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China Reins in Dam Builders
IPS Jun 18, 09
By Antoaneta Bezlova
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47259
BEIJING, Jun 18 (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."
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