Jayi: World view of the dam

How do other countries think about China's controversial dam?

Supporters

Europe- Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, France and the UK had promised the potential financial support for the suppliers of the construction of the Three Gorges dam from their countries. The export credit agencies of these countries disagreed with those opponents of the Three Gorges dam. 

However, regarding to relocation of people, the western governments and companies claimed that they would refrain from supporting until the issues of human rights had been solved. Corruption scandal is another problem that plagued the construction in terms of further international support of the project. 

Canada also offered financial supports for long-term commercial loans by banks and companies.

Japan, first hesitated but later reviewed intensively by the Japanese Ministry of International Trade and Industry, claimed that the dam had benefits in flood control and emission reduction. Japan then followed Canada and these western countries. 

Opponents

The World Bank denied its supports for the project because of all the other hydro projects it had sponsored before. 

Neutral

The US Export-Import Bank did not decide its position because of the lacking information about the construction and potential impacts of the project. It did not support the project, but it did not prevent US companies or banks from signing contracts or supporting the operation. 

So back to the survey I put in the last part of the first post: "Location and Brief Introduction", what do you think about the dam project after considering both its benefits and potential degration and impacts to both human and ecology?

The Three Gorges Dam project is

A. More beneficial

B. More harmful

C. Pros and cons balance out

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Reference:
1.http://www.power-technology.com/projects/gorges/
2.http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2007/11/27/22178/china-hails-three-gorges-dam-blasts.html

Jayi: Maintain balance

Maintain Balance


Now the Chinese government has realized the potential damage the dam will cause, so the government spent billions of dollars to geologically stabilized the dam area.The Three Gorges Project Corporation agreed to reinforce the environmental impact checks and would stop any construction that failed to meet the requirements. It will help reduce the risks of geological diaster in the dam area.

Moreover, regarding to water and air pollution of the dam, factories near the dam areas should be shut down. There are already more than 1,600 factories had been shut down near the dam in 2007, but in order to be more efficient in the reduction of pollution, the government should not only shut down factories, but also need to regularly check the current status of those still existing factories. 

side view of the dam

In order to reduce the damage of the geological diaster, besides the fact that the constructions should only begin if they meet the requirements, most people should also be resettled in the urban outskirts of Chongqing. Further relocation also enhance economic and social equality as more farmers migrate to urban areas. 

Meanwhile, dozens of smaller dams are necessary to be built upstream from the dam. Constructions of more smaller dams and more power plants on the upper of the Yangtze River will help increase productivity and maximize energy generation of the dam. It also prevents silt blockage. The Chinese government began the construction already in 2007 and it is expected to have more than 100 hydropower stations at the upstream of the dam by 2030. 

a power plant near the Yangtze River

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Reference:

1.https://www.mtholyoke.edu/~vanti20m/classweb/website/current.html

2.http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Latest-News-Wires/2010/1027/Three-Gorges-Dam-in-China-sees-maximum-water-level
3.http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125292359724308283.html

Jayi: Future prediction

Future Prediction


The Chinese government had admitted that the dam had increased the probability of earthquakes, landslides, slitting and problems of pollution. What the government did in 2010 was to relocate more people away the dam area and spend $3 billion at the Three Gorges dam to ease the problem of pollution and landslides. 

However, critics of the dam insisted that the government did not ease the problem efficiently despite of spending huge amount of money on the dam each year. Many of the critics also predicted that the Three Gorges dam would become a catastrophic environment disaster. 

Other than the problems I discussed before: pollution, wildlife disruption, earthquakes and landslides, imbalance of downstream and upstream and relocation of people, the dam would also change the sedimentation to the downstream of the dam. Because of the effect of erosion and siltation, sediments would be decreased to less than 90 Mt/yr in the next decade.

But for such a huge and complex system, it is impossible to decide whether the dam is good or bad in one perspective. It depends on how we plan the future and how we look at the general perspective. Just look at the current status of the dam, it is relatively beneficial because of its efficiency of generating hydroelectric power, waterway control, flood control and urbanization.  

In the future, solutions to ecological and environmental problems of the dam will tend to favor in advanced technology and science. However, the Three Gorges dam not only has environmental problems, but also has social and ethnic issues such as the relocation of the local people. 

The Chinese government should look at the real cause of the dam. Reducing the possibility of earthquakes and landslides is as important as reducing water and air pollution that the dam has contributed. Yet it is difficult to simply predict whether the future trend will be harmful or beneficial to China. 

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Reference:
1.http://factsanddetails.com/china.php?itemid=1046&catid=13&subcatid=85
2.http://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/13/2253/2009/hess-13-2253-2009.pdf
3.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1570644312000512
4.http://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1341&context=macintl
5.http://futurepredictions.com/2011/05/future-predictions-china%E2%80%99s-energy-and-carbon-emissions-outlook-to-2050/

Jayi: Protected area and the status

Protected areas- cultural and historical relics

The construction of the Three Gorges Dam has threatened the Chinese cultural and historical relics. By 2009, when the reservoir was filled into capacity, more than 2,000 archeological sites would have been submerged. The Chinese government then realized that it is urgent to protect the relics of the area and they set three parts of the protection. 

First of all, throughout the construction, 114 items should have been collected in information and 133 of them have been gathered data during the program.

Secondly, the local interest groups would need to protect 87 items, and 41 of them have been recovered by these groups.

Last but not the least, another 133 items should be entirely removed for later preservation, and nearly half of them have been completed in 2002. The goal has now been achieved by the time of the completion. 

one of the relics called Shibaozhai,Chongqing, 

was protected well after the completion of the Three Gorges Dam

On the other hand, during the excavation at the very beginning of the construction, sets of scientific records have been found. 6,000 out of the 50,000 cultural remnants that have been found were considered scientifically valuable. 

a tomb was unearthed in Guizhong town

Cultural artefacts from the Palaeolithic period also helped studying the distinctions between the southern and northern Chinese, which is a significant archeological achievement. 

at the upstream of the dam,

carving of the baiheliang has been found

In addition, during the protection process, new scientific and technological tools have been applied. Digital technology was applied to most of the archaeological excavations and the adoption of digital technology provided advantages to material management. 

First rate! 

The protection of the cultural relics of the Three Gorges area was rated as the most urgent one. Chinese government had put efforts on the protection. It was organized and carried out by the Hubei Province and Chongqing Municipality, with the help of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage by supervising and providing guidance for the governmental requirements. It seems that the Chinese government had a great achievement in the protection of the Three Gorges area. 

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Reference:
1.http://www.china.org.cn/english/2002/Sep/42761.htm
2.http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0608-02.htm
3.http://h2w.iask.cn/h2wdisplay.php?url=http%3a%2f%2fwww.china.com.cn%2fnews%2ftxt%2f2006-09%2f30%2fcontent_7206509.htm
4.http://www.myyangtzecruise.com/thousand-years-tomb-unearthed-after-three-gorges-dam-s-water-level-decreased_12494_c/

Jayi: Benefits

Benefits- flood, energy, economy

 1. Flood control and water utilization- protects 15 million people and 1.5 million acres of farmland around Yangtze River from flood by adjusting the upstream flood. 

Water being released from the Three Gorges Dam

However, although the dam is supposed to efficiently control flooding, in 2010 China had the worst devastating flooding in decade, killing at least 700 people and relocating millions people. The dam helped holding back some of the water by lowering its water level by 16 meters, but the flooding was still overwhelming that it became the worst flooding since the 1998 flooding, which had killed 4,150 people. 

2010 flooding

2011 flooding

In 2011, another flooding happened in China. Water level had fallen to 156meters, the optimum for power generations. It was another threat that the Three Gorges Dam was facing. 

As the Chinese environmentalists claimed, the reservoir volume is 39.3 billion meter cube and 22 billion meter cube are available for flooding control and prevention. 


2. Hydroelectric power generation- produced 18.3 millionwatts, accounts for 3% of the total energy need of China

Between the completion of the dam in 2006 and 2008, with 34 power generators, it generated a total of 18,300 MW. Among the main 32 generators, 14 of them are on the left bank and 12 are on the right, and the other 6 are set underground which became fully operational in 2011. Each of the last 2 generators has 50MW capacity. 

energy output before and after  the completion of the dam (2012)

3. Emission Reduction
The total energy output of the power plants is equivalent to 50 million tonnes per years that large coal-fired plants would burn up to. Without the dam, Chinese emission would increase more rapidly and cause more acid rain in Japan. The dam will help decrease emission of 100 million tons of CO2, 2 million tons of SO2, 0.37 million tons of nitrogen oxide and waste water.  


4. Navigation- boosting the trading system
By eliminating shoals and rapids and widening the shipping lanes, the dam enables better navigation that allows the Yangtze River to increase shipping from 3 million tons to 50 million tons per year by larger ships and travel further. 


5. Economy booming- jobs, tourism
The inner land of China is not as economically developing as the coastal areas. The construction, therefore, boosted the economy by creating at least 10,000 jobs for the local people in the interior of China.

Tourism, on the other hand, has also been boomed by the Three Gorges Dam. In January, 2011, report showed that there was 1.45 million tourists arrived in 2010, and cruise had also brought about 860,000 tourists. The number had an annual increase for 40%. Population increases, cities expands and new constructions are built everywhere. 

Luxury cruise trip, by Wuhan City-enhance

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Reference:
1. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-20103483
2. http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jul/21/world/la-fg-china-floods-20100722
3.http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2010/06/21/china-floods-rain.html
4.http://www.ctg.com.cn/en/environmental/environmental_a.php
5.http://www.scoop.it/t/dams-and-their-capabilities
6.http://www.power-technology.com/projects/gorges/
7.http://factsanddetails.com/china.php?itemid=1046&catid=13&subcatid=85
8.http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2011-01/11/c_13685858.htm

Jayi: UGLY human impacts

Impacts of the Dam

Du Bin for New York Times

Even before the completion of the dam in 2006, the construction had already triggered environmental impacts on the land and people. 

Like I said in the previous post, the construction had replaced approximately 1.3 million people, and it is the No.10 on the world record. Besides the fact that it is the world largest dam, the construction is also the biggest consumer in stone, concrete, steel, etc. More importantly, other than its benefits such as generating electricity and preventing flooding, its negative impacts on environment and the ecosystem are significant as well. It has been called the world most notorious dam. 

1. Water quality, floating trash, pollution

Total 6.19 million tons of marine pollution flowed into the Yangtze River in 2003. Salinity also increased from 28% to 29.14%. 

2. Wildlife disruption- copper, zinc, lead and ammonium

Pollution leads to ecological disruption and economic problems. Physical barriers of the dam had impacts on the fishing economy. Moreover, there are 47 endangered species around the Three Gorges Dam, including Chinese River Dolphin and the Chinese Sturgeon. 

 Chinese Sturgeon

Chinese River Dolphin 

3. Geological diaster and degration- Earthquakes and landslides

As the dam was built in the earthquake zone, it is controversy that the excessive water holding back on the dam had caused enormous landslides and earthquakes. 

Sichuan earthquake, 5.12.08

landslide

China "RED" sea- by China Foto Press/ Barcroft Media 

4.Imbalance of upstream and drought downstream 

drought in 2011, by Britrob

It is 40% below average rainfall in the first quarter of 2011. The ideal water level of the dam is 175meters, and it would be unable to relieve the drought if the drought would continue in early 2012. The bottom line of the capacity of controlling flood and drought is 145meters. 

5.Relocation of local people

6.Submerge and destruction of historical sites (which I will discuss in later post)

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Reference:
1. http://www.nature.com/news/2011/110525/full/news.2011.315.html
2. http://www.ndhealth.gov/MF/forms/presentations/ThreeGorgesDam.pdf
3. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/19/world/asia/19dam.html?pagewanted=all
4. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1240762/posts
5. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/may/19/china-three-gorges-dam
6. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120350566588879809.html
7. http://www.businessinsider.com/three-gorges-dam-drought-2011-5
8. http://www.desdemonadespair.net/2011/05/continued-drought-threatens-three.html
9. http://www1.american.edu/ted/ICE/china-dam-impact.html
10. http://www.springerlink.com/content/p876076274765321/
11.http://www.dhtravel.com/attractionsend.php?id=237

Jayi: History of the ecosystem

Yangtze River turned to "tomato juice" in Hubei, China

Amazingly, in September 2012, the Yangtze River, China'a longest river, has turned scarlet! Although the Chinese government announced that it was due to excess sand that was brought by upstreaming floods, it was doubtful that pollution was the actual cause.

The Yangtze River was different in the 20th century, before the formation of the Three Gorges Dam  in Chongqing, China. Water was relatively clearer and the river was narrower. The following pictures show how the land was different before and after the Three Gorges Dam project. Yet it is hardly to find a picture of the Yangtze river itself before the dam project, but we can get an idea how the landscape has changed due to the dam. 

Besides the change of landscapes, the water level also rised during the process of the project. These following photos were taken by Chua Chin Hon.Between June 2003 and November 2008, behind the Three Gorges Dam the water level rised from 135m to 175m.

June 2003

November 2008

This so-called "China's greatest project" was first proposed in 1919, but due to huge criticism at that time and Chinese Civil War in the 50s, it was not reintroduced until 1980s. The actual construction began in 1992 and lasted for 17 years, which completed in 2009. 

The project resettled approximately 1.3 billion people. The Chinese government promised to give compensations equivalently $7 a month, jobs and new homes, but it was hardly for the intended recipients to receive these compensations because of the local corruptions. 

Moreover, the Three Gorges project also flooded and demolished 16 towns and some of them had histories over 2,000 years. Kai Xian, one of the 16 towns, was also the last town that was completely demolished in 2008. The following video shows how the town was flooded and how people were reluctant to leave their home town. It was made by Yan Chun Su: 

Here are some other pictures of the last day of Kai Xian, photographed by Zhang Xiao and Aaron Rothman in 2008:

On the other hand, before the Three Gorges Dam project, there were severe flooding that devastated thousands of infrastructures and killed millions of people. On August 18th, 1931, a horrible flood directly or indirectly killed 3.7 million people, destroyed crops and rice, and influenced over 500 square miles of land. Famine and disease also occurred after this devastating flood. There was another terrible flood that killed 300,000 people in 1954 in China. Therefore, the Chinese government announced that the Three Gorges Dam would protect 15 million people and 1.5 million acres of farmland from the devastating flooding.

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Reference: 
1. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2199800/The-river-DID-run-red-Residents-Chinese-city-left-baffled-Yangtze-turns-scarlet.html?ito=feeds-newsxml
2. http://www1.american.edu/ted/ICE/china-dam-impact.html
3. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/06/060609-gorges-dam_2.html
4. http://places.designobserver.com/slideshow/three-gorges-dam-photographs-of-kaixian-china/33768/2328/22#slide
5. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWeBQ3kw5RI
6. http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/yangtze-river-peaks-in-china
7. http://oraclephoto.com/3gmain.html