“China’s Three Gorges Dam” flickr photo by Sustainable Urbanisation in China https://flickr.com/photos/giz-sgup/36081644880 shared into the public domain using (PDM)
The Three Gorges Dam was built and completed in 2003. It was constructed over the Yangtze River (the third largest river in the world) that flows through Central China. The government decided to build the dam for two main reasons; to provide more electricity for the country through hydropower, and to control flooding in the area. So far, there have been many impacts, both good and bad, of the dam. But was it worth the cost to build the dam?
There were some advantages to building a dam. For example, the dam creates electricity equivalent to 11 nuclear power stations. This is essential for China’s growing population and many industries. The dam also provides electricity through a renewable source (hydropower), which will help China to reduce its reliance on coal. The creation of the dam is also said to have benefitted agriculture, which is also very important for China’s large population.
However, there were also some negative impacts. Almost 2 million people were forced to leave due to the flooding of the river upstream. The increased water pressure in the area has also caused many landslides, mudslides and has even contributed to a rise in the number of earthquakes in the area. Finally, many farmers have lost their livelihoods, which has negatively impacted agriculture.
Personally, I think China had good intentions when creating the dam, but I don’t think they took the time to think about the possible impacts it could have. I think the risks, in some ways, do outweigh the benefits of the project. That being said, I agree that some of these impacts may have been hard to predict. As some say, tampering with nature can be dangerous, as one never knows the consequences of their actions.