
The Indus River at its confluence with the Zanskar River in India. The river is a growing source of discord between India and Pakistan, made worse by the ongoing dispute over Kashmir.

On the Amazon, in 2016 Brazilian hydropower expansion plans were put on hold after rights groups argued the dams would put the forest and its indigenous people at risk.

The government of the DRC is seeking to harness the power potential of the Congo river by building the Grand Inga, expected to to be the world's biggest hydroelectric project when completed. But NGOs claim electricity generated will bypass rural communities.

Dam construction along the Mekong River has long being contested by rights groups and environmentalists, who say the dams can impact agriculture and local livelihoods.

Ethiopia is building The Grand Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile, a tributary of the Nile River. Sudan and Egypt have opposed the project in the past, fearing that the dam will reduce their share of the Nile water, on which they rely for agriculture.

The idea to dam the Yangtze river originated more than 70 years ago, but it wasn't until 1992 that the Chinese government approved the project. The dam generated controversy, partly because over 1 million people had to be relocated.

Estimates vary widely on its cost, but it's thought the Three Gorges Dam is the most expensive hydroelectric project ever built.

Elsewhere in China, visitors gather to watch giant gushes of water being released from the Xiaolangdi dam to clear up the sediment-laden Yellow river and to prevent localized flooding, in Jiyuan, central China's Henan province.


