Dam Impacts In Asia Essay Research Paper

Dam Impacts In Asia Essay, Research Paper

Hydro-electric power is the conversion of the kinetic energy of falling water into electricity. Of the world’s electricity, 15% is produced in this fashion (Baird, Stuart. http://www.iclei.org/efacts/hydroele.htm, 07/09/00). In 1996 the demand for electricity in developing Asia was rising at 8% a year and the region has enormous potential for hydro-electric power (The Economist (US), Oct 12, 1996 v341 n7987 p66(1).). In order to produce hydropower, dams must be built. From an economic viewpoint, unless a river is dammed for industrial or commercial purposes it is useless. However, ecologically all river water is used. The dilemma remains one of whether the benefits of industrialisation outweigh the costs to the environment. Most Asian countries are willing to tread the path of industrialisation at all costs. This essay will examine the advantages and disadvantages of dam construction, then look at China’s Three Gorges Project as a case study.

The main advantage of dams can be seen when hydro-electric power is compared to other energy sources such as coal, oil, wood and nuclear power. Dams are renewable and emit no air or water polluting by-products as well as no waste heat as thermal pollution (Kraushaar & Ristinen, 1993, p186). China’s Three Gorges Project is expected to produce 84 billion kilowatt hours which is equal to a coal mine that extracts 40 – 50 million tons of coal per year. China presently uses coal to generate three quarters of its energy which releases carbon dioxide and other gases into the atmosphere (Three Dams Project, http://www.dur.ac.uk/ des0www4/cal/dams/othe/3dams.htm, 15/09/00). These emissions contribute to global warming, so dam construction can help reduce this threat to the environment.

While dams are generally viewed as being environmentally unsound, they can also be seen as preventing environmental degradation. Nine out of ten Nepalese still use firewood for cooking. Deforestation was also a major problem in the United States and Europe before the advent of electricity (Asia Week, 7/19/96, p14). Hydro-electric power helps minimise deforestation by providing an alternative to wood and charcoal as fuel.

Dams reduce peak flows downstream during storms and heavy rain periods. While this is not advantageous for pristine watersheds, it can prevent erosion of riverbanks if the watershed has been heavily logged or overdeveloped. Reducing peak flows in overlogged areas also prevents heavy silt deposits from moving downstream. Dams also slow the river preventing pollutants from damaging fish stocks and other fauna as well as flora downstream. Much depends on what has taken place in an area before the construction of a dam (CDA’s “Ask an Expert” Archive…, http://www.cda.ca/cda/main/faq/faq6.htm, 05/09/00).

In 1954 flood killed 30,000 people and left 1 million homeless in the Chang Jing River Valley. The damming of the Chang Jing River has prevented such natural disasters from occurring since its construction (Three Dams Project, http://www.dur.ac.uk/ des0www4/cal/dams/othe/3dams.htm, 15/09/00). The multipurpose nature of dams can be seen in that they not only provide flood control, but also store water for irrigation as well as municipal drinking water. In addition, dams also provide areas for aquaculture and recreation (Hydro-electricity, http://www.pge-edsvcs.com/clackamas/hydro2.html, 05/09/00). Dams have the potential to increase food production and health in these ways.

Asia has emerged in recent decades as a world economic power. This has been the result of a commitment to industrialisation. Modernisation requires electricity to keep pace with economic growth and a dam’s main purpose is to generate electricity. It is estimated that China’s power output must rise 8% annually if they are to keep pace with a 6% annual rise in Gross National Product (Three Dams Project, http://www.dur.ac.uk/ des0www4/cal/dams/othe/3dams.htm, 15/09/00). Dams construction has the potential to raise standards of living by powering local industry, thus creating employment opportunities (Asia Week. 7/19/96, p14). Spin off industries are then created and, as claimed with the proposed Bakun Dam in Malaysia, local infrastructure is created where tourism has the potential to bring in money and create more jobs locally (The resettlement of indigenous people affected by the Bakun Hydro-electric Project, Sarawak, Malaysia. http://www.rengah.c2o.org/announce/19990600.htm, 19/09/00).

Attention will now be turned to the disadvantages of dam building. Those who suffer most in the wake of dam construction are the local residents who are forced into resettlement programs. Worldwide, 30 – 60 million people have become “reservoir refugees” as a result (Major Problems Found in Three Gorges Dam Resettlement Program. http://www.hrichina.org/reports/3gorges.html, 05/09/00). They are more often than not rural, poor and politically powerless, and are generally left worse off after their homes and land are flooded. For instance, four out of five resettlers surveyed after the Khao Laem Dam project in Thailand considered themselves economically worse off (McCully, Patrick. http://www.irn.org/programs/finance/critique.shtml, 05/09/00).

Chinese farmers traditionally have a deep attachment to the land they work. The massive Three Gorges Project will displace more than 1 million people from, not on