According to a study on Chinese water management by the Tibet Justice Organisation, water shortages in China are such that over 60 million people do not get enough water for their daily needs. Figures show that in 1995, 400 of 595 Chinese cities had savvier water shortages and presently one in three rural inhabitants don’t have access to clean water whilst in the cities such as Beijing there is still a mere individual allowance of 66,000 gallons per year. 11.9% of the Chinese economy relies on agriculture, much of which is for growing rice for export which requires huge amounts of water; the Yangtze provides 66% of China’s rice.
The construction of the three gorges dam means that west of the dam on the Yangtze water can be regulated and controlled, preventing the event of freak flooding such as those in 1998 which will benefit all citizens east of the dam. However sceptics believe that the freak flooding on the Yangtze is predominantly due to the high levels of water entering the river from some of the seven hundred tributaries that are east of the dam meaning the regulation of the Yangtze at three gorges would be superfluous to preventing freak flooding although this is theory is not backed by any available figures. The regulation of water east of the three gorges dam will help prevent water shortages further east on the Yangtze in cities such as Wuhan, Nanjing and Shanghi. As a part of the three gorges project a 600km canal is planned to be constructed from the three gorges reservoir to the city of Beijing in order to supply the city with 8 billion cubic meters of water a year preventing water shortages in the area. On the downside, if 22.5 billion cubic meter flood control capacity is exceeded that there is little to prevent overspill from causing disastrous effects in unprotected valleys surrounding The Three Gorges.
The Reservoir
By creating a dam, a lake is formed behind it. The lake behind the three gorges dam will flood 632 squared kilometres an area the size of Singapore including many villages and towns. An estimated 1.3 million people who live in the area that will be flooded by the lake will be displaced and be forced to relocate. The three gorges project allows for compensation of those that will loose their jobs, home and land as a result, however there have been complaints that these reparation payments have not reached those that it has be intended for due to corruption. The map on the following page indicates this loss of land to the reservoir.
Tourism
River cruises on the Yangtze have become ever more popular through the scenic area of the Three Gorges as the Chinese tourism industry has grown in recent years. There are many luxury cruises that run up and down the Yangtze but many were suspended for a time around the construction of the dam. After completion of the dam these cruises will again be able to travel along the Yangtze by crossing through the ship locks beside the dam.
Many people criticize the dam because of the flooding of the three gorges area will mean that large part of this scenic area that attracts tourism will be destroyed. The dam itself is visually unappealing to say the least, which is said to decrease tourism in the immediate area, but there are steps being taken to make the critically acclaimed, World’s Largest Dam, into a tourist attraction. A viewing platform and bus rides along the dam are said to begin after all construction leaves the area completely.
Power & Electricity
In 1995 73.2% China’s energy consumption was Coal (as shown by the pie chart below). The hydroelectric power generators of The Three Gorges Dam are thought to be able to generate up to an estimated 18,000 megawatts per year allowing China to reduce its dependency on coal. Not only will this cut CO2 emissions (see Greenhouse Gas Emissions) but this will mean China will no longer have to rely as much on foreign imports of coal. This reduction in foreign imports for coal will reap huge benefits for the Chinese government and economy in the long term, despite the huge cost of the dam. The construction of the Three Gorges Dam will contribute to the 2010 target of 840GW per year power capacity of China which will help reduce and end the frequent generator “burn outs” and rolling “black-outs” that are experienced in China. The Generators began running at full capacity recently on October 26th 2006.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Hydro Electric Power in any form saves coal, trees and other un-renewable recourses from being burned in order to create energy. The reaction of burning fossil fuels is: Fuel + Oxygen → Energy + Carbon Dioxide + Water. The Carbon Dioxide emitted by fossil fuel power stations such as the coal power stations in China contribute heavily to the Greenhouse Effect. China emits the second largest, after the USA, volume of greenhouse gasses in the world and will soon emit more than the USA.
On the other hand there is some worry about the natural greenhouse gasses such as methane that may be created as a result of flooding a huge area to become the three gorges reservoir. It is believed that a large amount of methane gas will be created as trees and plants rot in the reservoir. However, most people believe that the benefits of the Dam producing green energy far out-weigh the effect of Greenhouse gasses from the reservoir.
Vegetation & Wildlife
Many environmentalists think that the environmental impact of the dam could be devastating. As well as the flooding of some rare ancient trees many rare speciesmay be affected badly.
Many aquatic creatures of the Yangtze River are likely to be effected by the Dam, including many types of fish, the Yangtze dolphin, the Chinese Alligator to name a few. The construction the dam will affect these creatures due to several reasons. Firstly is the temperature of the river. The Yangtze River is not a particularly deep river and therefore it has relatively warm temperatures, but as the river rises and becomes a reservoir behind the Three Gorges Dam it will become very deep and a lot colder. This may cause many species to reduce in numbers or even die out completely.
The 632km that are to be flooded behind the Three Gorges Dam will destroy some of the areas finest scenery, including beautiful forests and breathtaking deep valleys.
Relocation
The flooding of the reservoir will caused s 1.1million people will be required to relocate to less desirable places, however some riverside villages and towns will just be moved to higher ground in order to prevent their flooding when the lake completely filled. There is some debate to weather this is a good thing. One the one hand the Chinese government are putting money into the rebuilding and relocation of towns and villages that will perhaps make them a more desirable place to live in the future and more able to sustain economic development.
History
As the reservoir behind the three gorges dam is created the water will flood many towns and villages containing some of China’s most treasured historic sites for example. According to archaeologists, the reservoir will engulf around 1,200 historical sites, some dating back to over 50,000 years old and another presently 8,000 unexcavated sites. Some of the historic sites will be buried in a tomb of water and silt, whilst some will be moved and relocated, ensuring their protection. One historic site that will be relocated is the Zhang Fei Temple shown in the image on the right. Despite its ensured safety from the waters of the Yangtze many people are disappointed that it is to be moved to a less scenic and desirable place. A total of $37.5 million has been allocated by the Three Gorges project to protect Chinese history and culture. Like other large sums of money allocated for different areas of the project some of the money is expected to be lost due to corruption.
Silt & Fertility
Silt that is carried by the River Yangtze has caused the region around the river to be one of the most fertile regions in the whole of China. The dam will deny most places west of the dam any silt whatsoever which will cause the fertility of farmland west of the dam to decrease terribly. This will be a disadvantage to farmers west of the dam as it will mean their crops have a smaller yield, perhaps bringing an economic decline in the area. However, as previously mentioned, whilst preventing the flow of silt to the western farmers, they are also ensured protection from the flooding which causes clay to ruin their crops completely. The build up of silt behind the dam, in the reservoir can lead to the clear, clean lake becoming very murky. This can lead to an alteration in aquatic conditions which could affect many river creatures negatively. The build up of silt can also clog up the dam, preventing water from flowing through it easily, leading to a reduction in the efficiency of the hydroelectric power turbines. This could very well mean that the dam has a very short life span in terms of generating electricity and controlling water levels effectively although the designers do believe they have a method that may counter this effect.
Construction
It is said that The Three Gorges Dam will cost the Chinese government over $28 billion (USD). This money will be spent on the, 26 turbo generators, 26 million tonnes of concrete, 250,000 tonnes of steel, and a workforce over 40,000 strong, all required to construct the dam over the period many years. There is some debate on whether the workers will have good working conditions, although many workers are happy that the work is being brought to the area.
Jobs
The construction requiring 40,000 labourers will provide a large amount of work in the area whilst the movement, relocation and reconstruction of town and historic sites that would be effected by the Three Gorgers Reservoir will also create jobs for a period of time during and after the construction of the dam allowing the area to prosper economically in the future. On the down side many factories are being forced to close due to the prospect of them being flooded by the rising waters of the Three Gorges Reservoir. It is intended that those that loose their job to the reservoir are to receive compensation.
Those working on the dams’ construction will eventually loose their livelihoods when the project is completed whilst it is likely that they will find jobs in the ongoing relocation and improvements in the area that will continue for many more years after the dam is completed. As the towns and cities increase in terms of economic activity due to the modern design of the new towns and cities new opportunity and economic expansion is due for the future of China.
Conclusion
After researching the effects of building the Three Gorges Dam I have been made to think of many positives, such as economic advantage and the prevention of devastating floods, and many negatives, such as the ecological and environmental disaster that the dam may cause.
It is clear that after tabulating a conflict matrix on the effects of The Three Gorges Dam on different people there were more agreements than disagreements within groups of people. This suggests that the construction of The Three Gorges Dam predominantly creates agreements between different groups. There are some major disagreements in the project such as the power companies. This new source of cheap energy will cause the price of power in China to go down, impairing the profit of power companies. I think that problems such as there can be easily solved by regulation. In this case the price of electricity should be regulated so that it does not negatively effect the power companies too much.
I think in total the population that benefit from the dam far exceeds the population affected negatively by it and in the big picture China will benefit economically from projects such as these and that the utilisation of their renewable energy sources will help China continue become one of the worlds’ strongest economies.
In my opinion I think that the main problem with the construction is the environmental impact of the dam that could perhaps be devastating. However I think the ‘green energy’ that it will create will far outweigh this effect. Despite this, I feel that if the reservoir becomes polluted, I do not think that the project will be much of a success in all fields. The key to the success of this project is to manage the water in the reservoir correctly in order to prevent it becoming a cesspool of human and industrial waste which would conflict with the tourism industry and with those living on the high ground west of the Dam. China as a country has the money to prevent this happen, but whether this money is allocated towards environmental protection or lost in the widespread corruption of the project.
Sources & Bibliography
- Wikipedia.org
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BBC News Online – 20th May 2006
- Washington Post Online
- International Rivers Network (IRN.org)
- European Space Agency – China 1998 Flooding (ESA.int)
- ImperialTours.net – Yangtze River & the Three Gorges Tour.
- Energy Information Administration (EIA.doe.gov)
- Discovery Channel Online
- Tibet Justice Organisation – “Hydro Logic: Water for human development”
-An Analysis of China’s Water Management and Politics.