중국, 댐, 수자원, 여성, 영문

1. By WANG Yongchen
Summary
1. Women’s love for Earth
Protect the last ecological river initiating from concerning about nature and
biodiversity.
2. Call on for women’s living environment initiating from concerning about those
who live by riverside.
Protect natural environment on which native inhabitants depend, as well as their
way of living and the traditional culture, by recognizing the interactional relationship
of biodiversity and cultural diversity.
3. By evidence of women’s persistence and their continuous efforts in China’s
anti-dam movement, we can see how women take their advantages and make use
of media and NGO, in order to promote government’s environmental awareness and
enable EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) law to be authority in maintaining
public’s benefits.
Case Study 1:
What is behind the “ Dujiangyan Dam Protection” movement:
How the public could make impacts on construction decision-making?
In the year of 2003, Sichuan Dujiangyan Administration planned to construct
Yangliuhu Dam near Dujiangyan Dam, which will be only 350 meters away from
where this World Culture Heritage Site exists. In order to get support, Dujiangyan
Administration organized experts from different disciplines to make investigation at
the end of April. Yet, different voices appeared after the investigation. Strong
opposition to Yangliuhu dam construction was heard from both experts and local
officials.
In June, 10 more archeologists were gathered by Dujiangyan Administration. The
dam was going to be on progress with the approval of these scientists. At this
critical time, WANG Yongchen, journalist of China Radio, and ZHANG Kejia,
journalist of China Youth Daily, initiated their concerns and reports for the
construction. The detailed reports on Yangliuhu dam construction was composed by
ZHANG Kejia and published in China Youth Daily on July 7th, which immediately

2. aroused wide range of concern from the public and media. More than 180 domestic
and international media units kept reporting on the construction, among which
99.9% were opposed to it.
Ms. WANG Yongchen commented that, “It is the first time in China’s history that
the public directly influence decision-making of a construction.” Thus, the media
successfully mobilized public’s awareness in opposing dam construction.
The argument continued till the end of August when Yangliuhu dam construction
was finally denied by Sichuan provincial government.
Case 2
Preserve Nujiang,
a FREE-RUNNING River for China and the World
The Issue
The Nujiang (also known as the Salween), one of the three big rivers that comprise
a World Nature Heritage Site (enlisted in June, 2003 by UNESCO) - the Three
Parallel Rivers, is known for its steep and grand gorge surpassing many of the
famous canyons in the world. The Nujiang, a transnational river, originates from the
Southern side of the Danggula Mountains in Qinghai Province, runs through Tibet
and Yunnan Provinces and into the Andaman Sea in Burma. However, this unique
and fantastic river is not so well known in the world. As the most precipitous
territory on the earth, the whole Nujiang valley area still retains pristine ecological
systems . Little mass construction has taken place yet. Unfortunately, all these may
become historical memories in the near future. The North China Power Company, a
subsidiary of The National Power Company, is planning to construct a mass
hydropower facility with 13-stage stations on the river. The project design aims at
a capacity of 21 MKW (million kilowatts) and expected to produce more than 100
billion kwh electric energy annually.
Some noted Chinese scientists from different disciplines and conservationists alike
have argued strongly against the project at several symposiums held in Beijing and
Kunming in the past few months (September to November, 2003.) Despite the
strong opposition to power company's project, the voices of those supporting the
"economic development" overwhelmed the alternatives. Among many arguments
against the project, the major concerns over the negative impact of this project are
three-folds:

3. The irreversible impact on biological diversity along the Nujiang Valley;•
Lack of legal, thorough and transparent processes of an Environment Impact•
Assessment (EIA);
Lack of adequate consideration on socio-economic and justice issues and•
corresponding arrangements for the local residents who have to suffer in the name
of regional economic growth.
One of the Last Two Eco-rivers Will Be Gone!
China is by far the most dammed up country in the world. From 1949 to 1990,
over 86,000 dams were built, and 22,000 of which are large dams consisting of
45% of all large dams worldwide according to the World Dam Committee. As a
consequence, ONLY two large rivers still run dam-free Yalung Zangbo (or
Brahamaputra, flows from Tibet into India) and the Nujiang. The richness and
endemism of the flora and fauna of the Nujiang valley make it an integral part of a
Biodiversity Hotspot called Mountains of Southwest China (there are currently 25
hotspots in the world. See www.biodiversityhotspots.org ), which is probably the
most biologically diverse place in the world's temperate areas. Its world-class
ecological systems, with many plant and animal species, might disappear or be
influenced tremendously should the construction plan be approved.
The North China Power Company is planning to construct a large reservoir in Maji,
an upriver area of the Nujiang. It claims it will build a highest dam in the world,
300 meters high, for the reservoir. The reservoir will submerge a huge area (it
would be great if we have even a rough estimate of hac.) of pristine old-growth
forestland when it reaches its full holding capacity. But even until now, no
investigation on the biological resources and the ecological system of this region
has been done, let alone the understanding of the environmental impact, by whom
Last but not the least, the Nujiang valley is earthquake-prone for as high as 6-8
on the Richter Scale. To build dams in such geologically unstable area is as if to
invite devastating disasters for the local and downstream communities.
How Much Benefit Do We Get 0ut of Hydropower? Is It Truly Green?
Learning from painful lessons in the past, the world today has come to a greater
consensus that large hydroelectric power stations have proved to be not as
productive as their designs claimed, especially after internalizing their vast
environmental and social impact. Some damage from dam construction on the
environment is irreversible and social impacts are manifested in diverse aspects of
livelihoods and long lasting. Consequently many countries have been scaling down
the designed capacity of power plants in performance or even shutting down the

4. operation and deconstructing the facilities. In China, a heated debate is ongoing
about removing the Sanmenxia Dam on the Yellow River, provoked partly by the
recent flooding in the upper stream as a result of this poorly designed devastating
infrastructure. Looking from a long-term perspective, large dams are proved
catastrophic to society at large than short-term financial gains to the power
companies in many parts of the world. Even in China, there is not one successful
example of hypro-power dam that have served to reduce poverty in strict economic
terms, of the nearby rural communities, which affected by the dams. Unfortunately,
a lack of overall plan and long-term ecological perspective on China's river
systems and overly simplified analysis of hydropower capacity have rendered
rampant exploitation of water resources possible, even on ecologically fragile and
sensitive areas, like the Nujiang River.
There has been a time hydroelectricity was believed to be the green energy. But
many power-generating comparative studies have shown that hydropower could do
more long-term damage ecologically to the ecosystems than a coal plant could if
coal plant takes environmentally sound measure to bring up its production to the
pollution control codes. The reservoir-submerged area causes the loss of natural
forests, grassland and wildlife (aquatic and terrestrial), and simultaneously the
ecological functions provided by the ecosystem as a whole will cease to perform
and will be irreversible. This could cause further ecological degradation often
unpredicted prior to the dam building project. The change in the water currents will
inevitably render water to be more pollution-prone. Water quality will then drop
ultimately. Dams also increase salination in the downstream farmlands.
People use to believe that one of the big advantages of hydro power plants over
coal power plants is that hydropower emits much less greenhouse gases ?CO 2 .
This is proved to be wrong Researchers after studying an hydroelectricity project
in Brazil, argued that the total ?carbon ?quantum caused by deforestation and the
putrefying plants entering the reservoir, is much greater than the total CO 2
generated by the coal-powered plant. In general, large dams often exerts more
negative (often irreversible) rather than positive effects on the ecosystem and
biodiversity.
Environment Impact, Assessment of Arbitration?
China's new EIA law took effect on September 1, 2003. At the time, a large
number of environmental protection activists considered it to be a milestone for
real participatory environmental impact assessment and decision making processes.
However, the Nujiang's case has evidently demonstrated that the law on EIA will
not be effective until there is a transparent and binding mechanism and room for

5. public participation.
In the Nujiang's case, the EIA was done by a 'qualified evaluating institute',
which is a subsidiary to the National Power Company. A case of apparent conflict
of interests: a ridiculous game in which a sportsman acts as the game's referee.
Nujiang is the first large and controversial project since the issue of the new EIA
law. If this law cannot facilitate a participatory and transparent decision making
process, while strong voices against the large dam project are not dealt with
adequately, the EIA law, expected to hold accountable the mushrooming
development projects in the ecologically fragile western provinces sets examples
and tunes for forthcoming hundreds and thousands of development projects. The
EIA Law is not going to be a rubber stamp!
Who Decides the Fate for Our Nation's Treasured Rivers?
Hydropower development in China had been solely controlled by the government
until recent years when loosening up of control over hydropower development have
allowed entries of private investment and greater freedom to the state-owned
power companies. As a result, the state-owned hydropower companies in the past
few years have been competing to mark new territories and concessions for
developing China's water system into chains of hydropower stations. It is only a
matter of time, the pristine Nujiang River has fallen a potential prey to such vicious
foraging for hydrological energy the banner of Greater Western Development
Strategies (Xi Bu Da Kai Fa): developing local economy and restoring ecological
systems in the Western provinces.
The central government and concerned scientists have long been warning that
Western Development (word by word translation of the Xi Bu Da Kai Fa national
policy) should not be turned into destruction in the western provinces. From 1970s
to1998 when national Logging Ban policy was implemented, massive scale logging
destroyed large area of old-growth forest in western China, and is believed to be a
major reason responsible for the vast flood on the Yangtze River in 1998.
Currently Chinese government has devoted a great effort and financial resources to
ensure the Logging Ban, Natural Forest Regeneration, as well as Land Conversion
Program are yielding lasting and desirable ecological deliverables to the local
economy and environment. However, the heated dam building competition runs
contradictory to the call for ecological restoration in the country has becoming an
potential devastating force to drive further ecosystem degradation.
Not only are these large dam projects potentially devastating to environment, but
also they are socially irresponsible and injustice to local communities. Neither

6. ecologists nor local residents are sufficiently involved during the planning
processes. Key decisions on our nationally treasured rivers are made 'in the
dark' by a few hydropower companies, without sufficient transparency and
monitoring by the public and unbiased environmental and social impact assessments.
Central authority on the environmental issues tried but is failing in front of the
benefit-driven groups.
Lessons from the Past, Voices from the Local People.
But how much of this benefit do local residents get from project that will affect the
rest of their lives? Looking back into the history, what happened in the Lancang
River, parallel to the Nujiang River valley is a good example. Also a part of the
Three Parallel River area, the Manwan Hydroelectric Plant is located in the middle
of the Lancang River (Mekong) in Yunnan Province. It was the first mega kilowatt
hydroelectric plant in Yunnan Province and also the first large power station on the
mainstream of the Lancang River. The construction started in May 1986, the River
was blocked in October 1987 for the dam building, and the first power generator
started to generate electricity on June 30th 1993. One of the five model
hydroelectric plants in the country (by whose judgments), the Manwan project
maintained its minimal investment by providing probably the lowest compensation to
the some 7,500 some migrants - less than 3,000 RMB (~ 350 USD) per person,
compare to a country's average of 20,000 RMB (~ 2,500 USD). Besides providing
an annual 100 million RMB to the national treasury and over 50 million RMB to the
provincial treasury, the Manwan also provides 50 million RMB to the 4 counties
involved, and makes a profit of 120 million RMB for the power company. However,
little was provided to the local residents and to improve the migrants' livelihoods.
The compensation to local residents for migrating is far less than needed. The
power company had maximized their benefit by providing the lowest possible
Development and Support Fund for the migrants for a merely 400 RMB (less than
50 USD) per person per year, a minimum required by the central government. The
power company before the dam construction promised a bight future to farmers, but
few came true. People's life in the Manwan area did not get improved, but rather
further impoverished. Many migrants found themselves living in areas with scarce
resources. They lost their homeland. And the new areas they were moved to the
quality and area of the land, forest, pasture, fishery and the water resource all are
much poorer than before. People lost job opportunities. Sadly and ridiculously, it
was a scandal to hear some villagers who are within walking distance to the dam
lived in dim candle lights because electricity prices charged to them could be as
high as 3 times more that that of urban electricity prices. The power company
promised that 3-5% generated electricity would be supplied to local people to
replace burning of firewood, but no funds were allocated for setting up the

7. transmission stations.
There are yet many lessons to be learned in the Manwan project in relation to
local people, whose lives were altered most by the project. A central issue is that
local residents were not part of the decision-making processes. Their voices were
only heard, albeit vaguely, when their basic living rights were violated AFTER the
project completion. Yet same poor participation is happening again in the Nujiang
project no prior-consultation to the local residents was held during the project
planning.
Take Action. Be a Responsible Citizen and Be a Responsible Nation!
China has already lost many forests and grasslands in the recent 50 years of
history. Government and people are paying billions of dollars to try to regenerate
the natural forest and grassland. Have we not learnt enough lessons from the
history?
Mass construction planned on the Nujiang River will ruin the river's authenticity
and integrity, yardsticks measuring up to be a World Heritage Site. The honorary
status of the Three Parallel Rivers World Nature Heritage Site designated by the
UNESCO will be threatened. At the same time, dam building on this international
river will inevitably impose undesirable impacts on downstream countries and hence
produce a negative image of China within the international communities. What are
we supposed to do as a responsible nation?
No matter you are simply a citizen or from an environmental NGO, or other walks
of life, please speak up and do your best to save the Nujiang River so it can run
freely in China and in the world! How can we stand up to the fact that China or
Eastern Himalayan region will soon have no free-running river system, and we,
responsible citizens at the critical times of decision-making were indifferent to the
call and lack of action? Do not think an individual's voice is too low to be heard,
if we stand together to voice our opinion out loud enough, it will be heard!