After years of experts talking about the environmental impacts of big dams, the Chinese government has finally admitted that there have been mistakes in the planning of the Three Gorges Dam. In May this year, the Chinese State Council acknowledged serious flaws in the dam. This may come a little too late and may prove to be hardly a consolation since the construction of other similar projects continues unabated. It is clear that for a lot of Chinese projects, geared to tackle the problem of severe water shortage facing China, the risk-benefit analysis has not been conducted comprehensively. As a result, in the next few years, instead of serving their purpose, these gigantic projects may actually end up worsening the situation.

China has 20% of the world’s population but only 7% of the world’s water resources. Obviously, China is facing a water shortage. The underground water levels are falling and what little water is available, is contaminated with pollutants and heavy metals. An OECD study published in 2007 found that up to 300 million Chinese people drink contaminated water and 190 million suffer from water-related illnesses. Hence, China’s prolific dam building and the ambitious South-to-North Water Transfer Project is a direct response to the growing water and energy needs of its people.

Dams provide ‘clean’ energy?  In an ideal world, the construction of these dams would help lower China’s dependence on fossil fuels. But the planning of these dams has not taken into account the impact of climate change; instead, plans are based on current natural conditions that are changing rapidly. Erratic rainfall patterns, frequent droughts and floods, will place the functioning of these dams at a less than optimal level, in turn actually raising China’s dependence on fossil fuels.

Life Expectancy of Dams With more rivers running dry for longer periods in the year, the life of such dams is becoming shorter than what it had been built for. Also, dam reservoirs are taking up precious water resources during droughts, exacerbating conditions and drying up lakes and water bodies along the river. In dry weather, some multifunctional dams like the Zipingpu Dam on the River Min can either provide nearby towns with water supply or generate electricity. 

Seismically Active Regions Most of China’s big dams are being built in a seismically active region that has already experienced big earthquakes including the one in 2008 in the Sichuan province that killed thousands. Many scientists are of the opinion that the reservoir of the Zipingpu Dam, which is very close to a major fault line, caused the earthquake. The dam also suffered damages because of the earthquake. Hence, these dams are a big risk due to their location.

Rise of Protests These projects have also come under fierce criticism from environmentalists as well as displaced persons. Not only have such projects spelt disaster for ecological systems and biodiversity, they have also shortchanged the communities that have been displaced as a result of the construction. The past few years have seen an increase in the number of protests being carried out by affected people. It is difficult for rehabilitated people to pick up their lives afresh and find new sources of livelihood after being displaced. Hence, there is also potential for conflict between these communities and locals wherever such communities are re-settled.

Three Gorges Dam This dam, built at the cost of billions of dollars and after displacing millions from their homes, has once again come under the scanner. Built to hold back waters of the Yangtze, it has actually worsened the drought-situation facing the south of the country. In southern China, severe droughts have dried up lakes along the Yangtze. Shipping downriver has almost been paralyzed and the farming has been affected severely. Some say all this is also the effect of building of the Three Gorges. Though the dam has helped generate electricity and control floods to a certain extent, there are inherent problems that have yet to be addressed including rehabilitation of the millions of people that were displaced, the problem of polluted water and prevention of geological disasters like landslides. 

Cascade of dams on Jinsha A cascade of 12 dams over the Jinsha River in southwestern China has recently been given approval. The construction of these dams had been halted for a few years, owing to environmental backlash. But exploding energy needs of the people soon overshadowed whatever concerns the establishment may have had regarding the environmental impact on the surrounding ecology. Out of these, the Xiangjiaba Dam will get completed in 2015 and the Xiluodo is already near completion. These two dams are large enough to feature in a list of the 20 largest hydropower projects in the world. Just filling of Xiangjiaba’s reservoir will require over 60,000 people to be displaced.

Over 100 big dams are in various stages of completion along the upper Yangtze and five of its tributaries in middle of China. At least 43 more big dams on the Lancang, Nujiang, Hongshui, and Jiulong rivers in China’s southwest, are at various stages of development. China has also finished construction on the 510 MW Zangmu Dam in Tibet, built at a cost of USD 1.2 billion.

South-to-North Water Transfer Project Estimated to cost over USD 600 billion, the project will transfer more than 12 trillion gallons of water from the Yangtze River in the south to the Yellow River in the north of the country. The north of China is almost constantly drought-ridden. But there are doubts about this project as southern China is also currently facing a debilitating drought. Also, since the waters in the Yangtze are highly polluted in its middle and lower reaches, there are apprehensions about this diversion project transferring polluted water to the north of the country.

In the past, the state media has acknowledged negative environmental consequences of the Three Gorges Dam, but this is the first time that the Chinese government itself has issued such a statement. But then, China’s philosophy has always been big solutions to big problems. So what will China do when these big solutions themselves turn into big problems?