To offset these fears, the government has earmarked an extra 8 billion yuan (US$1.4 billion) to bolster the Han, including diverting water from the Three Gorges reservoir on the Yangtze and along the Xinglong Hinge. These measures — essentially robbing Peter to pay Paul — will require at least 650km of channels to be dug through farmland.
“We are appealing for the government to increase the compensation fund for Han River projects and to build more sewage plants,” said Shen Xiaoli (沈曉鯉), of the Research Academy of Environmental Science in Hubei. “Once a construction project starts upstream, it requires water compensation downstream. This, in turn, necessitates other projects to deal with the negative impacts. It’s a circle in which you need ever more solutions and ever more funds.”
Most of the grumbles are coming from the middle reaches of the Han.
“Local people are very worried about the impact on our ecology because we will lose a fifth of our water,” said a resident of Xiangfan City, who asked to remain anonymous. “Although we are concerned, everyone must express support. We dare not oppose the central government.”
Yet, this is only the first of three-planned phases of construction on the east and central legs. The government has been advised to wait and see the results before proceeding further.
“The original plans were made 20 years ago. Since then our society has developed and the natural environment has changed. My view is that we must make a new assessment of the plan for the middle and eastern legs,” a senior government adviser said. “Then we should decide whether we need changes, whether we should go ahead with the second and third stages.”
The comments are part of a debate about the wisdom of nature-conquering mega-projects. The new scientific development aims at sustainability.
“I am not a supporter of mega-projects,” said Zuo Qiting (左其亭), a professor of hydrology at Zhengzhou University. “One way to halt the trend of ever-bigger projects is to evaluate their impact from a wider perspective. We need to look not just locally, but at the national and global level.”
International environmental groups say the focus should be on reducing demand.
“Transferring water from the Yangtze tributaries to the thirsty plains of northern China may well lead to environmental collapse of the Han river, the Three Gorges wreservoir and the Yangtze delta,” said Peter Bosshard of International Rivers. “To resolve its water crisis, China needs to phase out thirsty industries and agricultural crops in the drought-prone north and replace them with more environmentally sound practices.”
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