Assessment of the Environmental Effects of Constructing the Three Gorge Project on the Yangtze River

Abstract

A 10-man delegation from the United States visited China for 6 weeks during May and June 1981 for the purpose of consulting with the Chinese on the Three Gorge Project. This visit was in partial fulfillment of an agreement between the United States and China concerning cooperative activities on multipurpose development of the proposed Three Gorge Project. One of the areas of expertise sought by the Chinese was environmental science. The author filled that role and, in doing so, developed a preliminary assessment of the potential environmental effects of Three Gorge Project. The Three Gorge Project is a multipurpose project with the primary function of flood control. Other functions include power and navigation and could include irrigation. The 200 m high concrete gravity dam, which is currently being considered, would be located in the lower reach of the famous Three Gorges of the Yangtze River in Hubei and Sichuan Provinces. The reservoir will store about 70 × 10⁹ m³ and extend upstream about 780 km. The proposed powerplant would have an installed capacity of 25 000 MW, consisting of twenty-five 1000-MW units. The Three Gorge Project, when constructed, would be the largest water resource project anywhere on earth. The environmental impacts of the proposed Three Gorge Project could be both beneficial and adverse. Many of these impacts are easily identifiable and some of them are avoidable. Others are not so easy to identify at present. Some of the beneficial effects include elimination of flooding along the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, a substantial increase in much needed electric power for south and central China, and creation of a large body of water which could be added to Chinas impressive aquaculture development. The most identifiable major adverse impacts include relocation of more than 2 million people from the reservoir area; loss of habitat for many kinds of Yangtze River aquatic life, including the unique Chinese sturgeon; and the possibility of reducing nutrient input to the downstream and estuarine fisheries. The Three Gorge Project is needed to protect hundreds of millions of people from the ravages of floods for the production of electric power, and possible diversion to the North China Plain, thereby enhancing the economic development of the entire country. If the suggestion to develop a planned course of study to both identify the potential environmental impacts and to search out means of mitigation is followed, the possibility of minimizing adverse effects seems high.