Hạ Long -

Vietnam Travel

- Halong Cruises - Travel Company In Vietnam - Vietnam Travel Agency - Ẩm thực - Vietnam Tourism -

Travel To Vietnam

- Hotel in halong

China reportedly reins in dam builders

Published: 17/06/2009 05:00

0

258 views

VietnamNet Bridge – The Chinese government has warned 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. This should be good news to ‘downstream countries,’ including Vietnam.

Xiaowan Dam in Yunnan Province, China (photo: Gzhgj)

VietnamNet Bridge – According to the IPS wire service, the Chinese government is ‘reining 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.’ This should be good news to the governments of ‘downstream countries,’ including Cambodia and Vietnam.

Over the last few months, Beijing has pulled the plug on several highly controversial dam projects in resource-rich southwestern China, the region adjoining Vietnam – 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 China’s 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.”

In early June, 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, which in Burma and Thailand is called the Salween.

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.

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.

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,” says Peter Bosshard, policy director of the NGO International Rivers.

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 cooking artery to millions of people in a way that no other river does, a reversal in policy may come a little too late.

Antoaneta Bezlova, IPS News



Provide by Vietnam Travel

China reportedly reins in dam builders - Sci-Tech - News |  vietnam travel company

You can see more



Halong Cruises

Prev Next

enews & updates

Sign up to receive breaking news as well as receive other site updates!

Ads by Adonline

La Belle Vie Hotel