The Yangtze River is the third longest river in the world and indubitably the most important in China's history and future. It is the thought of as the divider between Northern and Southern China and empties into the Pacific Ocean in one of the countries most prominent cities, Shanghai. The river supports roughly 1/3 of China's 1.2 billion people and over 40 % of its agricultural output. It currently also supplies around 40 % of the countries industrial output mainly through the Gezhou Dam and now in its second stages the notorious Three Gorges Dam, which is considered one of the most environmentally detrimental projects of the new millennium.
With the Olympics less than six months away China is trying to revolutio
nize the hydrological infrastructure of the country to accommodate such a demand for development in Beijing. They are diverting water from the southern rivers, mainly the Yangtze, to the parched north region who's main tributary, the Yellow River, is often not running in the dry season. Beijing has been experiencing droughts every year during the dry season, every winter, for the past decade. Beijing is trying to maintain a somewhat "green" image for the 2008 summer olympics and are using Beijing as a showcase for the international competition of not only their athletes but of architecture and technology as well. However, with every advancement that China is making towards their Olympics seems to be taking resources away from some other part of the country and hurting its people in general.
nize the hydrological infrastructure of the country to accommodate such a demand for development in Beijing. They are diverting water from the southern rivers, mainly the Yangtze, to the parched north region who's main tributary, the Yellow River, is often not running in the dry season. Beijing has been experiencing droughts every year during the dry season, every winter, for the past decade. Beijing is trying to maintain a somewhat "green" image for the 2008 summer olympics and are using Beijing as a showcase for the international competition of not only their athletes but of architecture and technology as well. However, with every advancement that China is making towards their Olympics seems to be taking resources away from some other part of the country and hurting its people in general.Sense Making:
To understand why their is a crisis in the Yangtze River is not hard when to neglect when researching the conflict surrounding the Three Gorges Dam which is the largest Hydroelectric Project in human history. Thought by some to be the savior of China as an emerging world power and o
ther as the biggest economic and environmental mistake by the country in the twenty first century.
ther as the biggest economic and environmental mistake by the country in the twenty first century. The dam has been envisioned for centuries by some of Chinas and the worlds great engineers in the past but it was not until Li Ping proposed a plan and it was approved in 1992. Construction began 2 years later and was planned to be completed in 2009 but due to unexpected concerns it was pushed back to 2011. It was partially functional in 2004 and has cost around 22.5 billion dollars thus far.
The environmental impacts of this project are of great concern to not only the ecological health of the Yangtze River Basin. Soil levels have been depleted throughout the region and it has decimated agricultural production and natural ecosystems. Along with this soil loss on one side of the dam, there is sedimentation on the other and could cause dam failures in the future without expensive and extensive reparations. There is a build of algae blooms on the west side of the project as well that is killing off many endemic species. Already extinct are the Yangtze River Dolphin (although one was supposedly spotted last August) and the Finless Porpoise. Heavily threatened animals include the Sawtooth Paddlefish, Great White Crane and Yangtze River Sturgeon. Currently the river has been experiencing some of the worst droughts in the past century and it is causing problems that are rippling throughout the country.
The droughts are destroying While the profits of the company that owns the dam doubled their profits in 2004, over 1.5 million people were displaced due to planned flooding. Currently many of the shipping routes and ports along the Yangtze River are inaccessible due to the droughts. This is impeding repairing the already damaged large agricultural region in the basin.
Decision Making:
The players in this game are numerous and it is difficult to evaluate all possible options. The main player is the Chinese Government and their problem is to accommodate their growing population and the upcoming Olympic Games. To help mitigate the lack of water in Northern China, the government is hastily constructing a canal from the Hebei Province an agricultural region. The cost so far has been around 2.4 billion dollars and is expected to be above 5 billion by 2010.
The Olympic committee is another player that is driving this crisis and they insist that there will be adequate resources and infrastructure in Beijing in place by this summer.
The Yangtze Electric company, the ones responsible for Three Gorges, is one of the main players as well. Their actions have displaced millions and destroyed ecosystems. They need to reevaluate the impacts of their projects because it might be hurting the country more than helping it.
References:
"Deep Concern Over Three Gorges Dam" By Michael Bristow BBC News, Beijing BBC News 11/30/07
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7120856.stm#graphic
"Beijing Olympic water scheme drains parched farmers" By Chris Buckley BAODING, China, Jan 23/008 http://sport.guardian.co.uk/breakingnews/feedstory/0,,-7247373,00.html
"China will speed up Beijing water delivery for Olympic Games"
http://sports.inquirer.net/breakingnews/breakingnews/view/20080118-113302/China-will-speed-up-Beijing-water-delivery-for-Olympic-Games
"Yangtze River" "Three Gorges Dam", Wikipedia.org
The environmental impacts of this project are of great concern to not only the ecological health of the Yangtze River Basin. Soil levels have been depleted throughout the region and it has decimated agricultural production and natural ecosystems. Along with this soil loss on one side of the dam, there is sedimentation on the other and could cause dam failures in the future without expensive and extensive reparations. There is a build of algae blooms on the west side of the project as well that is killing off many endemic species. Already extinct are the Yangtze River Dolphin (although one was supposedly spotted last August) and the Finless Porpoise. Heavily threatened animals include the Sawtooth Paddlefish, Great White Crane and Yangtze River Sturgeon. Currently the river has been experiencing some of the worst droughts in the past century and it is causing problems that are rippling throughout the country.
The droughts are destroying While the profits of the company that owns the dam doubled their profits in 2004, over 1.5 million people were displaced due to planned flooding. Currently many of the shipping routes and ports along the Yangtze River are inaccessible due to the droughts. This is impeding repairing the already damaged large agricultural region in the basin.
Decision Making:
The players in this game are numerous and it is difficult to evaluate all possible options. The main player is the Chinese Government and their problem is to accommodate their growing population and the upcoming Olympic Games. To help mitigate the lack of water in Northern China, the government is hastily constructing a canal from the Hebei Province an agricultural region. The cost so far has been around 2.4 billion dollars and is expected to be above 5 billion by 2010.
The Olympic committee is another player that is driving this crisis and they insist that there will be adequate resources and infrastructure in Beijing in place by this summer.
The Yangtze Electric company, the ones responsible for Three Gorges, is one of the main players as well. Their actions have displaced millions and destroyed ecosystems. They need to reevaluate the impacts of their projects because it might be hurting the country more than helping it.
References:
"Deep Concern Over Three Gorges Dam" By Michael Bristow BBC News, Beijing BBC News 11/30/07
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7120856.stm#graphic
"Beijing Olympic water scheme drains parched farmers" By Chris Buckley BAODING, China, Jan 23/008 http://sport.guardian.co.uk/breakingnews/feedstory/0,,-7247373,00.html
"China will speed up Beijing water delivery for Olympic Games"
http://sports.inquirer.net/breakingnews/breakingnews/view/20080118-113302/China-will-speed-up-Beijing-water-delivery-for-Olympic-Games
"Yangtze River" "Three Gorges Dam", Wikipedia.org
