The money Beijing has earmarked to excavate historic sites and relics before they are inundated by the Three Gorges reservoir can save just one-tenth of what’s there, says Yu Weichao, curator of the Museum of Chinese History.
Dam migrants to move on schedule
Officials express confidence that 170,000 more people will have been moved out of the Chongqing area by the time the Three Gorges reservoir is filled next June.
Ecology institute plan for Shanghai
(January 19, 2006) Shanghai’s Tongji University and the United Nations are to jointly run an ecology and sustainable development institute, scheduled to open in October. Among other projects, it will monitor the environmental impact of the Three Gorges dam.
China’s Three Gorges dam developer switches to coal
(January 18, 2006) Earlier this year, China Yangtze Power Company, the listed arm of state-owned Three Gorges Project Development Corporation, announced plans to buy a string of coal-fired plants to reduce the company’s exposure to hydro risk.
China’s longest river closes as flood toll rises
(December 16, 2005) The Yangtze River has been closed to all traffic at the site of the Three Gorges dam as flood water is now so high it is dangerous for ships to pass.
Yangtze Power Company switches to coal
(December 8, 2005) ‘Nobody ever said damming the Yangtze River would be profitable,’ writes Probe International’s Grainne Ryder, as the listed arm of the Three Gorges Project Development Corp. diversifies to coal to reduce its exposure to hydro risk.
Call for public disclosure of Nujiang hydropower development’s EIA report in accordance with the law
(September 6, 2005) The text of the open letter endorsed by a coalition of Chinese environmental groups and experts calling for disclosure of the environmental impact assessment for proposed dams on the Nu River.
Small dam collapses as flood season starts early
(June 7, 2005) As the death toll climbs above 200 at the outset of an unusually early flood season, the rumour of a disastrous dam collapse has swirled in hard-hit Hunan province, and on the Internet. So China Youth Daily sent a reporter to investigate and try to set the record straight.
The Story of the Dahe Dam: Chapter 3
Chapter 3: A flood of troubles
Tiger Leaping Gorge under threat
(October 8, 2004) One of the world’s most spectacular natural attractions is threatened by a plan to build eight big dams on the Jinsha River (as the upper Yangtze is known), and the Chinese press and environmental groups are speaking out.
Don’t get bogged down in dam ‘details,’ Lu Youmei urges
(August 6, 2004) A commentator who takes issue with views expressed by the former manager of the Three Gorges Corp. praises environmental groups opposed to big dams for their ‘respectful, constructive and effective’ campaigns.
Dearth of industry in the reservoir region
Many aging factories in the Three Gorges reservoir area are being shut down because they are so polluting. The closures entail heavy job losses, and a shortage of employment alternatives is fast becoming a widespread problem.
The dam, the petition, the lawyer and his diary
(March 11, 2004) People displaced by a dam in Hebei province sought the help of a Beijing lawyer to present a petition to the National People’s Congress. The lawyer, who has been forced into hiding, has written a dramatic on-line account of what happened next.
Dam on dangerous ground
(December 18, 2003) Two civil engineering professors at Wuhan University believe that earthquakes in the Three Gorges reservoir area are a real cause for concern, and call for more resources to be put into investigating the region’s seismic problems.
Southbound shiplock closes for two-week inspection
The Three Gorges shiplock is closing in one direction on Dec. 10 for an inspection that will disrupt navigation through the dam for two weeks, China News Service (Zhongguo xinwen she) reports.
Patricia Adams
Dai Qing
Fan Xiao
Lawrence Solomon
Mu Lan
Probe International
Lisa Peryman
Probe Media
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