F.6 Geography Case Study- Chang JiangCons and Pros of the Three Gorges Project

Introduction

China's massive Three Gorges hydroelectric project has generated plenty of controversy from the start. It was first proposed in 1919 by revolutionary leader Sun Yat-sen as a way of providing energy to fuel the nation's industrial development. The plan was revived in 1954 as a way to control the chronic overflow of the legendary Yangtze river after tens of thousands were killed in widespread flooding. After several false starts, work began in earnest in 1979.

Advocates say China's development depends on it. They say it will provide a clean source of energy for future generations. But critics say it could be a monumental ecological disaster.

The dam's sluice gates were closed on June 1, 2003, allowing the reservoir behind it to begin filling. By June 10, 2003, the water was 135 metres deep, and it's expected to be 175 metres deep by 2009.

Facts The 16-year project is due to be completed in 2009. The river's level is expected to rise to 175 metres. By mid-June 2003 the dam was holding back 12 billion cubic metres of

water. The dam's storage capacity is nearly 40 billion cubic metres. It will create a 658-sq.-km reservoir. Its concrete wall is 192 metres high. It has a total of 22 sluice gates. It will have 26 700-megawatt turbine generators. They are expected to p

roduce 18.2 million kilowatts by 2009. Eleven of the reactors were in place as of January 2005.

It has the world's largest lock system, 6?kilometres in length. The lock lifts and lowers ships in five stages.

The dam is located in Yichang, in the central province of Hubei. It's China's biggest engineering project since the Great Wall was built m

ore than 2,000 years ago. Total projected cost: 180 billion yuan ($26.5 billion).

Location of ‘Sanxia’

A man fishes as water flows through water diversion holes of the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River in central China's Hubei Province, June 11, 2003. Some 10 water diversion holes were opened to release water. The water level of the Three Gorges Reservoir reached 135 metres (433 feet) on June 10. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Du Huaju)

Two men carry bricks to a barge at the temporary dock at Wushan, in the middle of the Three Gorges on the Yangtze River in central China, June 6, 2003. Lower lying areas of the town have been demolished in preparation for the increase in the water level as the controversial Three Gorges Dam reservoir begins to fill. (AP Photo/Greg Baker)

A Chinese man sits in the rubble of the demolished old town of Wushan, as he looks out over the city's temporary dock on the Yangtze River in central China, June 6, 2003. (AP Photo/Greg Baker

Workers build a stone embankment as water from the Yangtze River rise up the shoreline at the newly built town of Fengjie, in central China's Chongqing municipality, June 9, 2003. The old town of Fengjie was demolished because it was below the high water mark of the reservoir of the Three Gorges Dam. (AP Photo/Greg Baker)

Three young boys watch as rising waters inundate a corn field at Qutang Village, near Fengjie, in central China's Chongqing municipality, June 9, 2003. Water levels have been rising between two and four metres each day since China began filling the reservoir. Despite warnings from local officials that waters would rise in June, many farmers planted crops because they were unsure of where the high water mark was on their land, while others did not believe that waters could rise so high. (AP Photo/Greg Baker)

Ships sail through the Xiling Gorge of the Three Gorges on the Yangtze River in central China, June 11, 2003. The water level of the Three Gorges Reservoir reached 135 metres (433 feet) June 10, five days ahead of the schedule. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Cheng Min)

The aerial photo, taken on June 3, 2003, shows the Three Gorges Reservoir on the middle reaches of the Yangtze River at Yichang, Hubei province. The water level reached, as planned, 114.29 metres high on the sluice gate. (AP Photo Xinhua, Cheng Min)

Hydroelectric generating sets of the Three Gorges Project in central China's Hubei Province are shown in this April 9, 2003 photo. Four of the hydroelectric generating sets, which are in the final phase of installation and test, will be put into operation later this year. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Du Huaju)

Water flows through water diversion holes at the bottom of the Three Gorges dam, June 1, 2003. China's Three Gorges Project officially began to store water as the sluice gate of the dam started to be closed as scheduled. China began filling the reservoir behind its gargantuan Three Gorges Dam in a major step toward completion of the world-largest hydroelectric project. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Cheng Min)

A man rushes to board a boat before it leaves, in Chongqing city, on the Yangtze River in central China, June 5, 2003. Though more than 600 kilometres (372 miles) from the Three Gorges Dam, water levels at Chongqing will rise up to 15 metres when the dam's reservoir is filled to its highest level on completion in 2009. (AP Photo/Greg Baker)

PROS

Flood control

The reservoir's 22 km³ (28.9 billion cubic yard)

flood storage capacity will lessen the frequency

of big downstream floods from once every 10

years to once every 100 years. It protects life

and property.

Navigation

The installation of ship locks are intended to

increase river shipping from 10 million to 50

million tons annually, with transportation

costs cut by 30 to 37 percent. Cheap and

convenient river transport will be provided. Also,

shipping will become safer, since the gorges

have lower flowing speed of channel.

Agriculture

The reservoir stores up the water that can be

diverted to irrigate farmland. It increases crop

production and exports of surplus farm produce,

e.g. citrus fruits.

Energy and Environment The dam will generate 18,200 megawatts of Hydro

electric power, the equivalent of 18 nuclear power

plants. It will facilitate industrial and economic

development. China now relies on coal for ¾ of its electricity. Its air

is among the foulest in the world and contributes to

global warming. Hydro-electric power is a

renewable energy source that does not generate

waste. It improves air pollution.

Water Supply

Dams can store rain water or water directly

from the river itself. Then, in case of a drought,

the dam will still have a relatively constant

supply of water.

Resettlement

In 1996, floods displaced more than one million

people from their homes. Besides, 180 million

people are now without electricity in China.

But 15 million people downstream will be better

off due to the control of flood and the supply of

cheap electricity. Also, population distribution to

newly-opened area, e.g. higher ground of the

dam, will be present.

Recreation and Tourism

The project provides recreational activities such

as boating fishing and swimming, if the lake is

not being used for drinking water. Also, cruise

ships will be able to sail at all time. Thus, the

dam will serve as a new tourist spot.

Reputation

The Three Gorges will be the most powerful

dam ever built. This is an important political

status symbol for China.

CONS

Resettlement

About 1.3 million people will eventually be relocated from 1,400 villages in the area. By June 2003, 720,000 people, from farmers to fishermen, had been displaced. In addition to the hardship of resettlement, critics say people are being moved to far less fertile land.

Pollution

The resettled people have left dozens of deserted towns in their wake. The buildings include hospitals and abandoned industrial sites. Environmentalists say refuse from those sites will seep out and contaminate the water.

Ecology/Archeology

Climate experts say the humidity and temperature will increase around the dam, causing unknown impact to the ecosystem. The Yangtze basin supports fish, wild fowl and plants, some of which are endangered. The area slated to be submerged is famous for its breathtaking scenery and is home to archeological sites including burial grounds and ancient temples.

Efficiency

Critics say a series of smaller dams would have fulfilled the country's energy needs with less impact on the environment.

Corruption

The project has been plagued by charges of nepotism and inefficiency. After a number of high-profile accidents, the government ordered much of the infrastructure replaced in 1999.

Concerns have surfaced about the dam itself. There are some facts to prove. Firstly, allegations of corruption among officials involved with the project have raised fears of shoddy construction. The Chinese media recently reported several incidents in which corruption and poor construction have led to disasters at major building projects. Notable among the reports was the collapse of a steel bridge in the city of Chongqing in January 1999 that killed 40 people.

Such incidents also have prompted rare open criticism from the Chinese leadership regarding the Three Gorges Dam. In early 1999 Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji inspected the dam site. He warned those involved in the project that "the responsibility on your shoulders is heavier than a mountain. Any carelessness or negligence will bring disaster to our future generations and cause irretrievable losses." Zhu also suggested China might invite top international engineers to inspect the dam and monitor its construction.

Chinese leaders have long dreamed of taming the Yangzi for power generation and flood control. The river's infamous floods have brought destruction and death for centuries -- 1 million deaths in the 20th century alone

Dai calls Three Gorges "the most environmentally and socially destructive project in the world." She also calls for a halt to construction and supports the idea of a series of smaller, less disruptive construction projects on tributaries of the Yangzi.

Moreover, of further concern are claims the dam might become an environmental disaster. There have been little to no attempts made toward removing accumulations of toxic materials and other potential pollutants from industrial sites that will be inundated. Experts say such materials could leach into the reservoir, creating a health hazard. Besides, the relative lack of waste treatment plants in China also could mean run-off from communities around the dam would most likely go untreated directly into the reservoir and into the Yangzi.

"By severing the mighty river and slowing the flow of its water, the dam will cause pollution from industrial and residential sources to concentrate in the river, rather than be flushed out at sea," writes Chinese journalist Jin Hui in "The River Dragon Has Come!" a recently published collection of criticisms against the dam. "The result will be a poisoned river."

Electrical power derived from the dam's turbines will provide up to one-ninth of China's output, the government estimates

Not only these, there are also claims that the dam will actually contribute to the silt accumulation in the Yangzi, rather than allow larger ships to travel the river.

And others dispute whether the electricity generated by the dam will be efficiently used.

"In terms of an American scale, this dam is somewhat akin to the electrical load between Philadelphia and Washington D.C. being served from a single power plant."

Byrne is skeptical whether the huge amount of electricity expected to be generated by the Three Gorges project -- meant to produce power for Chongqing and places as far away as Shanghai -- can be efficiently and economically absorbed by China's electrical system.

The social element of Three Gorges has generated more questions than answers. The dam will "drown" more than 100 towns once the water starts to rise in 2003. Government estimates say 1.2 million people will be resettled and that new land is being provided for 300,000 farmers. Some observers say the government may be underestimating by as many as 700,000 the number of people who actually will be relocated.

The Three Gorges Dam project will require the resettlement of 1.2 million people, according to the government, although observers say that estimate may be short by as many as 700,000 people

The issue of the farmland, much of which has been tilled by the same Chinese families for centuries and will be lost under the reservoir's waters, is particularly important, Byrne says.

"One of the tragedies of this [project], if just from a regional standpoint, is that the land that is going to be flooded is some of the most fertile in China," says Byrne. "The land to where the population is to be relocated is much less fertile."

Historians also have questioned the dam's impact on attempts to preserve some aspects of China's long and illustrious history. Archaeologists and historians have estimated nearly 1,300 important sites will disappear under the reservoir's waters.

Most irreplaceable, according to some experts, are sites that are remnants of the homeland of the Ba, an ancient people who settled in the region about 4,000 years ago. A former curator at Beijing's National Museum of Chinese History describes the area as "the last and best place to study Ba culture."

For its part, the government is well aware of the problems and challenges posed by the Three Gorges project. Nevertheless Guo Shuyan, deputy director of the Three Gorges Project Commission under the State Council, has described the project as "environmentally sound, on the whole."

The Yangzi is the longest river in Asia and the third longest in the world, stretching nearly 4,000 miles across China. The world's longest river is the Nile; the second longest is the Amazon

Chinese officials note the dam may end up providing as much as one-ninth of the nation's electrical production. Considering that China burns 50 million tons of coal each year for energy, their point is that the environmental benefits outweigh the environmental damage.

It appears the Three Gorges project is too far along to be halted. More than 20,000 workers are working around the clock on the dam itself. The reservoir is expected to be at its full depth by 2009.

Maps

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GROUP MEMBERS:

Cheong Yau Kit (Kit) Kan Cham Chung (Kenneth) Luk Kwai Lung (Ryan) Lau Ka Ho (Max)

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