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SPEAKING FREELY
Three Gorges: The price of
progress
By Tong
Wu
Speaking Freely is an Asia Times Online
feature that allows guest writers to have their say.
Please click here
if you are
interested in contributing.
The concept
of progress has always been a dynamic paradox, a seesaw
with destruction at one end and advancement at the
other, carefully balanced on a fine-edged fulcrum of
risk. No question has more often begged as dubious a
response as "progress, but at what cost?" In recent
decades, nowhere in the world has this been more evident
and profound than in the People's Republic of China, and
nothing has become more symbolic of it than the Three
Gorges Dam.
The largest hydroelectric
construction project in the world, the Three Gorges Dam
straddles the three famed gorges of the Yangtze River.
When complete, the dam will stand 185 meters tall and
stretch nearly 2.5 kilometers across. Although the
ambitious project was started in the 1990s, the famous
Chinese revolutionary leader Sun Zhongshan (among
others) entertained conceptions of a great dam to
harness the power and potential of the mighty Yangtze as
far back as a century ago.
Throughout history,
it has been demonstrated that great steps toward
"progress" have never been without an equally drastic
cost. The Three Gorges Dam is no exception. Conceived
for the purpose of producing massive quantities of
energy to complement the blistering pace of the Chinese
economy, the creation of the Three Gorges Dam, from an
economic perspective, was a no-brainer. However, when
one considers the social and environmental impact such a
mammoth construction could have, the consequences are
nothing short of ecologically and historically
grotesque.
For thousands of years, the Three
Gorges of the Yangtze (known in Mandarin as San Xia)
were renowned for their unparalleled natural beauty. The
Three Gorges area is home to thousands of species of
plants and animals, including many that are found
nowhere else in the world. However, with the advent of
the completion of this gargantuan project, it is very
likely that almost all of these organisms will be
affected one way or another.
In ecological
terms, the phenomenon that will befall the Three Gorges
locality is known as "habitat fragmentation". When the
reservoir of the dam fills completely, it is estimated
that water will cover 1,080 square kilometers and will
render the gorges' mountaintops into 100 or so islands.
But what of the land-dwelling denizens? An article in a
recent issue of Science says that such creatures will be
forced on to the islands created by the dam, and a
drastic retooling of endemic food chains will occur. A
noted example of a similar human-induced ecosystem
alteration was the damming of Venezuela's Caroni River
in 1986. The local wildlife was forced upon several
small islands, and more than 75 percent of vertebrate
species perished within 15 years.
The report
also offers a saving grace to this inevitable ecological
calamity, however. Because of the unprecedented nature
of this construction, the altered ecosystem of the dam
area will offer scientists a chance to conduct studies
concerning habitat change, and may shed light on
ecological issues and questions researchers had no way
of solving before.
Along with the erosion of the
beautiful natural landscape, the rich historical
background of the Three Gorges will also face
deterioration. The rising waters of the dam's reservoir
will submerge such famed and sacred sites as the tomb of
the legendary Han Dynasty warrior Zhang Fei. Although
the Chinese government has made its best effort to
preserve the ancient relics of the Three Gorges area,
many locales renowned for their historical opulence and
tourist popularity will be lost forever.
In
spite of the destruction the Three Gorges hydroelectric
project will cause, and the estimated 1.2 million local
residents it will displace, the economic tradeoffs may
be instrumental in the continued maturation of the
Chinese energy infrastructure. With China's growing
economy, and the ever-increasing demands of the Chinese
consumer community, maintaining a healthy energy supply
has been high on the agenda of Chinese policymakers for
years.
Currently, China is the world's
second-largest user of energy resources, and is ranked
first internationally in the consumption of coal. When
completed, it is believed that the Three Gorges Dam will
be able to generate as much electricity as 18 nuclear
power plants or the burning of 40 million tons of coal.
With this increased capacity, the strenuous Chinese
energy situation may be greatly alleviated, as many of
the deprived will finally have access to electricity.
Another possible and positive, though slightly ironic,
side-effect of the increased electrical generation
brought forth by the creation of the dam is the
reduction of China's future dependency on coal - a
notorious air pollutant. Although it may not guarantee
an overall reduction of coal use, the dam will aid in
the improvement of air quality.
The aim of the
Three Gorges Dam is progress, the advancement of Chinese
economic and social interests. However, the price to be
paid for this progress is a hefty one. When the dam is
completed, the beauty and tradition of the Three Gorges
will be submerged beneath billions of tons of water. The
rich abundance of native plant and animal species will
be threatened and the gloried fabric of the region's
history will be stained. Although the rising waters may
harbinger the advent of a new and potent energy
solution, what it buries beneath are thousands of years
of heritage and millions of years of evolution.
Many consider the construction of the Three
Gorges Dam to be a great tragedy, others a triumph, and
still others a necessity for prosperity. But what is not
in question is the sacrifice that has to be made. The
ecological tranquility and cultural splendor of the
famed Three Gorges must be martyred for the sake of
economic progress.
Is this the right decision? Do
the benefits that the dam will yield outweigh the
destruction it will cause? These questions warrant
myriad opinions, but, as history has shown us, it is
only time that will be the supreme arbiter of these
questions.
Speaking Freely is an Asia
Times Online feature that allows guest writers to have
their say. Please click here
if you are
interested in contributing.
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