1、Geography Case Study - Chang Jiang,Cons and Pros of the Three Gorges Project,Introduction,Chinas massive Three Gorges hydroelectric project has generated plenty of controversy from the start. It was first proposed in 1919 by revolutionary leader Sun Yat-sen as a way of providing energy to fuel the n
2、ations industrial development. The plan was revived in 1954 as a way to control the chronic overflow of the legendary Yangtze river after tens of thousands were killed in widespread flooding. After several false starts, work began in earnest in 1979. Advocates say Chinas development depends on it. T
3、hey say it will provide a clean source of energy for future generations. But critics say it could be a monumental ecological disaster. The dams sluice gates were closed on June 1, 2003, allowing the reservoir behind it to begin filling. By June 10, 2003, the water was 135 metres deep, and its expect
4、ed to be 175 metres deep by 2009.,Facts,The 16-year project is due to be completed in 2009. The rivers level is expected to rise to 175 metres. By mid-June 2003 the dam was holding back 12 billion cubic metres of water. The dams storage capacity is nearly 40 billion cubic metres. It will create a 65
5、8-sq.-km reservoir. Its concrete wall is 192 metres high. It has a total of 22 sluice gates. It will have 26 700-megawatt turbine generators. They are expected to produce 18.2 million kilowatts by 2009. Eleven of the reactors were in place as of January 2005. It has the worlds largest lock system, 6
6、?kilometres in length. The lock lifts and lowers ships in five stages. The dam is located in Yichang, in the central province of Hubei. Its Chinas biggest engineering project since the Great Wall was built more than 2,000 years ago. Total projected cost: 180 billion yuan ($26.5 billion).,Location of
7、 Sanxia,A man fishes as water flows through water diversion holes of the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River in central Chinas Hubei Province, June 11, 2003. Some 10 water diversion holes were opened to release water. The water level of the Three Gorges Reservoir reached 135 metres (433 feet) on J
8、une 10. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Du Huaju),Two men carry bricks to a barge at the temporary dock at Wushan, in the middle of the Three Gorges on the Yangtze River in central China, June 6, 2003. Lower lying areas of the town have been demolished in preparation for the increase in the water level as the con
9、troversial Three Gorges Dam reservoir begins to fill. (AP Photo/Greg Baker),A Chinese man sits in the rubble of the demolished old town of Wushan, as he looks out over the citys temporary dock on the Yangtze River in central China, June 6, 2003. (AP Photo/Greg Baker,Workers build a stone embankment
10、as water from the Yangtze River rise up the shoreline at the newly built town of Fengjie, in central Chinas Chongqing municipality, June 9, 2003. The old town of Fengjie was demolished because it was below the high water mark of the reservoir of the Three Gorges Dam. (AP Photo/Greg Baker),Three youn
11、g boys watch as rising waters inundate a corn field at Qutang Village, near Fengjie, in central Chinas Chongqing municipality, June 9, 2003. Water levels have been rising between two and four metres each day since China began filling the reservoir. Despite warnings from local officials that waters w
12、ould rise in June, many farmers planted crops because they were unsure of where the high water mark was on their land, while others did not believe that waters could rise so high. (AP Photo/Greg Baker),Ships sail through the Xiling Gorge of the Three Gorges on the Yangtze River in central China, Jun
13、e 11, 2003. The water level of the Three Gorges Reservoir reached 135 metres (433 feet) June 10, five days ahead of the schedule. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Cheng Min),The aerial photo, taken on June 3, 2003, shows the Three Gorges Reservoir on the middle reaches of the Yangtze River at Yichang, Hubei provin
14、ce. The water level reached, as planned, 114.29 metres high on the sluice gate. (AP Photo Xinhua, Cheng Min),Hydroelectric generating sets of the Three Gorges Project in central Chinas Hubei Province are shown in this April 9, 2003 photo. Four of the hydroelectric generating sets, which are in the f
15、inal phase of installation and test, will be put into operation later this year. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Du Huaju),Water flows through water diversion holes at the bottom of the Three Gorges dam, June 1, 2003. Chinas Three Gorges Project officially began to store water as the sluice gate of the dam starte
16、d to be closed as scheduled. China began filling the reservoir behind its gargantuan Three Gorges Dam in a major step toward completion of the world-largest hydroelectric project. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Cheng Min),A man rushes to board a boat before it leaves, in Chongqing city, on the Yangtze River in c
17、entral China, June 5, 2003. Though more than 600 kilometres (372 miles) from the Three Gorges Dam, water levels at Chongqing will rise up to 15 metres when the dams reservoir is filled to its highest level on completion in 2009. (AP Photo/Greg Baker),PROS,Flood control,The reservoirs 22 km (28.9 bil
18、lion cubic yard) flood storage capacity will lessen the frequency of big downstream floods from once every 10 years to once every 100 years. It protects life and property.,Navigation,The installation of ship locks are intended to increase river shipping from 10 million to 50 million tons annually, w
19、ith transportation costs cut by 30 to 37 percent. Cheap and convenient river transport will be provided. Also, shipping will become safer, since the gorges have lower flowing speed of channel.,Agriculture,The reservoir stores up the water that can be diverted to irrigate farmland. It increases crop
20、production and exports of surplus farm produce, e.g. citrus fruits.,Energy and Environment,The dam will generate 18,200 megawatts of Hydro electric power, the equivalent of 18 nuclear power plants. It will facilitate industrial and economic development. China now relies on coal for of its electricit
21、y. Its air is among the foulest in the world and contributes to global warming. Hydro-electric power is a renewable energy source that does not generate waste. It improves air pollution.,Water Supply,Dams can store rain water or water directly from the river itself. Then, in case of a drought, the d
22、am will still have a relatively constant supply of water.,Resettlement,In 1996, floods displaced more than one million people from their homes. Besides, 180 million people are now without electricity in China. But 15 million people downstream will be better off due to the control of flood and the su
23、pply of cheap electricity. Also, population distribution to newly-opened area, e.g. higher ground of the dam, will be present.,Recreation and Tourism,The project provides recreational activities such as boating fishing and swimming, if the lake is not being used for drinking water. Also, cruise ship
24、s will be able to sail at all time. Thus, the dam will serve as a new tourist spot.,Reputation,The Three Gorges will be the most powerful dam ever built. This is an important political status symbol for China.,CONS,Resettlement,About 1.3 million people will eventually be relocated from 1,400 village
25、s in the area. By June 2003, 720,000 people, from farmers to fishermen, had been displaced. In addition to the hardship of resettlement, critics say people are being moved to far less fertile land.,Pollution,The resettled people have left dozens of deserted towns in their wake. The buildings include
26、 hospitals and abandoned industrial sites. Environmentalists say refuse from those sites will seep out and contaminate the water.,Ecology/Archeology,Climate experts say the humidity and temperature will increase around the dam, causing unknown impact to the ecosystem. The Yangtze basin supports fish
27、, wild fowl and plants, some of which are endangered. The area slated to be submerged is famous for its breathtaking scenery and is home to archeological sites including burial grounds and ancient temples.,Efficiency,Critics say a series of smaller dams would have fulfilled the countrys energy needs
28、 with less impact on the environment.,Corruption,The project has been plagued by charges of nepotism and inefficiency. After a number of high-profile accidents, the government ordered much of the infrastructure replaced in 1999.,Concerns have surfaced about the dam itself. There are some facts to pr
29、ove. Firstly, allegations of corruption among officials involved with the project have raised fears of shoddy construction. The Chinese media recently reported several incidents in which corruption and poor construction have led to disasters at major building projects. Notable among the reports was
30、the collapse of a steel bridge in the city of Chongqing in January 1999 that killed 40 people.,Such incidents also have prompted rare open criticism from the Chinese leadership regarding the Three Gorges Dam. In early 1999 Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji inspected the dam site. He warned those involved i
31、n the project that “the responsibility on your shoulders is heavier than a mountain. Any carelessness or negligence will bring disaster to our future generations and cause irretrievable losses.“ Zhu also suggested China might invite top international engineers to inspect the dam and monitor its cons
32、truction.,Chinese leaders have long dreamed of taming the Yangzi for power generation and flood control. The rivers infamous floods have brought destruction and death for centuries - 1 million deaths in the 20th century alone,Dai calls Three Gorges “the most environmentally and socially destructive
33、project in the world.“ She also calls for a halt to construction and supports the idea of a series of smaller, less disruptive construction projects on tributaries of the Yangzi. Moreover, of further concern are claims the dam might become an environmental disaster. There have been little to no atte
34、mpts made toward removing accumulations of toxic materials and other potential pollutants from industrial sites that will be inundated. Experts say such materials could leach into the reservoir, creating a health hazard. Besides, the relative lack of waste treatment plants in China also could mean r
35、un-off from communities around the dam would most likely go untreated directly into the reservoir and into the Yangzi.,“By severing the mighty river and slowing the flow of its water, the dam will cause pollution from industrial and residential sources to concentrate in the river, rather than be flu
36、shed out at sea,“ writes Chinese journalist Jin Hui in “The River Dragon Has Come!“ a recently published collection of criticisms against the dam. “The result will be a poisoned river.“,Electrical power derived from the dams turbines will provide up to one-ninth of Chinas output, the government esti
37、mates,Not only these, there are also claims that the dam will actually contribute to the silt accumulation in the Yangzi, rather than allow larger ships to travel the river. And others dispute whether the electricity generated by the dam will be efficiently used. “In terms of an American scale, this
38、 dam is somewhat akin to the electrical load between Philadelphia and Washington D.C. being served from a single power plant.“ Byrne is skeptical whether the huge amount of electricity expected to be generated by the Three Gorges project - meant to produce power for Chongqing and places as far away
39、as Shanghai - can be efficiently and economically absorbed by Chinas electrical system.,The social element of Three Gorges has generated more questions than answers. The dam will “drown“ more than 100 towns once the water starts to rise in 2003. Government estimates say 1.2 million people will be re
40、settled and that new land is being provided for 300,000 farmers. Some observers say the government may be underestimating by as many as 700,000 the number of people who actually will be relocated.,The Three Gorges Dam project will require the resettlement of 1.2 million people, according to the gove
41、rnment, although observers say that estimate may be short by as many as 700,000 people,The issue of the farmland, much of which has been tilled by the same Chinese families for centuries and will be lost under the reservoirs waters, is particularly important, Byrne says. “One of the tragedies of thi
42、s project, if just from a regional standpoint, is that the land that is going to be flooded is some of the most fertile in China,“ says Byrne. “The land to where the population is to be relocated is much less fertile.“ Historians also have questioned the dams impact on attempts to preserve some aspe
43、cts of Chinas long and illustrious history. Archaeologists and historians have estimated nearly 1,300 important sites will disappear under the reservoirs waters. Most irreplaceable, according to some experts, are sites that are remnants of the homeland of the Ba, an ancient people who settled in the
44、 region about 4,000 years ago. A former curator at Beijings National Museum of Chinese History describes the area as “the last and best place to study Ba culture.“,For its part, the government is well aware of the problems and challenges posed by the Three Gorges project. Nevertheless Guo Shuyan, de
45、puty director of the Three Gorges Project Commission under the State Council, has described the project as “environmentally sound, on the whole.“,The Yangzi is the longest river in Asia and the third longest in the world, stretching nearly 4,000 miles across China. The worlds longest river is the Ni
46、le; the second longest is the Amazon,Chinese officials note the dam may end up providing as much as one-ninth of the nations electrical production. Considering that China burns 50 million tons of coal each year for energy, their point is that the environmental benefits outweigh the environmental dam
47、age. It appears the Three Gorges project is too far along to be halted. More than 20,000 workers are working around the clock on the dam itself. The reservoir is expected to be at its full depth by 2009.,Maps,Videos,GROUP MEMBERS:,Cheong Yau Kit (Kit) Kan Cham Chung (Kenneth) Luk Kwai Lung (Ryan) Lau Ka Ho (Max),THE END,Thank you for your attention,
