Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
cuses on two watersheds in Yunnan Province: the Lancang River and the Nu River. On the
Lancang, where more than a dozen dams are planned, four are completely operational, and
several are under construction. On the Nu, a thirteen-dam hydropower-development plan is
under way, with a total hydropower potential of 21,000 megawatts, which is slightly more
than the mammoth Three Gorges Dam. Should all thirteen dams in the cascade be built, the
best estimates suggest that more than 50,000 people will be displaced. The effects of these
dams on the environment and on the people who live in the region are immense but as yet
poorly understood by scientists, policy makers, and the general public.
As a tool for economic development, dam construction is certainly not new on the scene.
In fact, the world is home to more than 50,000 large dams, which the International Com-
mission on Large Dams (ICOLD) defines as those greater than 15 meters in height or hav-
ing a storage capacity greater than 3 million cubic meters (Scudder 2005:2-3). But China's
role in this trend is startling: home to half of the world's large dams, it has far outpaced
all other countries in the construction of dams in the past several decades and adds dozens
of dams to its portfolio each year. The benefits provided by such projects are considerable:
dams deliver hydropower, provide reliable irrigation water, enhance the navigability of wa-
terways, and protect people and farmland against flooding. As hydropower meets a larger
share of energy demand, it may also help to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels; govern-
ment agencies and private entities alike are pursuing alternative-energy-development plans
involving not just hydropower but also wind, solar, wave, and biogas. The development of
a so-called low-carbon economy (
ditan jingji
) is welcome news in a country where hun-
dredsofthousandsofpeopledieeachyearfromailments linkedtoairpollutionfromfossil-
fuel combustion (Economy 2004) and where pollution-related economic losses cut into the
nation's gross domestic product (GDP). Given that China surpassed the United States in
2007 to become the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases, such policy decisions also
have global implications in the push to mobilize technology and political will to address
climate change.
But dams also have consequences for ecosystems that are likely irreversible, and many
such consequences have long gone unaccounted for. The World Commission on Dams
(WCD),anorganization undertheguidance oftheWorldBankandtheWorldConservation
Union, published a landmark study in 2000 that concluded that although dams had contrib-
uted significantly to human development over the years, their deleterious effects on social
and environmental systems had eluded meaningful scrutiny: “Dams have made an import-
ant and significant contribution to human development, and benefits derived from them
have been considerable.… In too many cases an unacceptable and often unnecessary price
has been paid to secure those benefits, especially in social and environmental terms, by
people displaced, by communities downstream, by taxpayers, and by the natural environ-
ment” (WCD 2000:6).
