(June 11, 2010) The more than 60-thousand Chinese citizens who will be pushed off of their land to make way for a massive South-North Water Diversion project are, according to one government official, ‘eager to move.’
Beijing’s never-ending thirst
(April 14, 2010) Ongoing delays to the South-North Water Diversion Project will defer the delivery of one billion cubic meters of water annually over the next four years to Beijing. Now, a number of analysts in Beijing are offering suggestions on how the city should cope with its water crisis. Wang Jian And Liu Qiong, two Beijing-based water experts, say the city must ease the subsidies for water consumption to ensure that the price reflects its true cost, while implementing policies that promote the recycling of water and efficient use.
How will Beijing cope with the delay of China’s south-to-north water diversion project?
(April 12, 2010) According to the original plan, one billion cubic meters of water was to be taken from the Yangtze River every year and diverted to thirsty Beijing through the central canal of the massive South-North Water Diversion Project.
Beijing once again turning to Hebei to solve its water problems
(March 9, 2010) Beijing’s worsening water crisis is once again forcing its neighbouring province Hebei to sacrifice more of its dwindling reserves. According to a recent report from China Daily, Hebei is expected to open four of its reservoirs this year in an effort to help cover demand in the country’s water-starved capital.
Beijing’s mirage: A water park in a water-starved city
(March 4, 2010) As Beijing’s water crisis continues to worsen, government officials say they intend to transform the city’s famed Olympic Water Cube into a massive water park, featuring seven-story water slides and a wave machine. Operators of the stadium say the project will cost 200-million yuan ($29-million).
Oral History: Remembering Miyun Reservoir
Below is the third in a series of Beijing water oral histories, as told to Wang Jian by 60-year-old Huang Deyu and 59-year-old Guo Shulian of Miyun County. Wang Jian is a Beijing-based water resources expert. Download the pdf here.
China speeds up resettlement in water mega-scheme
(December 29, 2009) China will use stimulus spending to speed up shifting 330,000 people slated to be displaced for a vast water transfer project, accelerating work on the troubled scheme, an official newspaper said on Tuesday.
Migrants bear sacrifice for China’s south-north water diversion project
(December 9, 2009) More than 760 residents of Junxian County in the Danjiangkou Reservoir area on Tuesday began new lives 300 km away with uncertainty and hope. They were among 330,000 migrants expected to be relocated by 2014 for the multi-million-dollar project, which is designed to channel water from southern regions, mainly the Yangtze, China’s longest river, to the arid north, including Beijing.
760 farmers relocated for China’s north-south water project
(December 8, 2009) More than 760 residents in central China began to move to their new homes Tuesday, making way for the giant south-to-north water diversion project.
Another Chinese government mega-project forces mega-relocation of citizens
(October 20, 2009) The Chinese government is once again making headlines for relocating its citizens—this time for the much-criticized South-to-North Water Diversion Project. According to Xinhua, the resettlement of 330,000 Chinese citizens in central China’s Hubei and Henan provinces has begun.
Water crisis in parched northern China
(August 4, 2009) The controversial North-South Water Diversion Project is putting more strain on local farmers already struggling from drought that has plagued parts of the country for much of the past decade. One local farmer, Li Yunxi, talks openly about his struggle for access to water.
But she seems so happy…
(August 19, 2009) A recent article in China Daily details the beginning of what will be the second largest relocation project in China’s history—just behind the Three Gorges dam. The article, and the picture shown above, make light of the relocations, saying the residents are receiving compensation and keys to fully-equipped apartments in downtown areas.
China’s giant water scheme opens torrent of discontent
(February 27, 2009) China’s vast scheme to channel southern rivers to its parched north faces potentially explosive defiance at a dam where bitter memories and an unsure future are driving farmers to protest the nation-spanning feat.
China delays part of massive water project
(January 12, 2009) China is delaying part of its plan to divert water from its major rivers across hundreds of (miles) kilometers to the booming cities in its arid north because it needs more time to resettle the more than 300,000 people who will be displaced by the project.
Water brief: Three Gorges Dam
(January 1, 2009) In The World’s Water 2008-2009, the Pacific Institute’s Dr. Gleick examines the usual anticipated benefits of the Three Gorges Dam: power, navigation and flood control and the growing list of problems — serious impacts on fisheries, coastal erosion due to vastly lower sediment flow in the Yangtze, landslides, earthquakes and social unrest due to the displacement of millions of people.
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