Itanagar: A collective of 114 scientists, researchers, and practitioners has issued a powerful statement of solidarity with the Indigenous Adi communities of Beging and the wider Siang Valley in Arunachal Pradesh, who are staunchly opposing the proposed Upper Siang Dam—officially termed the Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP). The statement emphasises that the proposed dam threatens one of the most biologically and culturally rich regions of the Eastern Himalayas.
The Siang River—revered as Ane Siang or “Mother Siang” by the Adi people—is central to their identity, livelihoods, and cultural traditions. The SUMP project would submerge vital terraced rice fields, disrupt gravity-fed irrigation systems, and dismantle traditional agroecological knowledge rooted in generations of practice. “Compensation mechanisms rarely account for non-monetary values such as land-based identity, ecological knowledge, and customary rights,” the statement notes, warning of irreversible damage to both people and ecosystems.
The Siang Valley is globally significant for its biodiversity. In just the past 15 years, over 48 species new to science have been discovered here. Rediscovered species like the Siang swamp eel (Ophichthys hodgarti) and the velvet worm (Typhloperipatus williamsoni), as well as iconic fish like the Golden Mahseer (Tor putitora), Glyptothorax siangensis, and Opsarius siangi, depend on the river’s free flow.
The collective calls for an immediate suspension of all activities related to the Upper Siang Dam, recognition and protection of community forest and resource rights, and assurance of full community agency in line with Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC).
The statement arrives amid severe ecological disruptions across Arunachal Pradesh, triggered by an early and intense monsoon. Flash floods, landslides, and infrastructure destruction underscore the risks of infrastructure expansion in geologically fragile regions like the Siang Valley.
The Siang River, which originates in Tibet as the Yarlung Tsangpo, supports around 130 million people across Tibet, India, and Bhutan. For the Adi people, the river is sacred and central to their migrations, traditions, and cultural identity. Hydropower activities like tunneling and reservoir creation threaten to sever this deep-rooted connection.
Situated in Seismic Zone V—the highest risk zone as per the Bureau of Indian Standards—the proposed dam site lies in an area with a history of powerful earthquakes, including the 1950 Assam earthquake (Magnitude 8.6). Combined with increasing risks of glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs), cloudbursts, and slope failures, the dam raises concerns of cumulative hazard potential.
The collective affirms that development in Arunachal Pradesh must prioritise ecological integrity, cultural continuity, and democratic processes, and stand in solidarity with the Indigenous communities of the Siang Valley. They urge the suspension of all activities related to the Upper Siang Dam, full recognition of community forest and resource rights, and upholding of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC).
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