Originating from the Angsi Glacier on the Chinese side of the Himalayas, the Yarlung River serves as a critical water source and transportation line for China, India and Bangladesh. Relatively unexploited for power generation in the past decade, the river has been increasingly at the center of diplomatic conflicts, since all three countries will face growing water shortages and skyrocketing demand for alternative sources of energy and power generation in the coming decades. Map of Zangmu dam project Water shortages are particularly a challenge for China's economic development because many of its important industrial and agricultural heartlands are already severely deprived of water. And that water is critical: China's agriculture and industrial sectors accounted for 62 percent and 23 percent of the country's total water consumption in 2008, respectively.