Guwahati, June 10: A collective of 114 scientists, researchers, and practitioners has issued a strong statement of solidarity with the Indigenous Adi communities of Beging and the wider Siang Valley in Arunachal Pradesh, opposing the proposed Upper Siang Dam—officially called the Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP).
The statement, released on June 9, comes amid a climate-induced crisis unfolding in the region. Early monsoon floods and landslides have ravaged parts of Arunachal Pradesh, with experts warning against further destabilisation of fragile Himalayan landscapes. “The recent disasters underscore the dangers of expanding infrastructure in ecologically and seismically vulnerable areas like the Siang Valley,” the signatories wrote.
Situated in Seismic Zone V and home to an extraordinary range of biodiversity, the Siang Valley is also culturally vital to the Adi people, who revere the river as Ane Siang (Mother Siang). The dam project threatens to submerge traditional terraced rice fields, disrupt gravity-fed irrigation, and erase complex agroecological systems rooted in generations of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK).
“The Siang River supports livelihoods, spiritual practices, and food systems. Damming it would dismantle the identity and sustenance of its Indigenous stewards,” the statement said. Citing the failure of previous hydropower projects like Lower Subansiri to address socio-economic displacement, the collective highlighted that compensation mechanisms often ignore non-monetary values like land-based identity and customary rights.
The region’s scientific value is also immense. In the past 15 years alone, over 48 species new to science have been discovered in the Siang Valley, along with numerous rediscoveries—including the Siang swamp eel and the elusive velvet worm. The free-flowing river sustains unique fish like Glyptothorax siangensis and Opsarius siangi, vital to local diets and traded in regional markets, particularly by women vendors.
The collective is urging the Union and State Governments to immediately suspend all construction, survey, and clearance activities related to the Upper Siang Dam; uphold community forest and resource rights under the Forest Rights Act (2006); and ensure Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) for all future development in the region.
Calling the resistance at Beging a “constitutionally legitimate and locally informed” response, the statement warns that proceeding without local consent threatens democratic values, ecological integrity, and long-term resilience in Arunachal Pradesh.
“Planning for the future must begin by listening to those who have lived in harmony with the Siang for generations,” the signatories affirmed.
Also Read: Why Arunachal’s indigenous people refuse to give up fight against Siang dam