascading failures of manmade structures downstream.

Third, sedimentation rates in the Himalaya are extremely high, leading to rapid loss of storage capacity as sediments accumulate behind dams.

Fourth, there are complicated questions of cross-border equity in how India and Nepal would share costs and benefits that have proven difficult to resolve in the context of frequent acrimony between the two countries.