China’s Three Gorges Dam has caused a host of ills that must be “urgently” addressed, the government has said, in a rare admission of problems in a project it has long praised as a world wonder.
The State Council acknowledged the environmental, social and geological problems in a statement issued late on Wednesday after a meeting on the hydroelectric project’s future presided over by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (溫家寶).
“While the Three Gorges project has brought great and comprehensive benefits, there are problems that must be urgently resolved in the smooth relocation of residents, ecological protection and preventing geological disasters,” it said.
The dam has also “impacted” downstream shipping, irrigation and water supplies, the statement said.
Construction began in 1993 on the US$22.5 billion dam on the Yangtze River — the world’s largest hydroelectric dam — and the project in central China began generating power in 2008.
Authorities have hailed it as a major new clean energy source and a way to tame the notoriously flood-prone Yangtze, China’s -longest river.
However, critics have long warned of its environmental, social and other costs.
About 1.4 million people were displaced to make way for the dam and its huge reservoir, which has put several cultural heritage sites deep underwater.
Chinese experts and officials have warned of the potential for seismic disturbances — including landslides and mudflows — caused by the massive weight of the reservoir’s water on the region’s geology.
Environmentalists have long cautioned that the reservoir would serve as a giant catchment for China’s notorious pollution, ruining water quality.
The government said last August that billions of US dollars would be needed to address environmental damage along the river, including sewage treatment.
The statement from the State Council said the government would step up efforts to ensure prosperous new lives for the displaced and address water pollution and geological risks, but gave no specifics of any new policies.
Torrential rains and resulting flooding in last summer washed huge quantities of trash and other debris into the river, sparking a major clean-up effort.
State media reports said the garbage was so thick in places that it could be walked on and threatened to clog the dam.
China is relying on hydroelectric power as a major component in its energy mix as it seeks to meet soaring power needs. It has dozens of dams either under construction or on the drawing board, according to state media reports.
Shamans in Peru on Monday gathered for an annual New Year’s ritual where they made predictions for the year to come, including illness for US President Donald Trump and the downfall of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. “The United States should prepare itself because Donald Trump will fall seriously ill,” Juan de Dios Garcia proclaimed as he gathered with other shamans on a beach in southern Lima, dressed in traditional Andean ponchos and headdresses, and sprinkling flowers on the sand. The shamans carried large posters of world leaders, over which they crossed swords and burned incense, some of which they stomped on. In this
Indonesia yesterday began enforcing its newly ratified penal code, replacing a Dutch-era criminal law that had governed the country for more than 80 years and marking a major shift in its legal landscape. Since proclaiming independence in 1945, the Southeast Asian country had continued to operate under a colonial framework widely criticized as outdated and misaligned with Indonesia’s social values. Efforts to revise the code stalled for decades as lawmakers debated how to balance human rights, religious norms and local traditions in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation. The 345-page Indonesian Penal Code, known as the KUHP, was passed in 2022. It
‘DISRESPECTFUL’: Katie Miller, the wife of Trump’s most influential adviser, drew ire by posting an image of Greenland in the colors of the US flag, captioning it ‘SOON’ US President Donald Trump on Sunday doubled down on his claim that Greenland should become part of the US, despite calls by the Danish prime minister to stop “threatening” the territory. Washington’s military intervention in Venezuela has reignited fears for Greenland, which Trump has repeatedly said he wants to annex, given its strategic location in the arctic. While aboard Air Force One en route to Washington, Trump reiterated the goal. “We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security, and Denmark is not going to be able to do it,” he said in response to a reporter’s question. “We’ll worry about Greenland in
‘TRUMP’S LONG GAME’: Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said that while fraud was a serious issue, the US president was politicizing it to defund programs for Minnesotans US President Donald Trump’s administration on Tuesday said it was auditing immigration cases involving US citizens of Somalian origin to detect fraud that could lead to denaturalization, or revocation of citizenship, while also announcing a freeze of childcare funds to Minnesota and demanding an audit of some daycare centers. “Under US law, if an individual procures citizenship on a fraudulent basis, that is grounds for denaturalization,” US Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. Denaturalization cases are rare and can take years. About 11 cases were pursued per year between 1990 and 2017, the Immigrant Legal Resource
RSS