Ten articles you should have read on The Third Pole in 2016

1. Jolted into action by oil spills, Bangladesh activates five-year old regional cooperation agreement

Bangladesh signed a regional cooperation agreement in 2010 but recent disasters have only now gotten it moving to formulate a contingency plan and receive regional cooperation

Oil spill over the Shela River [image by Arati Kumar-Rao/ Peepli.Org]

2. Fishermen to turn dolphin saviours in Bangladesh

An innovative programme in Bangladesh seeks to turn fishermen, often those whose actions most endanger dolphins, into their saviours.

Fishermen being trained on using binoculars to spot dolphins [Image by WCS Bangladesh Program]

3. The Koshi River: a journey down the lifeline of Nepal

From the high Himalayas to the plains, one of the largest tributaries of the Ganga has the power both to unleash disaster and to transform the country’s economy

Work is yet to resume at the Upper Tamakoshi dam site after the road was destroyed by last year's earthquake. Image from Dolakha, Nepal. [All photos by Nabin Baral] — *Work is yet to resume at the Upper Tamakoshi dam site after the road was destroyed by last year’s earthquake. Image from Dolakha, Nepal. [Photo Nabin Baral]*

4. Seven year old sues Pakistan government over climate change

Girl claims plans to develop dirty coal deposits will exacerbate climate change and deprive future generations of the right to healthy life

Rabab Ali, with her younger brother [image courtesy Qazi Ali Athar]

5. The great Indian river trick

Putting dying rivers in India on life support by diverting water at enormous cost from other river basins wins popular support, but raises serious questions about who has the right to use this increasingly scarce resource

The ghats of the Shipra were fit to bursting during the Kumbh Mela.

6. South Asian women missing in climate change debates

South Asian women are underrepresented at climate change talks, despite greater women’s representation from other countries, revealing structural problems

Women farmers at a wind farm in Kutch [image by Danish Wind Industry Association / Flickr]

7. Afghanistan’s coming water crisis

Decades of conflict have left Afghanistan’s water infrastructure in a mess, and as refugees return to the country the prospect of water-related conflicts rises

Kabul city before the decades of conflict on the left, and now, on the right [image courtesy Naim Eqrar]

8. Southeast Asia’s last major undammed river in crisis

China has suspended dams upstream of the Salween but the Myanmar government is pushing ahead with Chinese backed dams downstream, despite environmental costs

Ethnic groups along the Salween support International Rivers Day to celebrate the importance of preserving the great rivers of the world (courtesy of Kesan media group) — Ethnic groups along the Salween support International Rivers Day (courtesy of Kesan media group)

9. The future of Bhutan’s hydropower

The managing director of Bhutan’s Druk Green Power Corporation, Chhewang Rinzin, talks about challenges and future of hydropower

Druk Green Power Corporation team at the Takti waterfall near Chukha project [image courtesy Chhewang Rinzin]

10. World Bank drawn into Indus Waters Treaty dispute

As tensions continued to mount between India and Pakistan throughout 2016, the World Bank, a signatory to the Indus Waters Treaty, was drawn into the dispute between the two countries.

President of the World Bank, Jim Yong Kim [image courtesy the World Bank Photo Collection]