Three Gorges Dam Research in Geography

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Background Information:
In geography, we looked together as a class into the Three Gorges Dam (TGD) on the Yangtze River in China to provide a case topic on the issue. We looked on both sides of the argument and concluded whether the benefits outweighed the negatives and vice versa.

TGD is approximately 2.3 km wide and 185 m high holding back 20 billion tons of water which inevitably creates 85 billion kilowatt hours a year in terms of energy. However, there were many social, environmental and economic advantages and disadvantages to this massive project. TGD has had three main aims:

  1. Control and reduce flooding
  2. Provide and generate hydro-electric power for 1/3 of homes in China
  3. Improve navigation for shipping

Was it worth the cost?
In order to successfully determine whether the project was worth the cost of the environment, social and economic damages involved in the project, we need to look at both the advantages and disadvantages first. For example, it provided better access to water for a twelfth of the world’s people and benefited 15 million people who once lived in high-risk flooding areas. It protected 25,00 hectares of farmland and provided more electricity to the people. New jobs and industries opened which increased jobs as well as the increased employment as a result of the construction and influx of rubbish floating on the river. Other advantages include a reduce in carbon emissions as HEP is renewable therefore reducing China’s reliance on coal and cutting carbon emissions. It powered 1/3 of China’s homes and the power it creates is equivalent to a whopping 50 million tonnes of coal equivalent annually. This makes China a more sophistical economy and society and with the deeper water, larger ships carrying more goods can be transported. It is a stepping stone towards a better, cleaner, stronger China.

However, that was the advantages, it flooded villages which was the opposite of what it was supposed to achieve so the city of Chongqing became even more crowdier than ever before. It made people unhappy because the huge change in the scenery as this monstrous dam really changed the environment it was placed it. Since China controls all media, no one knew how devasting the effects were. It cost billions of dollars to build and relocate residents as the reservoir flooded a total area of 632 km2 which is almost as big as Singapore. 1,000 archaeological sites were submerged as well as 60,500 acres of farmland. Many people were afraid as some villagers had cracks in their homes and landslides were more common. 1.4 million people were located and there were long delays in traffic. There was more rubbish and threatened species such as the Yangtze dolphin, Chinese sturgeon and finless porpoise. It created environmental instability and water level fluctuated a lot which made landslides more common. There were many environmental problems but also economic problems such as it cost a huge amount of money to build the dam so some people thought it could have been spent other ways.

Finally, I believe that the Three Gorges Dam was not worth the cost as it caused more significant disadvantages than advantages. The construction could have been better maintained and regulated to prevent future damage. In other words, the construction itself was not worth the cost, however, the dam itself was a great idea. Therefore, the next time they invest in such a project, they should be more careful in the way they handle it.

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Quick Reference and Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Gorges_Dam 

http://www.absolutechinatours.com/Yangtze-River-attractions/Three-Gorges-Dam.html 

http://justfunfacts.com/interesting-facts-about-yangtze-river/