Plans for Building a Dam on the Yang Tse River

China has embarked another massive water management scheme. But it's a controversial project that has been on the drawing board for 80 years.

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Transcript

Plans for Building a Dam on the Yang Tse River Correspondent: The Sichuan Basin, today the rice bowl of China was once only marginal land for agriculture 2,200 years ago Dujiangyan the Chinese built an irrigation system of canals feeding from the headwaters of the Yangtze. It’s still in use today. It allowed Sichuan not only to feed the hundred million people but to become a leading exporter of food to the rest of China. As the new millennium approaches China has once again embarked upon a massive water management scheme. This is the site of the world’s largest dam at the scenic 3 gorges on the Yangtze River. It’s a controversial project which has been on the drawing board for almost 80 years. According to the authorities the dam will provide a method of controlling the flow of the Yangtze allowing them to hold and then slowly release surplus water rather than have the river overflow making fields homes and lives with it. Besides flood control the dam is supposed to provide the hydroelectric equivalent of more than a dozen nuclear powered plants generating much needed electricity for the development of the interior of China. A series of step locks will also allow ocean going ships to pass up the Yangtze opening the heart of China to trade with Shanghai from the much wealthier East Coast as well as the rest of the world that’s the plan, the practically is that more than a million people must be resettled as towns and even cities are decanted. This marker at 177 meters is the level to which the waters of the lake will reach. Chai Zong Xin: (Chinese Academy of Science)-Those markers must move higher up to the mountains. They must be very careful of the enormous effect that their activities will create on the environment. If this isn’t carefully managed there could be large scale adverse impact. Correspondent: The man-made changes to the 3 gorges are on such a huge scale that they’ve insured that there are opponents to the scheme both inside and outside China. One of the biggest issues is silting. Critics fear that unless the root causes of silting further up the Yangtze are addressed, the dam itself will suffer. Professor Chen Guo Jie: (Chinese Academy of Science)-We should plant trees when we dig reservoirs. Trees can protect the environment against filling up with silt and reservoirs can have a longer life. In terms of flood control the forest and reservoirs can help each other. Correspodent: Despite the misgivings the project is on track. More than 3 billion dollars has already been spent on the infrastructure and a major milestone was reached in 1998 when the Yangtze River was diverted to allow the construction of the main dam. The final stones were dropped into place in front of the Chinese leaders, their presence indicating high powered and enduring support for the project.