No doubt the Three Gorges Dam is an engineering wonder, and will probably* be a far cleaner source of energy for China's power-hungry economy than coal-fired stations. But is it worth it? The social and economic costs for people living in the area have been an issue from the start, and the number of people affected keeps going up, as reported today.
The China Daily says an additional 4 million people will have to move over the next 10 to 15 years because "the ecological safety of the Three Gorges Reservoir area is threatened by the growing population". These people, currently living in northeast and southwest Chongqing, "will be encouraged to resettle in the urban outskirts, about an hour's bus ride from downtown Chongqing". This is on top of more than a million people who were originally relocated from areas flooded by the dam, as reported by China Daily in 2004.
The big point here is that sustainability is not just about energy or the natural environment, it is also about social upliftment and preservation of livelihoods. Moving people to the urban outskirts in the name of "ecological safety" seems bizarre logic after the dam has already destroyed the ecology of a massive area. And relocation not only disrupts employment (fertile farmland and 1,600 factories were submerged, and the planned residential relocation will increase commuting distances), but also destroys social support networks, so the impact on families is a double whammy. Ultimately the electricity generated is supporting jobs elsewhere, but that's cold comfort for the 5 million displaced by the dam. With paradise lost, what is left?
*In considering just how clean hydropower is, we need to consider the energy that goes into the dam construction, and also the ongoing methane emissions from plant decay under the water.
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