(1) Resettlement operation in need of attention, says resettlement official
(2) Three Gorges geological disaster prevention unit set up
(3) Record low water levels cripple Gezhouba dam

(1) Resettlement operation in need of attention, says resettlement official
During a recent inspection tour of Fuling City, Gan Yuping, Vice-Mayor of Chongqing Municipality and the head of the municipality’s resettlement affairs, said the resettlement operation required more attention in certain key areas, reports Three Gorges Project Daily – a China Three Gorges Corporation publication. Among his recommendations, Gan called for more studies on the impact Three Gorges dam reservoir backwaters will have on Fuling, which, due to its location, will be affected by backwaters when the water behind the dam is raised to 135 metres and higher. Gan’s other recommendations included strengthening positive propaganda about resettlement to offset some of the distorted reports published by foreign media; the shutting down of illegal organizations involved with resettlement; and a ban on local migrants conducting interviews with foreign journalists without permission from the authorities. The stability of the resettlement operation is everything Gan said, and more attention needed to be given to migrants increasingly seeking help from higher authorities as the date for filling the dam’s reservoir draws near. Gan called for special attention to three weak and marginalized migrant groups – “secondary migrants,” those displaced by the construction of new towns and infrastructure, urban workers laid off by local enterprises, and urban resettlers who have no job, no livelihood, and no work unit. Gan further advised taking advantage of a decision by central and local governments to direct more funds toward environmental protection in the reservoir area, saying funds were also needed to build infrastructure and facilities for wastewater treatment and rubbish disposal.

Gan Yuping is Vice-Mayor of Chongqing Municipality and Vice-Director of the Three Gorges Project Construction Committee based in Beijing.

Three Gorges Project Daily, or Sanxia gongcheng bao, is available online at http://www.china3gorges.com.

(2) Three Gorges geological disaster prevention unit set up
China’s central government plans to establish a Three Gorges Geological Disaster Prevention Group with a budget of US$500 million taken from the Three Gorges construction fund, reports the Changjiang Water Resources Commission. The initiative is largely due to Premier Zhu Rongji, the director of the Three Gorges Project Construction Committee, and his emphasis on preventing and dealing with geological disasters in the Three Gorges reservoir area at a conference on the Three Gorges dam project last month. Premier Zhu urged that priority be given to areas where landslides, collapses and mud-rock flows are likely to be triggered by the filling of the dam’s reservoir. According to a survey by the Changjiang Water Resources Commission in July 2001, some 1,320 locations have been identified as regions at risk in the Three Gorges area. In urban Yichang alone, 202 such regions have been identified, including landslides covering a total area of 23.1 square kilometres, some 141 of which require urgent attention.

(3) Record low water levels cripple Gezhouba dam
The Changjiang Water Resources Commission reports that the Gezhouba dam recorded its lowest discharge in July due to record low water levels in the Yangtze. Located 38 kilometres downstream from the Three Gorges dam, the Gezhouba dam’s discharge plummeted to an all-time low of 10,000 cubic metres per second on July 24 when the Yangtze dipped to its lowest recorded level since 1877. This year’s record low is particularly abnormal for July, typically the height of China’s flooding season, and has management worried it will reduce the dam’s annual revenue, a major source of funding for the Three Gorges dam project. According to a report published by the China News Service, the Gezhouba dam’s low water level is due to a lack of rainfall in the area this year.

Changjiang Water Resources Commission, or Changjiang shuili weiyuanhui, web site: http://www.cjw.com.cn (in Chinese).

– END –

All Chinese stories that are translated and published by Three Gorges Probe are as true to the original Chinese text as possible. Editing for English grammar and style is kept to a minimum in instances where misinterpretation may occur.

Three Gorges Probe is dedicated to covering the scientific, technical, economic, social, and environmental ramifications of completing the Three Gorges Project, as well as the alternatives to the dam. Three Gorges Probe welcomes submissions. As part of our service, we also reprint articles about the Three Gorges Project we feel will be of interest to our readers.

Publisher: Patricia Adams
Executive Editor: Mu Lan
Assistant Editor: Lisa Peryman