Plan change at shrinking lake
Source: Xinhua |
February 4, 2012, Saturday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
CHINA has altered a plan to build a hydropower dam on its largest freshwater lake after claims it could destroy an already fragile ecology.
But officials in Jiangxi Province, where Poyang Lake is located, said they will still search for other ways to stop water levels of Poyang declining.
Over the years, reduced rainfall, sand dredging, and the building of about 29 dams upstream on the Yangtze River, have caused the lake to shrink rapidly, from 4,000 square kilometers at its peak to just 200 last month. Water levels have plunged to a six-decade low of 7.93 meters.
"We now plan to build only sluice gates at the mouth of the lake where water flows into the Yangtze," said Zhu Laiyou, head of the Poyang water control projects construction office. "The gates will help maintain Poyang's water levels during the drought season."
Zhu said the project would improve the wetland ecology, boost fishery, and help develop tourism - all being threatened amid the continuous decline of water levels during the drought seasons over the past few years.
The original plan was canned after 15 academicians submitted a report to the State Council opposing the proposal to construct a dam.
"The dam and its hydropower stations will bring disastrous damage to Poyang's ecology and wildlife," said Cao Wenxuan, a biologist with the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Cao said he also had doubts about the latest plan as the sluice gates would still narrow the lake's mouth by a third and result in rapid water flows that might disrupt the activities of fish.
Dai Nianhua, a backer of the project, said the issue was not whether a control project was needed but what to build and how to build it.
Poyang Lake is a major destination for migratory birds and also home for near-extinct Yangtze River dolphins and many other endangered fish.
But officials in Jiangxi Province, where Poyang Lake is located, said they will still search for other ways to stop water levels of Poyang declining.
Over the years, reduced rainfall, sand dredging, and the building of about 29 dams upstream on the Yangtze River, have caused the lake to shrink rapidly, from 4,000 square kilometers at its peak to just 200 last month. Water levels have plunged to a six-decade low of 7.93 meters.
"We now plan to build only sluice gates at the mouth of the lake where water flows into the Yangtze," said Zhu Laiyou, head of the Poyang water control projects construction office. "The gates will help maintain Poyang's water levels during the drought season."
Zhu said the project would improve the wetland ecology, boost fishery, and help develop tourism - all being threatened amid the continuous decline of water levels during the drought seasons over the past few years.
The original plan was canned after 15 academicians submitted a report to the State Council opposing the proposal to construct a dam.
"The dam and its hydropower stations will bring disastrous damage to Poyang's ecology and wildlife," said Cao Wenxuan, a biologist with the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Cao said he also had doubts about the latest plan as the sluice gates would still narrow the lake's mouth by a third and result in rapid water flows that might disrupt the activities of fish.
Dai Nianhua, a backer of the project, said the issue was not whether a control project was needed but what to build and how to build it.
Poyang Lake is a major destination for migratory birds and also home for near-extinct Yangtze River dolphins and many other endangered fish.
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