Chinese dam projects criticized for their human costs

(November 19, 2007) Last year, Chinese officials celebrated the completion of the Three Gorges Dam by releasing a list of 10 world records. As in: The Three Gorges is the world’s biggest dam, biggest power plant and biggest consumer of dirt, stone, concrete and steel. Ever. Even the project’s official tally of 1.13 million displaced people made the list as record No. 10.

SPECIAL REPORT: Dam building in the upper Yangtze basin

(November 12, 2007) Professor Chen, a senior researcher at the Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, describes resettlement and environmental dangers associated with dam building in the ecologically fragile and ethnically diverse upper Yangtze region of southwestern China. He further warns that dam builders and local governments will experience greater difficulty forcing people off their land as people become more aware of their rights and of resettlement failures elsewhere.