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DEVELOPMENT: China Reins in Dam Builders
By Antoaneta Bezlova
BEIJING, Jun 18, 2009 (IPS) - Beijing has reined in China’s unbridled dam-building spree, issuing warnings to
power-hungry developers that stimulating the economy in a time of crisis
should not be used as an excuse to forego environmental reviews of big
hydroelectric projects.
Nevertheless, the country remains committed to a series of dam schemes
outside of its borders as its role grows as a global financier and builder.
Over the last few months, Beijing has pulled the plug on several highly
controversial dam projects in resource-rich southwestern China - delighting
environmentalists and sending a warning to wayward localities to toe its line.
"What we see now reflects a decision made by the very top leadership to
balance development with environmental protection," says Ma Jun, director of
the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs. "It is not an easy decision to
make in the middle of an economic crisis and it illustrates Beijing’s
determination."
Last week, China’s environmental watchdog suspended approval for
hydropower stations along the middle reaches of the Jinsha (Yangtze) river. It
made the decision after finding out that two of the mainland’s biggest power
companies have begun illegal construction to dam the river.
The announcement comes on the heels of a reported decision by Beijing in
late May to halt work on another controversial dam planned on the Nu river -
also called the Salween by downstream countries.
The Liuku hydropower station on one of China’s last free-flowing rivers in
Yunnan province has been subject to a long-term debate about its impact on
ecology and local communities, and will be reviewed once more before
construction of the dam is allowed to proceed, the Hong Kong press reported.
All three suspended projects were to have been constructed in a region of
China known for its outstanding natural beauty and riches. At its core lies the
protected area of the Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan - a World Heritage site
with diverse ethnic minority cultures and home to some of China’s most
important biodiversity.
It is also where three of Asia’ greatest rivers - the Nu (Salween), Lancang
(Mekong) and Jinsha (Yangtze) run almost parallel before two of them wind
their way into Southeast Asia.
But the area is also one of China’s last untapped sources of hydropower, and
local authorities have been eager to capitalise on this wealth. They contend
that developing hydropower is essential to give an economic boost to one of
the country’s most impoverished areas, help eradicate poverty, and meet
other regions’ demands for electricity.
When plans to build up to 13 dams on the Nu river were announced in the
early 2000, they caused an international outcry that prompted Premier Wen
Jiabao to suspend preparations for the projects in 2004.
Fierce opposition from downstream countries and warnings by the United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) that the
dams would endanger the Three Parallel Rivers site led to downscaling of the
Nu river hydropower plan. Four dams are now being proposed, including the
one at Liuku.
Another system of cascading eight hydropower works is being planned for the
middle reaches of the Jinsha (Yangtze) river, with a total investment of 30
billion dollars. The power stations are expected to generate as much
electricity as the controversial Three Gorges Dam - about 20 gigawatts.
Beijing’s latest move to block construction on the Jinsha comes as two
Chinese companies - Huadian and Huaneng - ignored legal procedures for
conducting an environmental assessment of hydro-works and began
damming the river.
"To protect the management of the environment… and to punish the violation
of the environment and illegal acts regarding the environment, the
environmental ministry decided to suspend the construction projects in the
middle reaches of the Jinsha River," a statement from the Ministry of
Environmental Protection said.
Huaneng Power and Huadian Power are among China’s top five state-owned
companies, created after the break-up of the state power monopoly in 2002.
Since its inception, Huaneng has been dominated by the family of former
Premier Li Peng - a long-time advocate of large dams, and a key figure in the
Three Gorges Dam project.
Both companies have been heavily involved in developing the water resources
of China’s southwest.
After Beijing unveiled a 4-trillion yuan (585 billion dollar) economic stimulus
package last fall - allowing many localities to fast-track projects in order to
revive growth - Yunnan and Sichuan provinces accelerated work on planned
dam projects.
Hydrologist Liu Shukun estimates that if all of the planned hydropower
stations in southwestern China are built over the next 10 years, the amount
of electricity generated would equal the output of five Three Gorges Dams.
"Abundant power is all good, but the problem is that exploitation of water
resources at such scale has also a greater range of negative effects on
everything from nature to local communities," Liu said.
For now, the suspension of the Ludila hydropower project by Huadian and the
Longkaikou project by Huaneng has given the green lobby fresh hope. Both
projects are downstream of China’s famous Tiger Leaping Gorge - one of the
deepest river canyons in the world that power companies and local officials
have targeted for projects in the past.
What seems particularly encouraging to observers is the fact that in
announcing this suspension, environmental ministry spokesman Tao Detian
highlighted the connection between the two downstream projects and the
Tiger Leaping Gorge.
Confronted with public opposition to controversial projects in the past, the
power companies’ strategy has always been to build downstream works first,
and then argue that without completing the projects upstream, the
investment made will be wasted.
"The latest decision of the environmental ministry targets this particular line
of thinking - that more investment should be made on the assumption that
all dams will be unquestionably approved," said Ma Jun. "In many cases, a lot
of money is invested even before the official approval of the projects."
However, the latest suspension of dam projects has resurrected fears that
putting to a halt projects on the Jinsha or Nu rivers could prompt local
authorities to plan more dams in areas like the Lancang (Mekong), which is
shared with Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam and Burma.
China has eight existing or planned Mekong mainstream dams and has
thrown its financial clout and technical expertise behind many more that are
on the drawing board. The impact of these dams on downstream countries is
currently under review by the Mekong River Commission (MRC), the
intergovernmental body responsible for cooperation on the sustainable
management of the Mekong basin.
In the past, MRC member countries - Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam
- have raised opposition to China’s dams, citing resettlement issues and
reduction in fisheries yield. But now many are heeding China’s example,
contemplating the development of a series of hydropower schemes on the
Mekong.
"Like other countries, China is essentially exporting its own development
experience abroad - through building dams and many other projects," Peter
Bosshard, policy director of the NGO International Rivers, said in an e-mail.
But as the recent decision to halt the dams shows, "the Chinese government
has come to realise that a development strategy that puts economic growth
above all other interests is exacting a huge toll from the environment, public
health, and long-term prosperity," Bosshard said. "This is as true at home as
in other countries."
For the Mekong river, which serves as a food artery to millions of people in a
way that no other river does, a reversal in policy may come a little too late.
Eric Baran, research scientist at the World Fish Centre for the Greater Mekong
Region, says it took France 200 years to dam all its rivers and this
development was accompanied by the onset of the Industrial Revolution,
which provided other alternatives for livelihood.
"Here we are talking about a process to be completed within 15 to 20 years,"
he said during a recent interview in Phnom Penh. "In one case, people had
time to adjust and in the other, people would have to deal with consequences
within one generation."
(END)
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