China has approved the construction of what will be the world's largest hydropower dam, stoking concerns about displacement of communities in Tibet and environmental impacts downstream in India and Bangladesh.
The dam, which will be located in the lower reaches of the Yarlung Tsangpo river, could generate three times more energy than the Three Gorges Dam, currently the world's largest hydropower plant.
Human rights groups and experts have raised concerns about the development's knock-on effects.
Among them are fears that the construction of the dam - first announced in late-2020 - could displace local communities, as well as significantly alter the natural landscape and damage local ecosystems, which are among the richest and most diverse on the Tibetan Plateau.
China has constructed multiple hydropower stations along the course of the river over the past decade in a bid to harness the river's power as a source of renewable energy.
Flowing through the deepest canyon on Earth, the river's dramatic topography, however, also poses major engineering challenges.
The site of the development is located along an earthquake-prone tectonic plate boundary.
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