China admits Problems With Three Gorges Dam

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/20/world/asia/20gorges.html

Summary

The Three Gorges Dam (TGD) is the world’s largest hydroelectricity project and a symbol of the emerging engineering prowess in China. Since it’s launch back in 1992, there have been controversial debates regarding the project’s social, political, economic and environmental impacts. The Chinese government has tried to keep the issues under the sheets, even refraining from having any large celebrations when the dam was completed in 2006. However, it has come to the point where the impacts have become too high and cannot be ignored any longer. The articles focuses on the realization of government officials that the TGD has brought on more problems than predicted at first and they now feel global pressures in order to rectify their mistakes. Issues dealt with through the article and analysis includes the benefits of the dam as well as the costs placed on the government and the various sectors of society at large. Yes, it generated “84 billion kilowatt-hours of (pollution free) electricity last year”[2], but the vast societal costs placed on the Chinese community and environment have proven too vast.

Analysis

China’s initiative to move towards green energy usage communicates a large number of positives aspects. The potential benefits of the Three Gorges Dam (TGD) have always been enormous. Hydroelectric power provides benefits by not necessitating fuel in order to operate. By using a renewable resource (water), production costs remain more or less constant, and given that very few people that are required to work at a dam (because of its automated operations), it allows for less uncertainty for the population regarding living costs as well as for the government when it comes to producing Government spending budgets for the following year, etc. Moreover, the pollution created by hydroelectric energy generation is quite minimal. There is of course some pollution involved throughout the construction of the dam, but this is true for any power plant. Nevertheless, because it does not burn any fuel it eliminates the possibility of radioactive waste or harmful gases being emitted, keeping the surrounding area clean and healthy for living. China has been on a constant battle against pollution and environmental impacts on the nation. Turning towards hydroelectric power could be seen as an attempt in China’s part to perhaps put a stop to the increasing rate of accumulated pollution in the country. The economy of the country can be improved by higher mortality rates as well as lower unemployment rates if the healthy population is willing and ready to do work. The dam also provides Flood controls by fluctuating water levels on a seasonal cycle, benefiting a big portion of the population around the Yangtze River, as it would increment safety against the nations historical high probability of floods. Finally, the dam would increase navigability of the Yangtze River, mounting to increasing trade.

However, since the completion of the TGD back in 2006, there have been stern debates regarding problems anticipated during the dam’s construction, as well as others that have surfaced due to the new demands posed by economic and social developments. One of the big external costs of this project is the reportedly displacement of 1.4 million people. The construction of the dam increased water levels, which flooded “As many as 13 major cities, 140 towns, and 326 peasant” [1] and caused for a resettling plan to be in place. Considerable struggle has been shown by a lot of the population to resettle in the new locations due to various reasons. Not only are they not getting sufficient compensation to cover the costs of new housing, but a great portion were moved to urban areas. We cannot forget the fact that a big slice of the evacuated population is made up of farmers who now find themselves in a difficult situation. These people were not just being taken away from their homes, but from their job, culture, and their way of life. Reallocating from rural areas into urban areas raises leads to other issues like them lacking the training necessary to successfully find and maintain an industrial job. On the other hand, those who remain farmers are not able to produce crops, as much of the land provided by the government is deemed unfertile and unsuitable for farming. It is important to evaluate and be critical of the assumption that the there is no pollution involved with hydroelectric power. The construction of the dam entailed a great deal of deforestation occurred mainly in order to provide farmland in the surrounding areas for those whose homes and farms were flooded by the reservoir. In addition, deforestation actually raises CO2 emissions while in the process of burning down trees. Consequently, it elevates the risk of landslides leading to a share of the population being reallocated more than once. The influx of people into other cities can also affect the quality of life in those cities and apply pressures regarding jobs scarcity. The decomposition and breakdown of accumulated vegetation and organic wastes in dams can in fact lead to carbon dioxide emissions into being released. According to the article “The dam has been plagued by reports of floating archipelagoes of garbage, carpets of algae and landslides on the banks along the vast expanse of still water since the 600-foot-tall dam on the Yangtze River was completed in 2006.” [2] This contamination is coming from multiple non-point source pollutants, and it is hard to know who is in fact polluting the lake. It is because of the dam’s proximity to several city centers, that the dumping of industrial, organic, and inorganic waste has always been a serious issue. The problematic issue has been aggravated since the dam’s construction as it prevents the disposed materials to be washed out to see, hampering the water quality in the Yangtze River. Essentially, "the lake formed by the dam has become repository for waste dumped by the cities around the area." [2]

This project claims to yield social benefits such as less air pollution resulting in better health and increased standards of living. But in reality, millions of residents of the Three Gorges Dam Area rely on the Yangtze River as their only water source. Moreover, the dam serves as a physical barrier that disrupts the river’s ecosystem. In addition to water pollution, habitat fragmentation will have a detrimental effect on all species within the Three Gorges Dam Area. “In fact, some aquatic mammal and endemic fish species are near extinction, such as the Chinese river dolphin.”[1] Cost-effective approaches for biodiversity conservation are required, and deserve serious consideration. Ecosystem disruption also leads to economic problems. The physical barrier can interfere with the spawning of fish, which in combination with pollution can have serious impacts on the fishing economy of the Yangtze River.

The ideal situation would have been at the commencement of the project to find the level where MAC=MD to maximize net social benefit. However, in this particular case it is too late and complex for that and now, so they have to try and establish policies to allocate liability for those who are worsening the water pollution and ecosystem of the Three Gorges Dam area as well as dealing with the evacuated population. A cost effective policy could be put in place, given that they have already spent a lot of capital on this project. Moreover, the MD curve may be hard to find as there are many factors involving costs and benefits that come into play and are hard to quantify. By selecting a specific pollution target level, they could achieve a targeted level of environmental improvement at the lowest possible cost. They have admitted to the problems caused by the dam and now it is time to take a step forward and show the world that they are serious in their struggle to improve ambient quality in China.

References

[1] http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=1b41b815-263b-4fe8-a700-e3e2ea4cd5a7%40sessionmgr13&vid=2&hid=19 [2] http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/20/world/asia/20gorges.html?_r=1

Professor's Comment

In your analysis, you repeat a lot of the points made in the article. These are contributions to the MD, which may not have been calculated. Some, such as the relocation costs, are also things that should have been properly accounted for in any CBA of the project. Often they are not considered, or the promised compensation does not materialize.

One issue with developing nation issues is that the value of the environment, relative to the value of economic development, is often quite low. As China becomes a wealthier nation, it will probably turn more attention to protecting its environment.

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