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Three Gorges dam set in stone

Now that China's massive dam has been built, what will it mean for the environment?

The last load of concrete is due to be poured at China's Three Gorges project on 20 May, completing the main wall of the world's biggest dam. Although the huge structure promises to control flooding on the Yangtze River and provide copious hydroelectric power, many fear that it could also have damaging social and environmental repercussions.

Read the briefing here.

Posted by Nicola Jones on May 19, 2006
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I travelled through the three gorges five years ago, and the dam project, even back then, is still the most massive structure I've ever laid eyes on. Some true gems of Chinese culture have already been demolished and submerged, but unfortunately, any unique wildlife that once resided there seems to have succumbed to population pressure generations ago. There are still huge environmental ramifications that cannot be avoided, but the project is unstoppable now.
After the three gorges dam, the Tiger Leaping Gorge in Yunnan Province may be the next to go up. This project has been shelved and restarted at least a dozen times due to opposition from local ethnic groups, and environmental and tourism interests.
There are dozens of other plans for dams in Yunnan Province, and all of them share two things in common - they will flood areas of unparalleled biodiversity, and they will displace masses of wholly unique ethnic groups that have resided there for centuries. This is a story that the west has yet to catch on to. The social, environmental and economic ramifications run so deep that the debate about their merits has actually run over into China's media, which is a first in this country.

Posted by: Jeff Crosby | May 23, 2006 02:34 AM

Such reactions are typical of cruises through China's Three Gorges, whose scenery has inspired poets and painters through the centuries. Although, admittedly, none has been inspired by this particular sight. "Beautiful," another of the men declares. Then they all nod, euphorically soaking up the splendor of the world's largest concrete wall.

Beauty, we are regularly reminded, is in the eye of the beholder. For those with a soft spot for man-made wonders, there may be no sight on Earth as fetching as the 610-foot tall, 1.3-mile wide Three Gorges Dam.

Posted by: Gordon | December 12, 2006 01:29 PM

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