Transcript Who are we? - University of Leeds

Contemporary Chinese Environmental
Debates and Policy: Water Resource
Management Issues
Environment and Society (ENVI1110)
Monday 24 October 2005
Damian Howells
[email protected]
Room 3.13, School of Chemistry
Map 1. China’s major river systems
Available from: http://www.chinaplustour.com/images/CHINA_map.gif
The Reform Era (1978 – present)
• Launched by post-Mao leadership
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Deng Xiaoping
Disillusioned with previous economic policy
China’s economy stagnant
Based on market economics
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“To get rich is glorious”
Private enterprise in agriculture & industry
Radical departure from previous approaches
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Deng had been labelled a capitalist and purged
The Reform Era cont’d
• GDP has seen phenomenal growth
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1983 – US$256.1 billion
1994 – US$542.5 billion
2004 – US$1653.8 billion
9.5%(approx) p.a.
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7% p.a. predicted growth until 2020
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Further economic growth severely
constrained
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Water shortages
Energy shortages
Water Resource Issues in China
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Widespread shortages in many regions
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Particularly on the North China Plain
400 of 668 cities suffer chronic shortages
Adequate supplies for 650m people
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50% of current population
Urban demand for water increases 10% p.a.
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Urban supply increases by 7% p.a.
Source: Benewick, Robert and Stephanie Donald (2000) The state of China Atlas p. 87
South/North Water Transfer Project
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Supply water to the cities of the North
China Plain
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An important economic region
An important agricultural region
Home to approx ¼ of population
The region suffers a chronic shortage of
water
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Natural - climate, decreasing rainfall
Manmade – rising demand, bad management,
pollution
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Eastern route – easiest and cheapest
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18bn m3 water annually
Resettlement of 10, 000 people (est.)
Use of existing canals, rivers and lakes
Cost of construction - US$3bn (est.)
Central route – more expensive and difficult
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Phase 1 (2010) 9-13bn m3 annually
Phase 2 (20??) 20bn m3 annually
Resettlement of 250,000 people (est.)
Cost of construction - US$7bn (est.)
Resettlement costs - US$10bn (est.)
Potential problems
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Existing pollution from farming and industry
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Spread of existing problem
Won’t solve the problem
Environmental Impact?
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EIA not conducted
Focus on engineering & technology
The project is a long-held dream
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Surveying began in 1950s
Insufficient expertise & technology
Political campaigns
Energy supply issues in China
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Demand is outstripping supply
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Increased industrial & domestic demand
Power cuts are common in many areas
Barrier to development of inland areas
The need for cleaner energy sources
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65% of China’s primary energy production from coal
Already the 2nd largest emitter of CO2
Acid rain effects 30% of China
Estimated cost – 20 billion Yuan p.a. (US$1.5 billion)
Available from: http://www.ccdemo.info/landabee/ChinaTripSlideShows/512x384/16SS3GorgesDam/slides/002ChinaMapDams2.html
Available from: http://chinacat.coastal.udel.edu/~kirby/cieg125/yangze-map.jpg
The Three Gorges Dam
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Specifications of the dam
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Reservoir 372 miles / 600km long
39.3bn m3 of water
Cost – US$24bn (est.)
Two main elements of the TGP
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Power generation to meet rising demand
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Planned output - 84bn kilowatt hours of electricity p.a.
Flood defence
Flood Defence
• The Yangtze Valley prone to flooding
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1935 - 141,000 deaths
1998 – 3,656 deaths (estimated)
• 5.7m homes destroyed, 7m damaged
• 14m people evacuated
• Economic losses £21 billion
Future large floods are highly likely
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Deforestation upstream
Land reclamation, draining of lakes downstream
Overseas Reactions to the TGP
• Social costs
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1.2m people dislocated from 100 towns/villages
Relocation funds have gone missing
Employment opportunities?
Environmental costs
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Habitat destruction
Impact of industrial pollution
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Chinese dolphin
Chinese sturgeon
Concerns that silt will block the turbines
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Production could cease early.
Domestic Reactions to the TGP
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Decision taken in post-Tian’anmen period
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Civil society in China is very week
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GONGOs (Govt. Organised NGOs)
Licensed by the State
Terms of the debate are set by the State
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Political clampdown
Development & poverty alleviation prioritised (e.g.
Chongqing)
Government pride at China’s achievements
Suggested further reading
For a general overview of China’s water resource issues see:
World Commission on Dams (2000) Experience with Dams in Water
and Energy Resource Development in the People’s Republic of
China Introduction pp. 1-3
<Available from http://www.dams.org/kbase/studies/cn/>
For further details on the Three Gorges Dam Project see:
World Commission on Dams (2000) Experience with Dams in Water
and Energy Resource Development in the People’s Republic of
China Annex 2, The Three Gorges Project pp. 89-93
<Available from http://www.dams.org/kbase/studies/cn/>
For the South/North Water Transfer Project see:
Liu Changming (1999) Environmental Issues and the South-North
Water Transfer Scheme in Edmonds, Richard Louis ed.
Managing the Chinese Environment Oxford: Oxford University
Press pp. 175-86