Ecological Nightmare: Is the Three Gorges behind China’s Recent Droughts?

Ecological Nightmare: Is the Three Gorges behind China’s Recent Droughts?
Jun 26, 2011 By eChinacities.com

Editor’s Note: The Three Gorges Dam, now listed as one of the wonders of the modern world, is a monumental structure that’s been mired in controversies since its conception. Hailed as a miracle for its incredible hydroelectric power generation and as a monster for its destruction to the environment and disruption to the lives of thousands of local people, it has entered into debate again as many accuse it of causing recent droughts along the Yangtze River.

Since the beginning of this year, the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River have been plagued by the region’s worst drought in 50 years. Water has consistently been drawn from the Three Gorges Dam to combat the drought, but many are pointing fingers at the Three Gorges Project, saying it created the problem in the first place.

As accusations fly that the dam has permanently altered the climate of the Yangtze River region, scientists like Wang Guangqian, a fellow at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and head of Tsinghua University’s Water and Sediment Sciences and Hydraulic and Hydro-Power Engineering Laboratory, still defend the Three Gorges Project, stating that the drought was caused by a lack of rain and has absolutely nothing to do with the dam. According to Wang and many others, the dam’s advantages still far outweigh its disadvantages.

Pros: Three Gorges Project as a Beacon of Progress

The Three Gorges Dam is impressive; it towers 185 meters above its surroundings and is 2 km long. Before its construction, water levels hovered around 60 m high. Now they stand at an average of 175 m. In total, the dam holds over 39 billion cubic meters of water.

To understand the Three Gorges Dam, we have to know exactly what it is and what changes its construction has brought to the Chinese people. For Wang Guangqian, the dam has meant flood prevention, improved shipping routes, hydroelectric power and convenient water resources for more people.

Floods have a long history of ravaging the region. In 1998, thousands died in Yangtze River floods, a catastrophe that some scientists say could have been avoided if only the Three Gorges Dam had been in place. Experts like Wang Guangqian claim the dam can easily prevent floods in the region for at least the next 100 years. Last year, 70,000 tons of floodwaters (more than in the 1998 disaster) were diverted into the dam, saving the region from another tragedy.

Shipping has also become much more convenient since the dam’s completion, drastically cutting the time and expenses needed for transporting goods since people no longer need to pull boats through rough patches of the river. Electricity generation means a secure future for economic development here, and for many people water resources are more secure than they were in the past.

Cons: The Dam Has Wreaked Havoc on the Local Ecosystem and People

To talk about the darker side of the Three Gorges Dam, we first have to discuss the 1.3 million people forced to leave their homes for the project.

Forced out of their ancestral homes by the Yangtze River, some of the Three Gorges refugees moved to other towns and cities. Many others were not willing to move away, but the tiny space that remained after lands were partitioned for the dam was too crowded. Most fled to the steep neighboring mountains where geological disasters like landslides make life much less stable. Hopes that the dam would pull the Yangtze River basin’s people out of poverty were soon crushed.

Another serious problem with the dam is its environmental impact. Ecological issues were not even considered during the dam’s planning 20 years ago when environmentalism was just beginning to gain ground. Local fish species, whose breeding is affected by the irregular water pressure brought by the dam, have been direct victims of the construction.

Furthermore, the massive amounts of water in the dam have led to an increase in erosion and have caused concerns about an increase in natural disasters. Scientists like Wang Guangqian admit that the dam’s presence leads to low magnitude earthquakes. A marked increase in earthquakes has already occurred since the dam’s completion, the most serious one with a magnitude of 6.4. Resulting landslides and collapsing buildings are deadly dangers for local residents, especially those still living in make-shift homes after being evacuated for the dam.

Drought? Don’t blame the dam

Chinese scientists deny any relationship between the current drought and the dam. According to Wang Guangqian, China’s agricultural sector has had an amazingly smooth ride for the past ten years during which it has experienced uninterrupted annual rises in crop yields. Drought affects a large portion of the country each year, but that is historically a natural and predictable part of the Chinese climate. The Ministry of Environmental Protection of the People’s Republic of China recently published a response to public concerns about the dam as a possible cause of the dry climate. In their response, prolonged lack of precipitation was listed as the main cause of the drought.

Some experts point to climate change, stating that a simple lack of rain or the presence of the dam can’t explain the whole problem. Wang Donghai from the Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences compared the Yangtze River region’s increase in earthquakes to the recent increase in tornadoes seen in the United States. “Can we blame gas-guzzling American motorists for the thousand tornadoes there? Sure, it might be a factor, but I think it’s still a very, very small part of the problem.”

Wang Donghai also emphasized that despite everyone’s panic over the drought, flooding will almost certainly continue to be a very real problem in the future. His words rang all too true as rains that began on June 3 brought some relief from the drought but also resulted in fresh flooding in the Yangtze River region.

China’s watery future

One thing is sure, this year the Three Gorges Dam failed to deliver on its promise to combat drought. Expert Zhang Boting says an important problem lies in the project’s management structure. The Ministry of Water Resources manages water conservancy while all other dams and reservoirs are classified as part of the electrical power system. Since the power system has no authority to direct water resources, there is mismanagement of non-power-related issues at places like the Three Gorges Dam. Without anyone responsible for distributing the dam’s water to thirsty locals, an uncoordinated drought response was inevitable.

Many insist China needs to build more dams and reservoirs to solve the country’s ever more urgent problems of water scarcity. In addition, many are calling on the government to put water resource management before hydroelectric power concerns as the main priority of the dam. In the future, the dam could provide water on a larger scale to desperate drought sufferers along the river, alleviating regional calamities like those experienced this year.
 

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Keywords: three gorges dam pros and cons three gorges dam controversy three gorges dam and 2011 droughts

3 Comments

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Fatai2356

Chinese scientists deny any relationship between the current drought and the dam. According to Wang Guangqian, China’s agricultural sector has had an amazingly smooth ride for the past ten years during which it has experienced uninterrupted annual rises in crop yields. Drought affects a large portion of the country each year, but that is historically a natural and predictable part of the Chinese climate. The Ministry of Environmental Protection of the People’s Republic of China recently published a response to public concerns about the dam as a possible cause of the dry climate. In their response, prolonged lack of precipitation was listed as the main cause of the drought.

Apr 12, 2020 00:07 Report Abuse

BAD

Well they are ambitious I'll give them that much!

Jun 28, 2011 04:48 Report Abuse

Steel Guns

"Many insist China needs to build more dams and reservoirs to solve the country’s ever more urgent problems of water scarcity"

Disrupting the natural hydrological system further by creating even more dams is not sustainable and will only worsen the situation. The sooner the Chinese Government realises that over-engineered solutions cause more problems than they solve, the better prepared Chinese people will be to deal with the effects of climate change.

Currently, the government is planning to construct a gigantic underground pipeline that will pump water from the southwest of the country all the way to the northeast (Beijing) to solve the water crisis there. I assume also that the 16 billion dollar price tag account for maintenance. Just thinking about the energy required to shift the water all that way with the potential for huge losses through leaks from accidents, etc.

Jun 27, 2011 06:28 Report Abuse