Fish and porpoise could become extinct if new dam is built on the Yangtze
The Xiaonanhai Dam is expected to rise 30 kilometres from Chongqing, the pet project of Maoist champion Bo Xilai. Chinese sturgeon, Chinese paddlefish and Yangtze finless porpoise are at risk. The dam’s cost-effectiveness is also in doubt.
Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies) – A new dam planned for the upper course of the Yangtze River could endanger some 180 fish species as well as the Yangtze finless porpoise, which are already under threat from the Three Gorges Dam.
Despite the opposition of environmentalist groups, the Chinese government has given the green light to the Xiaonanhai Dam, about 700 kilometres upstream from the Three Gorges.
Local authorities in Chongqing are behind the dam, a pet project of the municipality's party chief, Bo Xilai, a rising political star known for his Maoist orthodoxy.
For environmentalists, the dam is just another example of how politics and economic interests can override the needs of the environment.
Building the Xiaonanhai Dam would mean reducing an existing fishing reserve by about 100 kilometres, making the hatching of fish stocks virtually impossible.
The reserve, originally 500 kilometres long, was first established in the 1990s as a refuge for species threatened by the damming of the Yangtze, especially the building of the Three Gorges, which drove dozens of rare fish species to extinction.
The Xiaonanhai Dam threatens the already endangered Chinese sturgeon and Chinese paddlefish, as well as a rare aquatic mammal, the Yangtze finless porpoise.
The dam would be built about 30 kilometres upstream from Chongqing, is expected to cost 23.9 billion yuan (US$ 3.8 billion) and generate 1,750 megawatts of electricity. However, even the dam's builder, China Three Gorges Project Corporation, admits its power-generation would not be cost-effective.
Despite widespread environmental concerns, Beijing has also announced an ambitious plan to build more big dams in the coming decade to increase its hydropower capacity by 50 per cent to 300,000MW by 2015.
Despite the opposition of environmentalist groups, the Chinese government has given the green light to the Xiaonanhai Dam, about 700 kilometres upstream from the Three Gorges.
Local authorities in Chongqing are behind the dam, a pet project of the municipality's party chief, Bo Xilai, a rising political star known for his Maoist orthodoxy.
For environmentalists, the dam is just another example of how politics and economic interests can override the needs of the environment.
Building the Xiaonanhai Dam would mean reducing an existing fishing reserve by about 100 kilometres, making the hatching of fish stocks virtually impossible.
The reserve, originally 500 kilometres long, was first established in the 1990s as a refuge for species threatened by the damming of the Yangtze, especially the building of the Three Gorges, which drove dozens of rare fish species to extinction.
The Xiaonanhai Dam threatens the already endangered Chinese sturgeon and Chinese paddlefish, as well as a rare aquatic mammal, the Yangtze finless porpoise.
The dam would be built about 30 kilometres upstream from Chongqing, is expected to cost 23.9 billion yuan (US$ 3.8 billion) and generate 1,750 megawatts of electricity. However, even the dam's builder, China Three Gorges Project Corporation, admits its power-generation would not be cost-effective.
Despite widespread environmental concerns, Beijing has also announced an ambitious plan to build more big dams in the coming decade to increase its hydropower capacity by 50 per cent to 300,000MW by 2015.
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