(July 22, 2008) The May 12 earthquake hit hard at the largest hydropower project in Sichuan province. Li Xiaoming was on the scene soon after the quake, and writes that even if the immediate dangers have passed, caution is still needed.
Chinese geology experts question South-North Water Diversion Scheme’s viability
(August 31, 2007) Officially it’s the answer to northern China’s water crisis but senior Chinese geologists and experts are not confident that the central government’s plans for diverting water from the upper Yangtze into the parched Yellow River valley is worth the extraordinary risk and cost.
Three Gorges fund could be diverted to massive South-North Water Transfer Scheme
Money raised to build China’s Three Gorges dam could soon be diverted to a massive south-north water diversion scheme the building of which one senior official is calling "suicide."
Olympics suck up China’s already scarce water
(July 14, 2008) Beijing’s water transfers from north and south, along with a growing number of ultra-deep wells in the Karst Mountains near the city, are a recipe for environmental calamity, says Probe International report.
Chinese appeal for dams inquiry
(July 11, 2008) A group of Chinese academics and environmental activists call on the Chinese government to review the safety of large dam projects.
Asia: Wenchuan quake has limited impact on mining
(July 11, 2008) The numbers from the May 12 earthquake in China are staggering. As this edition of E&MJ went to press, the death toll in Sichuan Province had climbed to 68,000 with 288,000 injured and more than 5 million people homeless.
Endnotes
ENDNOTES
Introduction
1. “Yao Yilin Says That for the Time Being China
Will Not Consider Starting the Three Gorges Project Immediately,”
Zhongguo Tongxun She, 23 January 1989.
2. Edward Goldsmith and Nicholas Hildyard, The
Social and Environmental Effects of Large Dams, (San Francisco: Sierra
Club Books, 1984), p. xi.
3. CIPM Yangtze Joint Venture (CYJV), Three Gorges Project Water Control Project Feasibility Study, Vol. 1, p. 16-12.
AppendixB
On September 17, 1990, Probe International filed
complaints against British Columbia Hydro International, Hydro-Québec
International, SNC, Lavalin International, and Acres International for
their work on the Three Gorges Water Control Project Feasibility Study.
The complaints were filed with the regulatory bodies that are legally
responsible for regulating the profession of engineering in the
provinces of British Columbia, Quebec, and Ontario. Using the findings
contained in Damming The Three Gorges: What Dam Builders Don’t Want You
To Know, Probe International accused the engineering companies of
negligence, incompetence, and professional misconduct.
Appendix A
1. The population subject to resettlement should, at a minimum,
maintain its current standard of living and should have the opportunity
to achieve a higher standard of living after resettlement has taken
place.
2. The resettlement transition period should be
minimized and adequate support of both a social and economic nature
should be provided during the transition period.
Chapter 12
Economic and Financial Aspects
by Vijay Paranjpye, Ph.D.
The
feasibility study of the Three Gorges Project was conducted by the CIPM
Yangtze Joint Venture (CYJV) with the principal objective of providing
impartial technical input to the Government of China in its
decision-making process, and to provide the basis for securing funding
from international financing institutions. In the study summary, CYJV
states its objective as:
Chapter 11
Sedimentation Analysis
Chapter 10
Dam Safety Analysis
Chapter 9
Missing Energy Perspectives
by Vaclav Smil, Ph.D.
Chapter 8
Flood Control Analysis
by Philip B. Williams, Ph.D., P.E.
Background
Chapter 7
Unresolved Issues: Perspectives from China
by Shiu-hung Luk, Ph.D., and Joseph Whitney, Ph.D.
The
Chinese feasibility study for the Three Gorges Project, which was
conducted under the aegis of the State Planning Commission,* remains a
secret government document. From 1987 to 1989, while official studies
were under way, numerous research papers1 on the feasibility of the Three Gorges Project were circulated and published in Chinese journals.
Probe International 