Three Gorges Dam-Case Analysis
Travis Lindner
Abstract
At first glance, the TGD on the Yangtze River is an engineering project at which to
marvel. However, a closer look reveals something very troubling. The Chinese
Government has rushed into the production of the Dam without going through the needed
research into the effects of a dam this size. These effects range from the forced
resettlement of the people of the area, to the exploitation and the degradation of the
surrounding environment. Under the Chinese Communist regime, the people of the
country do not have the ability to voice their opposition to the project. This opposition
has thereby been voiced by International Non-Governmental Organizations such as
International Rivers Network and Human Rights Watch. While the Three Gorges Dam is
the main focal point, these NGOs have also focused on the global shift of major damming
projects to other developing nations and the effects of such a shift.
Introduction
From the time of the Ming Dynasty to the rule Chairman Mao, China has a long and
proud tradition. Dating back to before antiquity, this great nation has been a center for the
advancement of art, technology, and philosophy. This tradition is being continued today
by the forward movement of the Chinese Government (PRC). This forward movement is
being progressed through national pride projects such as the building of the Three Gorges
Dam on the Yangtze River. For future reference, “The Three Gorges is the general name
for the Qutang, Wuxia, and Xiling gorges. The Three Gorges area begins at Baidicheng
in Fengjie County, Sichuan Province, and ends at Nanjinguan in Yichang County, Hubei
province, a distance of 193 kilometers,” (Dr. Lee, 2007)
The idea for the Dam dates back 70 years to Dr. Sun Yat-sen, who was a leader in
the Chinese democratic revolution (Embassy, 2007). The idea was later adopted by
Chairman Mao and the Communist Government of China (Embassy, 2007). Though it
was to be part of China‟s “Great Leap Forward”, the project has taken on a life of its
own, raising questions regarding the human rights of people in China. Major concerns
have been not only been raised over the government‟s relocation of some “1.6 million
inhabitants of the proposed 600-kilometer-long reservoir area,” but also the
environmental impacts of the project (Human Rights Watch, 1995).
Environmentally degrading impacts are what developing nations see as the cost to
develop a post-industrial economy. China is one of these developing nations and the
impacts from the TGD are what may be seen as the cost to be paid for the advancement
of their culture. Chinese culture, though, is a major cost in the advancement of their
economy, as they are losing many culturally significant sites as a result of the project.
Added to this cultural concern are the people of China who live in small villages with
their entire family. These people only know one way of life, the substance farming that
they were taught by their parents.
As the construction of the Dam has progressed, so too have the injustices against
the people of rural China. Leaving these people behind for the prospect of advancing the
nation is something that is not acceptable. Through this paper, a light will be shown on
the inequities placed upon the rural people and why future projects like TGD must take
all stakeholders into account.
Figure 1: The Yangtze River Map
Chinese Governmental Involvement
With the power held over the people of China be the PRC and the interest it holds in the
project, the PRC will do anything to see the project completed. Through the state
controlled Three Gorges Corp., the PRC is managing the $27 billion project (Human
Rights Watch, 1995). Therefore, vital to understanding the project as a whole is fully
understanding the PRC and how it operates. It is important to note that as a main stake
holder in the building of the Dam and the environmental and human rights battles
surrounding it, the PRC has a vested interest in the progress of the Dam.
a. Chinese Government Overview
The PRC was created in 1949 and is currently a single party system, with the Communist
Party of China (CPC) in control. Though there has been a recent push at the local level
for more democratic, multi-party elections of officials, “the Party retains effective control
over governmental appointments. This is because, in the absence of meaningful
opposition, the CPC wins by default in most electorates,” (Wikipedia, 2007).
Within their push to appear a more open society, the Chinese Government has
recently begun to allow the protesting of governmental action, as long as they are not
organized. Though there is a Consititution of the People‟s Republic of China, which
gives freedom of speech, press, and the right to a fair trail, the country is not a
constitutional republic and therefore these rights can be and have been limited to protect
the integrity of the government (Wikipedia, 2007).
As a Communist Government and one that has been known to be extremely
controlling on the news that it allows to reach people, China in recent years has become
much more tolerant. This said however, a hard line is still taken on party criticisms put
out by the press (Wikipedia, 2007). This leads to the lack of „real‟ coverage of the
important human rights issues, such as the TGD relocation project, giving rise to the
involvment of international non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Their involvement
brings attention to the injustices that might otherwise go on without international
coverage. These NGOs have uncovered many injustices that have occurred in the inept
handling of the project by government officials (International Rivers Network, 2007a).
b. PRC’s handling of the TGD
To the world looking in on China from the outside, the TGD may seem like a project for
the advancement of a culture or even a project built for the betterment of a society. But
this is not the view held by those within China. The project has been marked by crooked
local officials trying to silence the criticisms of their own people, the very people they
should be helping with this project (Human Rights Watch, 1995). The Dam has been built
for the betterment of few at the expense of many. Criticism of the project, even peaceful
protesting, has been handled much like a crime against the state. The PRC has reacted to
the protests this way to ensure that nothing stands in the way of the Dam‟s completion.
Their brutal tactics have gone too far in the eyes of the world and the following section
highlights some of the more horrific actions taken by the PRC in recent years.
1. Mob-Like Tactics
In 1992 when the Dam was approved, people of the Yangtze River Valley were
promised that the dam would stop the horrific floods and provide the area with electricity
(Beech, 2002). While these promises may eventually be met, they will be marked by
severe corruption by local governmental officials (Beech, 2002). One such example of
this corruption is a story in Fengdu, where the money given to the town by the National
Government has not gone toward the intended purpose (Beech, 2002). Appropriated
funds from Beijing have been spent on projects other than those tied to the resettlement
of the people. Often time‟s funds were not even spent, but kept in the hands of the local
government officials (Beech, 2002). Some efforts have been made to correct the situation
as a handful of local officials have been convicted; some even sentenced to death, for the
skimming of governmental funds (Beech, 2002). Corruption, though, is not all that the
rural people of China must deal with.
“Problems include official cover-ups of inadequacies and failures in resettlement
programs falsification of figures on their progress, endemic corruption and misuse of
resettlement funds; systematic discrimination against rural residents in the allocation of
resettlement resources, and a lack of proper efforts to inform, let alone consult with the
populations to be relocated,” (IRN, 1998).
These factors have not only severely hurt the reputation of the project within China, but it
has also hurt the reputation in the eyes of the world.
There is also a real threat of physical harm to anyone who protests the
government over the project. Recently a man by the name of Fu Xiancai, who has been a
staunch campaigner for those displaced by the Dam, was critically injured after meeting
with Public Security Bureau Officials (BBC, 2006). Physical intimidation has for years
been a main tactic with the PRC. Many will remember the horrific events of Tiananmen
Square in which two to three thousand peacefully protesting students were murdered by
the PRC in order to silence their opinions (Richelson, 1999). Events like this are wide
spread across the nation. A 20 year-old was put to death for his part in a protest against
the building of a dam in Sichuan province. With the execution rushed, his father only
learned of his death when he was ordered by the police to collect his son‟s ashes and to
pay a 50-yuan “bullet fee” for the bullets that put his son to death (Haggart, 2007).
Incidents such as these show that it is not difficult to imagine the PRC using these
mob-like tactics to silence the people of their nation. This silence though, has been
partially broken by the international NGOs that have tried to aide the people being
intimidated by the PRC. Their work has brought global attention to the injustices
occurring in the construction of the TGD.
International Non-Governmental Organization Involvement
Throughout the world there are groups whose objective is to stand up for those who, for
whatever reason, are not capable to stand up for themselves. They are also known to
represent the environment as well, another subject not capable of defending its self.
These groups are international non-governmental organizations. The NGOs that are
prevelent in the case of the TGD are the International Rivers Network (IRN) and the
Human Rights Watch (HRW). Together these two groups have been tracking the
relocation project throughout its entirety and have called on the world to recognize what
is happening in the Yangtze River Valley. While most NGOs represent the under
privileged, in the case of the TGD, The World Bank has represented the interests of the
PRC.
a. Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an organization that is known for raising awareness
worldwide for the inequities and ills brought forth on the oppressed people across the
world.
“We investigate and expose human rights violations and hold abusers accountable. We
challenge governments and those who hold power to end abusive practices and respect
international human rights law. We enlist the public and the international community to
support the cause of human rights for all.” (Human Rights Watch, 1995)
The HRW is an international organizing group that brings many different groups together
to fight the injustices faced by people anywhere on the earth. They have the ability to
gather strong opposition in the support of people in a region and aide in their fight against
the injustices they face. Their actions are achieved through tactics ranging from raising
global awareness on a topic to working with the United Nations (Human Rights Watch,
1995).
In the case of the TGD, HRW has been influential in gaining attention for the
people of rural China. They have been digging for the truth, to tell world the story of the
people in this region. Their goal is to create worldwide pressure on the PRC government
to change its policies in regards to the TGD and the forced resettlement of the people who
live in the area. In their search for the truth, HRW was able to obtain “internal use only”
documents which gave contingency plans for the police to deal with anything from mass
battles to peaceful protests in the face of the Dam‟s construction. (Human Rights Watch,
1995) Documents such as these bring to light the obvious and blatant disregard for human
rights held by those in power in the Chinese Government.
HRW has also given safe haven to voices of those within the government whose
opinion on the project has caused them to fear for their jobs and also their lives. (Human
Rights Watch, 1995) These officials believed that the project‟s ecological, national
security, and social ramifications were great enough to slow the project down, or even
halt it, to further research the potential problems. (Human Rights Watch, 1995) These
voices though, are greatly needed in a nation wide project such as this. (Human Rights
Watch, 1995) Though the Human Rights Watch has been very instrumental in gaining
global attention for the TGD project and those affected by it, it is not the only NGO to do
such work.
b. International Rivers Network
Not all NGOs deal with the injustices facing the people of an area, and The International
Rivers Network (IRN) is one such NGO. IRN deals with the impacts of projects such as
the TGD on the environment as a whole. “We protect rivers and defend the rights of
those that depend on them.” (International Rivers Network, 2007b) The IRN has been an
instrumental factor in the fight for environmental justice as the Dam is an ecological
threat to the environment. Not only is the project environmentally unfriendly, but the
construction is a threat to the people that live around and depend on the river for their
livelihood.
In regards to their actual work with the TGD, “IRN has worked to call attention to
the project‟s enormous environmental and social impacts and to lobby financial
institutions to refrain from supporting the project.” (International Rivers Network, 2007a)
IRN has not been able to directly put pressure on the PRC government, but has been able
to bring the impacts of the project to the eyes of the on looking world. In China though,
they have spoken for those who do not have the ability or the freedom to speak for their
own interests, such as the people who have been forcibly relocated as a result of the TGD
(International Rivers Network, 2007b). The people that the international NGOs have
stood up to fight for are people that have lived in this area for centuries. Citizen‟s ability
to fight the Chinese government is hindered greatly not only by their lack of education
and understanding of the issue, but also by the constraints within the Chinese
Government and those groups who also have a vested interest in the project. IRN has
been a leader in calling on financial institutions, such as The World Bank to re-think their
lending of funds to projects that have a profound impact on the environment and society
surrounding dams. Projects such as the TGD have been financed by The World Bank
even though the projects have been marred by controversy.
c. The World Bank
As the principle financial backer of the TGD, The World Bank (TWB) is one of the
groups who, along with the PRC, have a vested interest in the project and its completion
(Probe International, 2007). In 1986, TWB was on a panel for the preliminary studies into
the feasibility of a Yangtze River Dam (Probe International, 2007). While this panel
found that the “…feasibility is not yet clearly demonstrated. Unresolved issues pertaining
to land availability, job creation and host population, and other issues need further
clarification. . .” TWB would go on to be the „silent partner‟ in the injustices created by
the Dam (Probe International, 2007). TWB has for years been promoting China as a
model of their best practice, but…
“by its own admission the World Bank effectively waives its own guidelines in its work on
resettlement in China, while ignoring evidence contradicting the favored image of China
as resettlement paragon, most notably the stream of reports about corruption and
malfeasance associated with the Three Gorges Dam,” (International Rivers Network,
2007e).
While TWB may have half heartedly advised for further research in the beginning of the
project, their power over the PRC was never utilized for the good of those being unjustly
acted upon by the PRC.
TWB‟s involvement with large scale hydroelectric dams is not confined to the
TGD project. TWB has been a major contributor to many large scale dams across India
and Asia (International Rivers Network, 2007d). Their large scale involvement began in
the 1970s with their funding of a large scale dam in India (International Rivers Network,
2007d). In spite of the potential problems, TWB had no problem funding the project once
it was approved,. From this project onwards, TWB has been the principle financial backer
for dams that were not built to provide poor people with water, but to fulfill the needs of
industry and power generation for big business across the world (International Rivers
Network, 2007d).
This is currently the case in Laos, where in 2005 TWB agreed to the allocation of
millions of dollars for the construction of the Nam Theun 2 Hydropower Project
(International Rivers Network, 2007c). The dam is being built to produce electricity for
the Lao government to sell to Thailand for the purpose of revenue generation. However,
there is no guarantee that the money produced will be spent on poverty alleviation in
Laos or that the government will even be able to manage such a large project
(International Rivers Network, 2007c).
As these cases show, TWB gives their money blindly and recklessly to
governments that neither have the ability or the desire to use the projects for the
betterment of their society as a whole. By participating in projects this way, TWB is
guilty of imposing the same injustices as the governments they lend their money to.
These injustices, displayed through the impacts created by the project, have a wide range
of impacts both on the local and global scale.
Local Impacts
Impacts from the TGD in the Yangtze River Valley of China have been immense.
From the forced resettlement of millions of people to the loss of many culturally
important sites, the societal impacts of the project on the people of the Yangtze River
Valley have grown as the project has progressed. Economic impacts are more likely to be
an up side of the project in terms of China as a whole. That said, when you look at the
economic impacts on the poor in China, those displaced by the project, the economic
gains will not be worth the injustices they have faced. As far as environmental impacts
go, the pollution that will be created by the Dam and the lack of environmental laws in
China will add up to a severely degrading environmental impact. No matter the type of
impact one thing is for sure, the TGD has created the problems associated with the
impacts.
a. Social Impact
The people of the Yangtze River Valley have inhabited the region for centuries,
raising their families in the same homes that they were raised in. Severing their tie to the
land is the main societal impact of the Dam project. TGD will also affect the numerous
cultural sites around the area, many of which bare special importance to the people of the
area. Several of these historical sites date back to 10,000 B.C. and over 100 of these will
be lost (Min, 1995). The resulting losses will be accompanied by the loss of many
cultural heritages of the people of China. These heritages and ways of life have been
around from pre-antiquity times and their loss is a loss for the entire world. As a result,
one of the largest archeological endeavors ever to occur is currently taking place (Shao,
2003) Archeologists are flocking to the Three Gorges area to hunt down the treasures in
the valley before they are forever covered by the Dam‟s reservoir and thereby out of
reach. Not only will cultural sites be lost, but also a way of life. Lost will be the way of
the farmers in the area; their forced resettlement has cut their ties to the land that their
families have lived on for centuries.
This detachment was fostered by the forced resettlement of the area surrounding
the resulting reservoir. Many of these people are farming peasants and losing their fertile
land is costing them their ability to provide income for their families (Dr. Lee, 2007).
Many critics believe that this will create reservoir refugees and that the forced migration
would cause social unrest (Dr. Lee, 2007). From the forced migration, the people of the
Three Gorges area would move to inland urban cities (Min, 1995). This integration will
lead to the overcrowding of cities, leading to high unemployment rates and an economic
downturn in the affected cities. The resulting rise in poverty will also occur because of
peasants moving into the large cities. They do not have the ability to compete for a job in
an urbanized workforce. These social impacts will lead to the economic impacts caused
by the Dam.
b. Economic Impact
The economic impacts of the TGD project depend on the scope used to analyze
them. That being, the impacts seem to be positives for the economy if looked at through a
national scope as opposed to a local scope. Looking at the local economic impact, the
major problem is the agricultural shifts (Min, 1995). This shift is from lands that are very
fertile and cultivated by farmers who know the area, to areas of less desirable land (Min,
1995). This could lead to the depletion of China‟s “bread basket” region and the loss of
China‟s self sufficient supply of food (Min, 1995). Losing this massive capability to
produce food that this area has will be a substantial loss to China as a whole not just for
the local economy. National scale effects have pros and cons intertwined, complicating
the debate over the dam.
On the national scale, the numbers of job opportunities brought on by the multi-
billion dollar project are quite staggering (Min, 1995). Though the Dam‟s construction
will bring added jobs to the area, once the dam is built the jobs available to the newly
relocated unskilled workers will dry up. This will result in the rise of the poverty rate in
the surrounding cities. This said however, the major economic benefit being proposed by
proponents of the Dam will occur when the project is completed. Once the project is
completed, it will be the largest hydroelectric dam ever built (Embassy, 2007). The
amount of energy produced by the Dam will be substantial, creating over 18 million
kilowatts (Probe International, 2007). This clean energy production will alleviate some of
the massive dependence China has on coal fired energy production. Though this is a
major plus, there will be other, not so environmentally minded affects brought on by the
TGD.
c. Environmental Impact
Behind the construction of the TGD project are the many impacts that dams of any size,
especially one of this unprecedented scale, have on the environment. The principal
advantage of the project is to generate power to keep pace with China's economic growth
(Dr. Lee, 2007). Though this is the case, the production of electricity will not out weigh
the burdens placed on the environment surrounding the dam. Energy produced by the
Dam will benefit few, whereas the affects on the environment, which is an integral part of
the Chinese culture, will affect everyone. Of the impacts imposed by the Dam, the impact
on the downstream farming land will have the most devastating effect. This will be
because of the silt that will be trapped at the site of the Dam which will not be released to
the down stream farm lands (Dr. Lee, 2007). Of the main reasons for the building of the
Dam, controlling flooding is one of the greatest (Dr. Lee, 2007). When a flood occurs, it
releases the build up of silt to the land surrounding the river. The silt that is released has a
nutrient content, which brings fertility to the land. This fertility is vital to the annual
production of much of China‟s internally grown produce. If this area of China is not able
to support the needed agriculture for the nation, it could have serious consequences.
Other than the environmental impacts on the food supply of the Chinese people,
the environmental impacts will affect the wildlife all over the Three Gorges and into the
East China Sea, which is the mouth of the Yangtze River. When the Dam was built, the
towns that the reservoir was to overcome were not deconstructed. There are hundreds of
mines, factories, and waste dumps left to rot at the bottom of the created reservoir
(International Rivers Network, 2007a). This pollution will not only affect the fish in the
reservoir, but also create a wasteland of human effluent and other types of waste at the
dam where the pollution will all gather. Any ill affects on the fish population of this
region of China will be devastating for the poverty stricken people of the area who
depend on the fish for food. Not only will the fish population of the reservoir be affected,
but the fish population at the mouth of the Yangtze River, in the East China Sea and
beyond will be affected (International Rivers Network, 2007a). These fisheries, some of
which are international, are being harmed by the Dam. Fish trying to reach the sea to
spawn are being cut-off and the replenishing of the fisheries is thereby not being
accomplished. Not only is this an affect on the local fishers of China, but also those from
other nations fishing in international waters.
These are not the only affects that will be produced by the Dam, some of the
impacts are still unknown and will remain unknown until they occur. A Dam of this scale
has never been erected before, so affects never before seen from the construction of a
hydroelectric dam will occur. Many of these unknown affects are surrounding the
fragmentation of the ecological balance of the area. This may occur from mountain tops
that, with the rising waters, create small islands which will become fragmented
ecosystems (International Rivers Network, 2007a).
Though the Dam will produce clean energy, as it will a renewable energy
source, this energy will come at a price. Economically, environmentally, or socially, the
TGD will affect nearly all people in China. With these costs and benefits weighted out,
will the Dam be worth all that the Chinese have put into its construction? Not even close.
Global Impact
While the TGD project is the most massive dam project ever attempted and the
ramifications of it are still unknown to a certain extent, the TGD is not one of a kind.
Reflected in the TGD itself is the global shift in location for Civil Engineering projects.
Projects such as the TGD have become much more common in the developing nations of
the world, such as India and China. This trend has been caused not only by the massive
growth in these nations, but also by the relaxed environmental laws in these nations.
a. Global Civil Engineering Trends
World wide, the shift of major Civil Engineering projects has been highlighted by the
struggle between the people of China and the PRC government. Though this is the case, it
is not an isolated incident. In India, there has been a major conflict over the construction
of the Indira Sagar Dam project (International Rivers Network, 2007d).
The conflict over the Indira Dam is not as publicized as the fight over the TGD,
but it is just as heated. When completed, the Indira Dam will wash over 69 villages in the
Narmada Valley and displace nearly 200,000 farmers (International Rivers Network,
2007f). Villagers have tried time and again to have their voices heard by the government,
but their voices have fallen on deaf ears.
“We are like waste to the government. You do not rehabilitate waste, you bury it.
Our town and souls are being buried. We have appealed to the government, to the courts,
to the country. Our pleas are thrown away. We are left to decay as this development
proceeds. Our futures are drowned out,"(International Rivers Network, 2007f).
Not only have these people not been heard, but they have been threatened with
violence just for standing up for themselves. Women and children have been evicted from
their homes at gun point by the government at a moment‟s notice, with no chance to
collect their belongings (International Rivers Network, 2007d). While these people have
subsequently been given some land as payment, as ruled by the High Court in India, they
were still forcibly removed from the land that they owned much like those in the Yangtze
River Valley (International Rivers Network, 2007f).
The plight of the people in the Narmada Valley, much like that of the people in
the Yangtze Valley, is sealed. All that is left is to learn about projects like these and why
they occur where they do, for it is a certainty that there is a global trend in dam projects,
but their causes are much more abstract.
b. Trend Causes
Globally, trends in the placement of dams has been shifting for centuries and their
building has often times been a reflection of civilization (Joyce, 1997). From the age of
low dams, the first century B.C., to the time of the massive hydroelectric dams, dams
have been a symbol of progression of a nation. Today in the developed world, most rivers
are dammed and their ramifications are just now beginning to be felt. Consequences such
as degrading farm land, eroding shorelines and estuaries, and the loss of fish hatcheries
are just beginning to come to light. Developed nations now have the capability to adapt to
the needs of not only themselves but also the needs of the environment around them
(Lindner, 2007). With this adaptability comes the ability to calculate the needs of the
environment into the construction of major engineering projects. Developing nations do
not have the luxury of being able to adapt to the needs of their own citizens, let alone the
environment in which they live.
Globally, the energy needs of people in developing nations have been growing
exponentially, in congruence with the population in their nations. Nations such as China
and India have had a hard time keeping pace with the energy needs of their rapidly
growing population. To keep pace, they have resorted to “selling out” their environment,
using their relaxed environmental laws to regulate the construction of these projects.
Damming rivers and burning cheap, dirty lignite coal are only two of the ways
developing nations have tried to keep pace with the energy needs. The use of these
environmentally degrading energy production methods is at the expense of the
populations around them.
The people of these nations are being forcibly removed from the land that they
have called home for centuries. They are being forced out without any type of regulated
relocation projects, all that they are given is what the government feels is necessary to
compensate them for the value of the land. This compensation is often times very little or
next to nothing (Joyce, 1997). The exploitation of many for the betterment of few is
becoming a common theme in the energy production of developing nations.
Conclusion
The fight for the Three Gorges Valley has been lost, the Dam its self has been completed
and the hydroelectricity generation will come online in 2009 (International Rivers
Network, 2007a). Though this is the case, it is important to look back at the TGD case to
learn about the injustices forced on the people and the environment and how these can be
alleviated in the future. The people of the Valley live under a government that is trying to
keep pace with the rapidly growing energy needs of a rapidly growing population. This
same government cares little for the people of this area and have there by exploited them
in the construction of the TGD. This exploitation has not only affected the people of the
area but also the surrounding environment which could, in the end, affect all of China.
International Non-Governmental Organizations have played an integral role in the
construction of the dam, both for and against it. The International Rivers Network and
Human Rights Watch, though not the only voices, have been the key voices in the
struggle for the oppressed people of the Yangtze River Valley. On the other side of the
fight, The World Bank, which during the onset of the project refused funding, joined the
People‟s Republic of China government and financed the project. Though TWB only
financed the project, they are just as guilty in the exploitation of the citizens of the Three
Gorges as the government.
Cases such as the TGD have become less rare over the years in developing
nations. This trend has become apparent in the light of projects such as the Idira Sagar in
India. Developing nations do not have the capability to produce enough energy as
required by their populations. This fact, coupled with their loose environmental laws, has
turned these nations into hot beds of less than ethical Civil Engineering projects. It is the
responsibility of the international community to stand up and defend the environment
from projects such as the TGD. There are alternatives to energy production and while
these are expensive, the world as a whole has the ability to utilize them and thereby
protect the environment and the people that live in harmony with it.