Tibetan prayer flags in front of Meili Snow Mountains.
China’s construction of dams on the Lancang (or Upper Mekong) threatens a complex ecosystem downstream that supports over 60 million people in Southeast Asia. Five megadams have already been built, eight are underway, and several more are being planned upstream in Tibet and Qinghai. Guonian Dam, however, was cancelled in early 2012 because, according to the dam developer Hydrolancang, its reservoir would have accelerated glacier melt on the sacred Kawagebo mountain (part of the Meili Snow Mountains). In October 2012, International Rivers went to investigate the current status of dam building on the Lancang River to verify this news. Captions and Photo Source: ©© International Rivers
Excerpts;
China is engaged in a push to build hydroelectric dams on a scale unprecedented in human history. While being touted for producing lower-emission electricity, these massive dam projects are wreaking havoc on river systems across China and Southeast Asia…
Read Full Article Article,Yale E 360
Himalayas to Become The Most Dammed Region In The World, IPS News
Small Dams On Chinese River Harm Environment More Than Expected, study finds, NSF
Sediment Trapped Behind Dams Makes Them ‘Hot Spots’ for Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Science Daily
Coastal Erosion Induced by Human Activities: A Northwest Bohai Sea Case Study, Journal of Coastal Research
Using mooring hydrodynamic observation, cross-shore profiles, and topographic-map and satellite-image comparisons, this study shows dramatic coastal erosion on the Qinhuangdao coast (northeast Bohai Sea, China). Sediment starvation induced by dams mainly caused this fast coastal retreat.
China’s Dams, International Rivers
Dammed, diverted and polluted, China’s rivers are reaching an ecological tipping point. China has more large dams than any other country in the world, including the world’s largest – the Three Gorges Dam.
