Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
local officials. Many fragile ecosystems have been destroyed and many species such
as the baiji dolphin, Chinese sturgeon and the Siberian crane are now endangered.
Geologists have warned the Chinese governments that damming up so much water
increases the risks of seismic activity, prolonged damage to the River Yangtze's
ecology and of serious landslides. In addition, droughts have reduced river flows,
affecting supplies of water to homes and industry, river navigation, worsened the
effects of pollution and had a negative effect on the capacity to generate hydroelectric
power. Many of the Yangtze's tributaries and lakes have been contaminated with
copper, zinc, lead and ammonium, and water-treatment plants have failed to contain
this growing problem. Large algae blooms often grace the reservoir. In addition, the
estimated financial cost of the project has increased from US$9 billion in 1992 to
possibly US$88 billion (International Rivers, 2012) leading many people within China
to question whether the assumed advantages of such dams projects outweigh the
clearly apparent problems. Chinese electric motors, which consume half the country's
energy supply, are 10-30 per cent less efficient than those conforming to international
standards, and investment in solar and wind technologies and less energy-intensive
economic enterprises is set to increase markedly in the near future. This, though,
does not mean the end of big dams either in China, India or elsewhere. Government
delegations from Congo, Nepal, Pakistan, South Africa and other countries have
visited the Three Gorges project, and in July 2013 the World Bank adopted a new
energy strategy paper proposing to increase its financial support of gas and large
hydroelectric power projects. The electricity produced by the expensive Inga 1 and
2 dams on the Congo River has largely been consumed by the Congo's energy-
intensive consumers, although 90 per cent of the republic's population still lacks
access to electricity. Big dams in Africa have led to an increase in the continent's
debt burden and a hastening of species extinction rather than fostering economic
development. Peter Bosshard writes:
The World Bank has identified the $12 billion Inga 3 Dam on the Congo River
- the most expensive hydropower project ever proposed in Africa - and two
other multi-billion dollar schemes on the Zambezi River as key examples of its
new approach. All three projects would primarily generate electricity for mining
companies and middle-class consumers in Southern Africa. . . .
The Lom Pangar Dam in Cameroon is an example of the World Bank's recent
mid-sized hydropower projects. The project will flood 30,000 hectares of tropical
hardwood forest, including part of the Deng Deng national park - a refuge for
gorillas, chimpanzees and other threatened species. The project's electricity is
primarily intended for the multinational aluminum industry that is by far
Cameroon's biggest energy user.
(2013)
Urban biodiversity
One obvious component of economic development is urbanization and the encroach-
ments of the built environment, particularly urban areas, on the natural world. By
2050, 70 per cent of the global population will be living in cities and in the twenty-
first century many new cities will be built. In Brazil, nineteen cities have doubled
their populations since 2000 and of these ten are in the Amazon (Emmott, 2013).
