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Science uproar stalls hydropower project
Source: Xinhua |
May 24, 2010, Monday
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SOME of China's leading scientists have won an environmental review of a controversial dam proposed for the country's largest freshwater lake.
Officials of Jiangxi Province government have conceded that the planned dam and hydropower project might harm the wildlife and environment of the 3,500-square-kilometer Poyang Lake.
They have dropped the hydrostation in favor of a simple sluice gate, which, they say, would prevent water from the ever-shrinking lake flowing into the Yangtze River. However, opponents fear even this modified plan could seriously damage the lake's fragile ecosystem.
The proposed dam is part of the State Council-sanctioned Poyang Lake eco-economic zone and the province wants to begin construction this year. But 15 academicians and experts from the Chinese Academy of Sciences asked the State Council to suspend the project pending a more detailed environmental impact assessment.
There are three major objections:
1. The dam would cause water shortages in cities on the lower reaches of the Yangtze River;
2. It would reduce water circulation and reduce the lake's water quality;
3. It would change the ecosystem, which would threaten the habitats of many animals, birds and fish, some of them rare.
Professor Cao Wenxuan, an expert in aquatic life, said the dam would harm wildlife, including the almost-extinct white-flag dolphin of the Yangtze River, the finless porpoise and many other rare species.
The Jiangxi government had made concessions by scrapping the power station in favor of the sluice to maintain the water level during the dry season.
"But the sluice is problematic too," Cao said. "The water gate would narrow the mouth of the lake to the Yangtze River to two thirds the original size, which would accelerate water flows and hinder some fishes' breeding migrations."
Zhu Laiyou, director of the general office of the dam construction project, said receding water levels meant some of the lake's wetlands were no longer "wet" and wildlife habitats were threatened.
Zhu said the dam would help stabilize water levels during the dry season, prevent water from being lost to the Yangtze River and solve a long-standing water shortage problem.
Poyang Lake covers 3,583 square km with an average water depth of 8.4 meters. It is fed by five rivers in Jiangxi and empties into the lower reaches of the Yangtze, China's longest river.
According to the eco-economic zone plan, development will be forbidden in the 5,180-square-meter core region, and "strictly controlled" in the 3,700-square-km belt along the lake. The rest of the 51,200-square-km zone, home to 20 million people in 38 cities and counties, including the provincial capital of Nanchang, will be "intensively explored" by eco-friendly industries.
The lake has been threatened by receding water levels since 2003 due to climate change, human activities, decreased flows from upstream rivers, and the start of water storage at the Three Gorges Dam. In 2007, the lake shrank to 56 square km from the largest recorded 4,500 square km in 1998 due to a severe drought.
Over-exploitation and pollution have harmed fish stocks, damaging the fishing industry and the livelihoods of about 100,000 fishermen. Since 2002, a seasonal fishing ban has been enforced to protect fish stocks.
The lake is home to at least 140 fish varieties and is a winter habitat for many species of waterfowl.
Officials of Jiangxi Province government have conceded that the planned dam and hydropower project might harm the wildlife and environment of the 3,500-square-kilometer Poyang Lake.
They have dropped the hydrostation in favor of a simple sluice gate, which, they say, would prevent water from the ever-shrinking lake flowing into the Yangtze River. However, opponents fear even this modified plan could seriously damage the lake's fragile ecosystem.
The proposed dam is part of the State Council-sanctioned Poyang Lake eco-economic zone and the province wants to begin construction this year. But 15 academicians and experts from the Chinese Academy of Sciences asked the State Council to suspend the project pending a more detailed environmental impact assessment.
There are three major objections:
1. The dam would cause water shortages in cities on the lower reaches of the Yangtze River;
2. It would reduce water circulation and reduce the lake's water quality;
3. It would change the ecosystem, which would threaten the habitats of many animals, birds and fish, some of them rare.
Professor Cao Wenxuan, an expert in aquatic life, said the dam would harm wildlife, including the almost-extinct white-flag dolphin of the Yangtze River, the finless porpoise and many other rare species.
The Jiangxi government had made concessions by scrapping the power station in favor of the sluice to maintain the water level during the dry season.
"But the sluice is problematic too," Cao said. "The water gate would narrow the mouth of the lake to the Yangtze River to two thirds the original size, which would accelerate water flows and hinder some fishes' breeding migrations."
Zhu Laiyou, director of the general office of the dam construction project, said receding water levels meant some of the lake's wetlands were no longer "wet" and wildlife habitats were threatened.
Zhu said the dam would help stabilize water levels during the dry season, prevent water from being lost to the Yangtze River and solve a long-standing water shortage problem.
Poyang Lake covers 3,583 square km with an average water depth of 8.4 meters. It is fed by five rivers in Jiangxi and empties into the lower reaches of the Yangtze, China's longest river.
According to the eco-economic zone plan, development will be forbidden in the 5,180-square-meter core region, and "strictly controlled" in the 3,700-square-km belt along the lake. The rest of the 51,200-square-km zone, home to 20 million people in 38 cities and counties, including the provincial capital of Nanchang, will be "intensively explored" by eco-friendly industries.
The lake has been threatened by receding water levels since 2003 due to climate change, human activities, decreased flows from upstream rivers, and the start of water storage at the Three Gorges Dam. In 2007, the lake shrank to 56 square km from the largest recorded 4,500 square km in 1998 due to a severe drought.
Over-exploitation and pollution have harmed fish stocks, damaging the fishing industry and the livelihoods of about 100,000 fishermen. Since 2002, a seasonal fishing ban has been enforced to protect fish stocks.
The lake is home to at least 140 fish varieties and is a winter habitat for many species of waterfowl.
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