Preserve Nujiang, a FREE-RUNNING River for China and the World

 

The Issue

The Nujiang (also known as the Salween), one of the three big rivers that comprise a World Nature Heritage Site (enlisted in June, 2003 by UNESCO) - the Three Parallel Rivers, is known for its steep and grand gorge surpassing many of the famous canyons in the world. The Nujiang, a transnational river, originates from the Southern side of the Danggula Mountains in Qinghai Province, runs through Tibet and Yunnan Provinces and into the Andaman Sea in Burma. However, this unique and fantastic river is not so well known in the world. As the most precipitous territory on the earth, the whole Nujiang valley area still retains pristine ecological systems . Little mass construction has taken place yet. Unfortunately, all these may become historical memories in the near future. The North China Power Company , a subsidiary of The National Power Company, is planning to construct a mass hydropower facility with 13-stage stations on the river. The project design aims at a capacity of 21 MKW (million kilowatts) and expected to produce more than 100 billion kwh electric energy annually.

Some noted Chinese scientists from different disciplines and conservationists alike have argued strongly against the project at several symposiums held in Beijing and Kunming in the past few months (September to November, 2003.) Despite the strong opposition to power company's project, the voices of those supporting the "economic development" overwhelmed the alternatives. Among many arguments against the project, the major concerns over the negative impact of this project are three-folds:

•  The irreversible impact on biological diversity along the Nujiang Valley;

•  Lack of legal, thorough and transparent processes of a Environment Impact Assessment (EIA);

•  Lack of adequate consideration on socio-economic and justice issues and corresponding arrangements for the local residents who have to suffer in the name of regional economic growth.

 

One of the Last Two Eco-rivers Will Be Gone!

China is by far the most dammed up country in the world. From 1949 to 1990, over 86,000 dams were built , and 22,000 of which are large dams consisting of 45% of all large dams worldwide according to the World Dam Committee. As a consequence, ONLY two large rivers still run dam-free Yalung Zangbo (or Brahamaputra, flows from Tibet into India) and the Nujiang. The richness and endemism of the flora and fauna of the Nujiang valley make it an integral part of a Biodiversity Hotspot called Mountains of Southwest China (there are currently 25 hotspots in the world. See www.biodiversityhotspots.org ), which is probably the most biologically diverse place in the world's temperate areas. Its world-class ecological systems, with many plant and animal species (should find out the number, I donot have these numbers) , might disappear or be influenced tremendously should the construction plan be approved.

The North China Power Company is planning to construct a large reservoir in Maji, an upriver area of the Nujiang. It claims it will build a highest dam in the world, 300 meters high, for the reservoir. The reservoir will submerge a huge area (it would be great if we have even a rough estimate of hac.) of pristine old-growth forest land when it reaches its full holding capacity. But even until now, no investigation on the biological resources and the ecological system of this region has been done, let alone the understanding of the environmental impact, by whom . Last but not the least, the Nujiang valley is earthquake-prone for as high as 6-8 on the Richter Scale. To build dams in such geologically unstable area is as if to invite devastating disasters for the local and downstream communities.

 

How Much Benefit Do We Get Out of Hydropower? Is It Truly Green?

Learning from painful lessons in the past, the world today has come to a greater consensus that large hydroelectric power stations have proved to be not as productive as their designs claimed , especially after internalizing their vast environmental and social impact. Some damage from dam construction on the environment is irreversible and social impacts are manifested in diverse aspects of livelihoods and long-lasting . Consequently many countries have been scaling down the designed capacity of power plants in performance or even shutting down the operation and deconstructing the facilities. In China, a heated debate is ongoing about removing the Sanmenxia Dam on the Yellow River, provoked partly by the recent flooding in the upper stream as a result of this poorly-designed devastating infrastructure. Looking from a long-term perspective, large dams are proved catastrophic to society at large than short-term financial gains to the power companies in many parts of the world. Even in China, there is not one successful example of hy d ro-power dam that have served to reduce poverty in strict economic terms, of the nearby rural communities, which affected by the dams. Looking from a long-term perspective , large dams are proved catastroph ic than financially desirable in short-term to power companies in many parts of the world. Unfortunately, a lack of overall plan and long-term ecological perspective on China's river systems and overly simplified analysis of hydropower capacity have rendered rampant exploitation of water resources possible, even on ecologically fragile and sensitive areas, like the Nujiang River.

There has been a time hydroelectricity was believed to be “ the green energy”. But many power-generating comparative studies have shown that hydropower could do more long-term damage ecologically to the ecosystems environment than a coal plant could if coal plant takes environmentally sound measure to bring up its production to the pollution control codes. if coal plant takes environmentally sound measure to bring up its production to the codes . The reservoir-submerged area causes the loss of natural forests, grassland and wildlife (aquatic and terrestrial), and simultaneously the ecological functions provided by the ecosystem as a whole will cease to perform and will be irreversible. This could cause further ecological degradation often unpredicted prior to the dam building project. The change in the water currents will inevitably render water to be more pollution-prone. Water quality will then drop ultimately. Dams also increase salination in the downstream farmlands.

People use to believe that one of the big advantages of hydro power plants over coal power plants is that hydropower emits much less greenhouse gases – CO 2 . This is proved to be wrong Researchers after studying an hydroelectricity project in Brazil, argued that the total “ carbon ” quantum caused by deforestation and the putrefying plants entering the reservoir, is much greater than the total CO 2 generated is more than that brought by the coal-powered plant. Different reservoir s release different amount of greenhouse gases, In general, large dams often exerts more negative (often irreversible) rather than positive effects on the ecosystem and biodiversity.

 

Environment Impact, Assessment of Arbitration?

China's new EIA law took effect on September 1, 2003. At the time, a large number of environmental protection activists considered it to be a milestone for real participatory environmental impact assessment and decision making processes. However, the Nujiang's case has evidently demonstrated that the law on EIA will not be effective until there is a transparent and binding mechanism and room for public participation.

In the Nujiang's case, the EIA was done by a 'qualified evaluating institute' which is a subsidiary to the National Power Company. A case of apparent conflict of interests: a ridiculous game in which a sportsman acts as the game's referee. Nujiang is the first large and controversial project since the issue of the new EIA law. If this law cannot facilitate a participatory and transparent decision making process, while strong voices against the large dam project are not dealt with adequately, the EIA law, expected to hold accountable the mushrooming development projects in the ecologically fragile western provinces sets examples and tunes for forthcoming hundreds and thousands of development projects. The EIA Law is not going to be a rubber stamp!

 

Who Decides the Fate for Our Nation's Treasured Rivers?

Hydropower development in China had been solely controlled by the government until recent years when loosening up of control over hydropower development have allowed entries of private investment and greater freedom to the state-owned power companies. As a result, the state-owned hydropower companies in the past few years have been competing to mark new territories and concessions for developing China's water system into chains of hydropower stations. It is only a matter of time, the pristine Nujiang River has fallen a potential prey to such vicious foraging for hydrological energy the banner of Greater Western Development Strategies ( Xi Bu Da Kai Fa): developing local economy and restoring ecological systems in the Western provinces.

The central government and concerned scientists have long been warning that Western Development (word by word translation of the Xi Bu Da Kai Fa national policy) should not be turned into destruction in the western provinces. From 1970s to1998 when national Logging Ban policy was implemented, massivescale massive scale logging destroyed large area of old-growth forest in western China, and is believed to be a major reason responsible for the vast flood on the Yangtze River in 1998

Currently Chinese government has devoted a great effort and financial resources to ensure the Logging Ban, Natural Forest Regeneration, as well as a Land Conversion Program are yielding lasting and desirable ecological deliverables to the local economy and environment. However, the heated dam building competition runs contradictory to the call for ecological restoration in the country has becoming an potential devastating force to drive further ecosystem degradation.

Not only are these large dam projects potentially devastating to environment, but also they are socially irresponsible and injustice to local communities. Neither ecologists nor local residents are sufficiently involved during the planning processes Key decisionson decisions on our nationally treasured rivers are made 'in the dark' by a few hydropower companies, without sufficient transparency and monitoring by the public and unbiased environmental and social impact assessments. Central authority on the environmental issues tried but is failing in front of the benefit-driven groups.

 

Lessons from the Past, Voices from the Local People.

But how much of this benefit do local residents get from project that will affect the rest of their lives? Looking back into the history, what happened in the Lancang River, parallel to the Nujiang River valley is a good example. example. Also a part of the Three Parallel River area, the Manwan Hydroelectric Plant is located in the middle of the Lancang River (Mekong) in Yunnan Province. It was the first mega kilowatt hydroelectric plant in Yunnan Province and also the first large power station on the mainstream of the Lancang River. The construction started in May 1986 ， the River was blocked in October 1987 for the dam building ， and the first power generator started to generate electricity on June 30th 1993. One of the five model hydroelectric plants in the country (by whose judgement judgments ) , the Manwan project maintained its minimal investment by providing probably the lowest compensation to the some 7,500 some migrants - less than 3,000 RMB (~ 350 USD) per person, compare to a country's average of 20,000 RMB (~ 2,500 USD). Besides providing an annual 100 million RMB to the national treasury and over 50 million RMB to the provincial treasury, the Manwan also provides 50 million RMB to the 4 counties involved, and makes a profit of 120 million RMB for the power company. However, little was provided to the local residents and to improve the migrants' livelihoods. The compensation to local residents for migrating is far less than needed. The power company had maximized their benefit by providing the lowest possible Development and Support Fund for the migrants for a merely 400 RMB (less than 50 USD) per person per year, a minimum required by the central government. The power company before the dam construction promised a bight future to farmers, but few came true. People's life in the Manwan area did not get improved, but rather further impoverished. Many migrants found themselves living in areas with scarce resources. They lost their homeland. And the new areas they were moved to – the quality and area of the land, forest, pasture, fishery and the water resource all are much poorer than before. People lost job opportunities. Sadly and ridiculously, it was a scandal to hear some villagers who are within walking distance to the dam lived in dim candle lights because electricity prices charged to them could be as high as 3 times more that that of urban electricity prices. The power company promised that 3-5% generated electricity would be supplied to local people to replace burning of firewood, but no funds were allocated for setting up the transmission stations.

There are yet many lessons to be learned in the Manwan project in relation to local to local people, whose lives were altered were altered most by the project. A central A central issue is that local residents were not part of the decision-making processes. Their voices were only heard, albeit vaguely, when their basic living rights were violated AFTER the project completion. Yet same poor participation is happening again in the Nujiang project – no prior-consultation to the local residents was held during the project planning.

 

Take Action. Be a Responsible Citizen and Be a Responsible Nation!

China has already lost many forests and grasslands in the recent 50 years of history. Government and people are paying billions of dollars to try to regenerate the natural forest and grassland. Have we not learnt enough lessons from the history?

Mass construction planned on the Nujiang River will ruin the river's authenticity and integrity, yardsticks measuring up to be a World Heritage Site. The honorary status of the Three Parallel Rivers World Nature Heritage Site designated by the UNESCO will be threatened. At the same time, dam building on this international river will inevitably impose undesirable impose undesirable impacts on downstream countries and hence produce a negative image of China within the international communities. What are we supposed to do as a responsible nation?

No matter you are simply a citizen or from an environmental NGO, or other walks of life, please speak up and do your best to save the Nujiang River so it can run freely in China and in the world! How can we stand up to the fact that China or Eastern Himalayan region will soon have no free-running river system, and we, responsible citizens at the critical times of decision-making were indifferent to the call and lack of action? Do not think an individual's voice is too low to be heard, if we stand together to voice our opinion out loud enough, it will be heard!