Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
As a result, in additional to rural villagers, my research “subjects” came to include en-
gineers, scientists, policy makers, NGO representatives, and other experts who play a role
in water-resource management and hydropower development. I conducted dozens of inter-
views with experts involved in research and regulatory oversight on the environmental and
social dimensions of hydropower. In the process, I came to reenvision the field in a more
inclusive way that in addition to rural villages encompassed academic institutions, gov-
ernment offices, and consulting firms located in the glass-and-steel high-rises of modern
Beijing.
I discovered along the way that although water may not flow from Beijing—the North
China Plain aquifer is, after all, perilously depleted—power most certainly does. Despite
recent trends toward the decentralization of water-resource management in China, govern-
ment agencies and hydropower corporations with close governmental ties play a prominent
role in shaping the course of policy. Very little is known about the machinations of sci-
entific expertise, knowledge, and influence within these organizations, and one contribu-
tion of this topic therefore is to delve into such institutional processes. Of course, experts
are people, too—equipped with histories, cultural biases, and strategic positions shaped by
the political economy of the institutional environments in which they work—which makes
them interesting subjects of analysis in their own right. That is not to say that I was given
unrestricted access to the ins and outs of water-resource policy, which is still something
of a sensitive topic in China, particularly on the transboundary rivers of the southwest,
where even basic information about flow rates can be considered
neibu
, “for internal use
only.” Indeed, although I found most scientists to be open and enthusiastic participants in
the study, I often struggled to gain inroads with policy makers and others with formal insti-
tutional power.
I have also conducted, with the help of students and colleagues, a relatively thorough re-
view of documents such as comprehensive river-basin-management plans; environmental
impactassessments(EIAs);corporatepublicationsfromChina's“FiveEnergyGiants”(Wu
da Fadian Jutou), the key companies involved in hydropower development; and law and
policydocumentsfromagenciessuchastheStateCouncil,theMinistryofWaterResources
(MWR), and the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). These docu-
ments supplement the data from surveys, interviews, and observations and help to provide
a more complete picture of the complex array of actors involved in water-resource man-
agement, conservation, and hydropower development in Yunnan.
CHAPTER OVERVIEW
In
chapter 2
, I trace China's recent economic rise, its escalating energy demands, and
the various forms of renewable energy currently being pursued by policy makers. Hydro-
