TheThr

eeGor
gesDam

Ov
erv
iew

MapofThr
eeGor
gesDam Si
tei
nHubeiPr
ovi
nce,Chi
na.Cour
tesyofI
nter
nat
ionalRi
ver
s
Net
work.

TheThreeGorgesDam i
sthelargesthydr
oelect
ri
cdam inthewor l
d.I
tislocat
edinthe
middl
eofthetreegor
gesontheYangt zeRiv
er,t
hethi
rdlongestinthewor l
d,i
nthe
HubeiProv
inceofChi
na.TheprojectwasapprovedbytheChinesegovernmentin1992.
However,

const
ruct
iondi
dn’
t
beginunt i
l1994.Itis
scheduledt obe
compl et
edby2009.The
$25bi l
li
onpr oj
ectis
beinginternati
onall
y
fundedbycompani es,
exportcreditagencies,
andbanksf rom Canada,
Switzerl
and, Germany ,
France,Sweden, and
Brazil
. Ar
ti
st'
sRendi
ti
onofTheThr
eeGor
gesDam

Contr
oversyaboutt
heprojectar
isesfr
om humanri
ghtsissues(
asmanyas1.
3-1.
9
mi
ll
ionpeoplehavebeenforcedt
or el
ocat
e)andenvi
ronmentali
mpact
s.
TheChi
neseGov
ernmenthasf
ourgoal
sfort
heThr
eeGor
gesDam pr
oject
:

1.FloodControl:
Thehistor
yoftheYangtzeRi
v eri
ncludesmanydevastat
ingfl
oodsover
thecentur
ieskil
li
ngthousandsofpeopleandcausingmi ll
i
onsofdol
lar
sindamages.
Thedam wi l
lreducetheimpact
soffloodi
ngsinceitwillhaveaf
loodcont
rolcapaci
tyof
22.15bil
li
oncubicmet er
s.

2.PowerGenerat
ion:Theuseofhydroel
ectri
cturbi
negeneratorswi
llr
educeChina’s
dependencyoncoal,ahydr
ocarbonthatproducesgreenhousegases.TheThree
GorgesDam wil
lproduceabout84.
6bill
ionkil
owatthoursofcleanenergyannual
l
y.

3.Navi
gati
on:Thepresenceofthedam,ther
eserv
oir
,andt
heshipl
ockswil
lal
l
owl ar
ge
shi
pstotravelupanddownstr
eam fort
hefir
stt
ime.Shi
psfr
om Chongqui
ngwil
lbeable
totr
ansportgoodsal
lthewaytotheseaatShanghai
.

4.Tour
ism:SincetheThr
eeGorgesDam Proj
ectist
hel ar
gesthydr
oel
ect
ri
cdam i
nthe
worl
d,i
tisexpectedtobepopul
aramongtouri
stsvi
sit
ingChina.

TheThr eeGor gesDam Pr oject

,locatedi nSandouping,Yichangi ntheHubeiProvince,
wasf ir
stsuggest edbyt henPr esidentoft heRepublicofChi naSunYat-Senin1919.I t
washi sv isiont ohar nesst hepoweroft heYangt zeRiv
erbyadam t ofurt
hereconomi c
developmenti nChi na,usingthebenef i
tsofhy droelect
ricpower .TheYangtzeRiveris
thethirdlar gestandl ongestinthewor ld.Itis3,
937mi leslongwi thanannualdischarge
of960bi l
lioncubi c
metersofwat eri nto
theEastChi naSea.
Thesour ceoft her i
ver
i
sgl acialicef ormt he
mount ainr angesout h-
westofChongqui ng.
Thedr ainagear eaof
theYangt zeRi veris
1.8mi l
lionsquar e
kil
omet er s,andf loods
aboutonceev er yten
years. Court
esyofWat erTechnol
ogy

The$24bill
ionpr
ojectwasformall
yapprovedin1992byt heNationalPeoplesCongr ess.
Constr
ucti
onbeganin1994andi sscheduledt
obecompl eteby2009.Iti
st helargest
hydr
oelect
ri
cdam intheworld.Thedam consi
stsofthreeparts:
thedam itself
,theship
l
ocks,andtheshi
pli
ft.Thedam is600feethi
ghand1. 3mi l
esacross.I
tconsistsofa
centerspill
way ,tol etwateroverthedam, andeachsi dehousest hehydroelectri
c
tur
binegener at
or s,twenty-
sixinall
.Therightsi
deoft hedam isf ul
l
yoper ati
onal,while
theleftsideoft hedam i sscheduledtobef ull
yoper ati
onalby2009.Thegener at
orswi l
l
beabl etopr oduceasmuchpowerasei ghteennuclearpowerpl ant
s,about84. 6bill
ion
kil
owat thours.Theshi pl
ocksar elocat
edononesi deoft hedam.Therear etwoi ntotal,
onef orupstream t raff
icandonef ordownst r
eam traffi
c.Therearefi
velocks, orstages,
usedt otranspor tlargeships,twel
veatat ime,overthedam.Bot hshiplocksar efull
y
operational
.Thet hirdpartofthedam istheshipl
ift
, anelevat
orusedtor aisesmal l
er
shipsov erthedam.Theshi pli
fti
sscheduledforoper ati
onin2009

Par
tsofThr
eeGor
gesDam.Cour
tesyofHi
l
lmanWonder
soft
heWor
ld

Thewaterbehindt
hedam isexpect edtoreachaf inalhei
ghtof525ftby2009.The
l
engthoftheformi
ngreservoi
rwil
l be36mi l
es,t
hust hereserv
oirwil
lbeabl
etostor
eup
to39.
3bill
ioncubi
cmetersofwat er.Theheightoft heri
verisexpect
edtori
seasmuch
as375milesupstr
eam oftheThreeGor ges.Sincet hechangeiswaterl
evel
issodrast
ic,
asmanyas1. 3–1.9mill
ionpeoplear ebeingforcedt omove.

Fundi
ng
Int
ernati
onal f
undingf ortheThreeGorgesDam pr ojectisamaj orf
actorini
ts
constr
uct i
on.Compani esandbanksf r
om Canada, France,Germany,Swit
zerl
and,
Sweden, andBrazilhav eallpl
ayedaroleinfinanci
ngt hedam.Gov ernmentexportcr
edi
t
agencieshav eloanedt heThreeGorgesPr oj
ectDev el
opmentCor porat
ionmoret han
$1.4bill
i
onf ortheproject.ChinaDevelopmentBankhasl oaned$3.6bil
li
onforthe
ThreeGor gesDam pr oject,
maki ngi
tthepr i
marylender.

Ther ear ef i
vemai ncompani esinCanadawhoarehel
pingtofi
nancethepr
oject
.AGRA
Monenco, ani nternati
onal
engi neeringandconst ruction
managementcompany ,signeda
$25mi l
l
ioncont ractin1994f or
apr ojectmanagementsy st em
topr ov i
desy stemsl ayoutand
engi neering, testi
ng,oper ational
guidance, andt raini
ng.Ay ear
l
at er,theysi gnedanot herdeal
for$12. 5mi ll
ioninsy stem
managementt echnologyand
training. Par
tsofThreeGorgesDam
Thiscont ractwasf inancedbyCanada’ sExpor tDev elopmentCooper ati
on( EDC).The
Domi nionBr idge, I
nc.si gneda$64mi ll
i
oncont ractwi t
hChongqui ngCityandSichuan
provincef ortheconst ructi
onofacementf actorytosuppl ythedam wi t
hcement .The
EDCf i
nanced$23. 5mi ll
ionofthi
scontractformachi neryandelectr
icalequipment .
Gener alElectricofCanada, inaconsort
ium wi thSiemensandVoi th-Hydro,German
engineeringcompani es, si
gneda$320cont r
acti n1997t oprovi
desi xturbi
ne
gener at
orsf ort hedam.EDCi sprov
idi
ng$153mi ll
iont ofi
nanceGECanada.Hy dro-
QuebecI nt er
nat ional,anelectri
cuti
li
ti
escompany ,agreedtosuper v
isetheconst ruct
ion
of900ki l
omet ert r
ansmi ssionli
ne.

fr
om t
heThreeGorgesDam t
oChangzhoui
na$1.
9mi
l
li
oncont
ractwi
thChi
naPower
Gr
idDevel
opmentCompany.

TheFr enchelectr
icalequipmentandengi neeringcompanyGEC- Alst
hom signeda$400
mi l
li
oncontractin1997i naconsor t
ium wi thAseaBr ownBov eri(ABB)andKv aer
ner
Energy ,
SwissandNor wegianelect
ri
cal equipmentcompani es,tosupplyeighttur
bine
generatorsfortheThreeGor gesDam.GEC- Alsthom contr
ibuti
oniswor th$212mi ll
ion.
In2000, GEC-Alst
hom agr eedtosuppl ytheleftbankpowersy st
em oft hedam with
electr
icalsy
stem equipmenti na$12. 76mi lli
ondeal.Elect
rici
tédeFr ancesigneda$5. 8
mi l
li
ondeal t
osuper v
iset heproducti
onoft hegeneratorsin1999.

KreditanstaltfürWi eder aufbau, aGermanexpor tcr

editagency
, al
ongwi tht hebanks
Deut scheGenossenschaf tsbank,DresdnerBank,andCommer zbank, provided$271
mi l
l
iont of i
nanceSi emensbi dintheconsor
ti
um wi t
hGECanadaandVoi th-Hy dr
ot o
providesi xgener atorst othedam.Si emensalsosignedan$80mi l
li
oncont racti
n1999
tosuppl yfifteentransf ormer sinChangzhouatthepowerconv ert
erstationedt here.The
fundingf orthiscont ractagai ncomesf r
om Kredit
anstal
tfürWiederaufbau, Deutsche
Genossenschaf tsbank, Dresdner
Bank, andCommer zbank.Si emens
andVoi th-Hy dromer gedin1999t o
formt henewcompanyVoi th
SiemensHy dropowerGener ati
on,
whichsi gneda$12. 79mi llion
contractt ocont r
ibut eelect ri
cal
system equi pmentt othel ef tbank
powersy stem oft hedam.GEC-
Alsthom si gnedasi milarcont r
act
thesameday .

Wor
ker
sAtTheThr
eeGor
gesDam
TheSwi sscompanyAseaBrownBoveri
(ABB)signedthe$400mil
l
ioncontr
actwith
GEC-Alsthom andKv
aernert
oprov
ideei
ghtgenerator
s.TheSwi
ssexportcr
editagency
,
Bundesrat

Exportri
sikogar
antie,l
oaned$143. 1mil
li
ontotheThreeGorgesDam pr
ojectt
o
purchaset hegenerator
s.In1999, ABBagreedt
oconstructt
wopowerconv er
ter
stati
onsatt heThreeGor gesDam andatShanghaiina$340mi l
li
onagr
eement .ABB
al
sosi gnedat$112mi l
li
ondeal tocont
ri
butehighvol
tageequi
pmentattheThree
GorgesDam el ectr
icalsubstat
ion.

U.S.involv
ementi ntheThreeGor gesDam projectismi ni
mal.Pr i
vatecompanies,such
asCat erpi
ll
ar,
Rot ecIndust
ries,andU. S.Voi
th-Hy dr
o,soldbetween$60and$100
mi l
l
ioninequipmentt oChinaf ort heproj
ect
.Gov ernmentbanksandagenci esdidnot
parti
cipateinfundingthedam becauset heprojectdidnotdisplayenvir
onmental
standardssimilartothoserequiredbyCongr essi nforei
gndev elopments.TheWor l
d
Bankal sodidnotf i
nancetheThr eeGor gesDam duet oambi guousimpactsont he
environmentandt hesurroundingsoci ety
.

Economi
cIssues
Theconstr
uctionoftheThreeGorgesDam ontheYangt
zeRiverhasanumberof
posi
ti
veandnegat i
veeconomicimpactsfort
heThreeGorgesareaandf
orChina.A
cost
-benef
itanaly
siswasdonetodet er
minethesei
mpacts.

Sincet heYangt zeRi ver

hasat endencyt of l
ood
frequent ly,measur es
hav ebeent akeni nthe
pastt ol essent he
i
mpact sont hear ea.
Floodingi nthepasthas
costmi ll
ionsin
damagest ohomes, l
and,
andot herpr operty.Wi t
h
thebui ldingoft heThr ee
Gor gesDam, theflood
frequency

Spi
l
lwayofThr
eeGor
gesDam

i
sincr
easedt
oone-
hundr
edy
ear
s,t
husl
esseni
ngt
hei
mpactf
loodswi
thhav
eont
he
economy .Thedam wi ll
alsopr ovi
deener
gyformuchofChi na.Hydr
oel
ectr
icpowerisa
self
-sustai
ning,
renewabl e,cl
eanenergyr
esource.Accor
dingtotheChi
nesegovernment
,
thedam wi l
lhavepaidof fall
itsdebt
sbytheyear2012,amer ethr
eeyear
safter
compl et
ionisscheduled.

Thecreati
onoft hereservoir
hasanumberofeconomi c
val
ues.Itwill
aidinboost i
ng
agri
cul
ture,si
ncether eservoi
r
wil
lholdmor ewaterfor
i
rri
gati
on.

Italsowi l
lprov
idethe
sur roundi
ngareaswi t
hast abl
esourceofdr inki
ngwat er
.Wi t
haf inaldepthof525f t
,
l
ar gershipscanbeusedt ot r
ansportpr oductsupanddownt heYangt zeRiver.This
i
ncr easednav i
gabi
li
tywill
increasetheeconomyi nthear ea.Tradeisest i
mat edto
i
ncr easefiveti
mesi ntheCentralChina.Tr anspor
tati
oncost sareexpect edtor educeby
35- 37%.Thisenhancednav i
gabil
it
yisf urtheredbytheshiplocksatt heThreeGor ges
Dam.Theyar ebigenought oall
owt wel velargecommer cialshipstotravelov erthedam
atonce.

Chinawi lllosemoneyduet otheinundat

ionoffer t
il
ef ar mingland.The100, 000acres
thatwi llbef loodedaccount sf or10%ofthegrainsuppl y,50%ofwhi chisrice.Tomake
upf orthisl oss, Chi nawi l
lhavetoimportmoregr ainandr icefrom othercount r
ies.
Reset tl
ementoft hepeopl eli
vinginther
eserv
oirar eai ncludest heswitchingof
agricultural commodi ti
es.Thenewl andisl
essf ert
ile,andt her
eforethegr owingofgrain
andr icewi l
l behar derandmor eexpensi
ve.I
nstead, v
al ueaddedpr oducts,suchas
citr
usf ruits, aremor ev i
abl
et ogrow.However,sincet hesef ar
mer smaybeunf amili
ar
wi t
hgr owt hci trusf ruit
sorother
product s, product ionont hesenew
farmsmaybesl owerandy i
eld
l
esseconomi ctrade.Thepeopl e
whoar enotgr antedl andtofarm
wi l
lbet rainedt owor kinci
ti
esand
towns.Themaj orityofthepeopl e
l
iv i
ngi nther eser voirareaare
uneducat ed, thusmaki ngthis
transiti
onmor edi fficul
t.whoar e
notgr ant edl andt of arm wil
lbe
tr
ainedtoworki
ncit
iesandtowns.Themajor
it
yoft
hepeoplel
i
vingi
nther
eser
voi
rar
ea
areuneducat
ed,
thusmakingthi
stransi
ti
onmoredi
ff
icul
t.

TheYangt
zeRivercontai
ns300dif
fer
entfi
shspecies.Iti
sarguedthattheconstr
uct
ion
oft
hedam wil
lpreventfi
shfr
om spawni
ngupstream, t
husdimini
shingpopulat
ionsi
zes.
Thi
swouldhaveanegat i
vei
mpactonthelocal
fishingindust
ryandalsoonthe

li
veli
hoodsoffishermanwhodependoni t.I
thasbeennotedt
hatfi
sh
arenowmov i
ngupstream ontr
ibutari
est otheYangtzeRivertospawn.Thegover
nment
alsoinsist
sthatthecreat
ionoft hereservoi
rwil
lmaker oom formorefi
shandso
i
ncreasefishpopulati
oninthatway .Onlythefutur
ewillbeabletotel
lhowthedam wil
l
af
fectlocalfi
sher
ies.

Soci
alI
mpact
s
About1. 3–1. 9milli
onpeopl ewer ef or
cedt omov efrom theirhomesal ongt heYangtze
Riverduet otheconstruct
ionoft heThr eeGor gesDam.Ther ear einconsi st
enciesasto
howmanypeopl ewer ereset tl
ed, whi chmeanst hattherewasi nadequat einformati
on
andt husf undingforresett
lement .Peasant saccountf or87.3%ofpeopl ewhol i
veinthe
reservoirarea,andar emost lyuneducat ed.Est imatesst atethat140ci ti
es, about1,000
vil
lages, t
woci ti
es,and100, 000acr esoff er
ti
lef armlandwi llbeinundatedbyt he
reservoir.TheChinesegov er nmenti susi nga‘ developmentt y peresettl
ement ’
plan,
whi chincludesdev el
opingtheeconomyandr elatedinf r
astr
uct ureinthear eaaround
ther eservoir
.Thisprocessist oguar ant eethatt heempl oy
mentr atesandl iv
ing
standar dsaresuf f
ici
ent.Way stoassur et hi
sist oopennewl andf oragricult
ure,
i
mpr ovet hequali
tyofexisti
ngl and, andt oest abli
shnewbusi nessoppor tuniti
esinthe
area.Anumberofconcer nsar eraisedwhenl ookingatt heissueofr el
ocat i
on.

Thewayi nwhi cht heChi nese

governmentcompensat espeopl e
for
cedt omov ei scal l
edt he“lump
sum”met hod.Thi smet hodgr ant s
peoplethet ot
al networ thoft heir
homeandl and,accor dingt ocriter
ia
putinplacebyt hegov ernment .This
methoddoesnotal way smeanequal
andef f
ecti
v eresettl
ement .For
example,thepeopl emaybef or ced
tobuyhomesatahi gherpr i
cet han
theamountofmoneyt heywer e. Demol
i
tioni
nGui
zhou,
HubeiPr
ovi
nce
givenforcompensat ion.Int hisrelocati
onproject,therewasonl yenoughl andtogi ve
125,000f armersorf ar mingf ami l
i
es, muchoft helandl essfert
il
ethant helandtobe
i
nundat ed.Thismeansashi ftinthecommodi tybeinggr own.Manyf armer sswitchedto
planti
ngci t
rusfruit
s, orot hervalueaddedpr oducts.The100, 000acr esoff ert
il
e
farmlandt obefloodedy i
elds10%ofChi na’sannual gr
ain,50%ofwhi chisrice.The
thousandsofot her swhower enotabl etoreceivenewl andaspar toft hei
r
compensat i
onwer etr ainedf orjobsinciti
es.Sincet henumberofpeopl ebeing
relocat
edi ssohi gh,theoddst hatt hepeoples’li
velihoodscanber eestabli
shedi slow.

Therehavebeensomeissuesofcor rupt i
onintheproceduresforrelocati
on.Sincethe
ThreeGorgesDam andrelatedinfrastructur
eprojectsar
esuchal ar gescaleventure,
it
i
seasierf
orfundsall
ocatedf orresett
lementt obeembezzl edandspentel sewher e.
ManyChinesewerenotgiv enadequat ecompensat i
onforthei
rland.Also,sincethe
numberofChinesetoberel ocat
edmi ghthavebeenunder esti
mat ed,equalfundsmay
notexi
st.

Anumberofcul t
uralandarcheologi
calsiteswil
l belostwhenthereser v
oirreachesit
s
ful
ldept h.Thesesitesarevaluablebecausetheyar eawayt odocumentt henations
past.Somesi t
esalsohol drel
igi
oussignifi
cance.TheChi nesegovernmentdi dsetaside
fundst oprotectthesitesandarti
factsthatcouldbesav ed.However ,
duet othet i
me
constraintsandshor t
ageofcapabl epersonnel,someoft heseart
ifactsmaynothav e
beensav edorpreservedcorrect
ly.

TheThr eeGor gesDam, despi

tesomenegat iv
ei mpactsonnear byaf f
ectedsociety,
doesof fertheposit
ivebenef i
toffloodcontrol.Beforeconstr
uct i
onoft hedam began,
theriverwasmai ntainedat enyearfloodinter
v albymoder ntechnology.Withthe
constructi
onoft heThr eeGorgesDam, t
hatf l
oodi nt
ervalisi
ncreasedt oone-hundred
years.Thismeanst hatmanymor eli
veswi l
lbesav ed,sincei
nt hepast, t
hefrequencyof
theYangt zeRiverfl
oodi nghasclaimedthousandsofl i
ves.Thepr esenceofthedam
i
ndicatesl essfl
oodingdownst ream andthusl essnegativeimpact sonsociety.

Env
ironment
ali
mpact
s
Theenv i
ronmental
impactsassoci
atedwi thlargescal
edamsof t
enhav esignif
icant
negati
veimpactsontheenvir
onment .TheThr eeGorgesDam isnodif
f er
ent.The
creat
ionofthedam andassociat
edreser v
oirhasimpact sbot
hupstr
eam f r
om thedam
anddownst r
eam.Itaf
fectsspeci
esint hearea,someendangered,waterquali
ty,and
mayincreasetheli
kel
ihoodofeart
hquakesandmudsl idesint
hearea.
Anumberofspeci eswi llbeadv ersel
yaf
fectedbytheconstruct
ionofthedam.Ther
e
are300speci esoff i
shi ntheYangt zeRi
ver.Thedam wil
lcreateabarri
eri
ntheri
ver
thatt hesespeci eswi l
lnotbeabl eto
cross.Fi shwi llnotbeabl etot r
avel
upst ream t ospawn, sot he
popul ationsoft hespeci eswi ll
decr ease.Ot heraf fect edspeci es
i
ncludet heChi neseRi v erDol phin,
ChineseSt urgeon, ChineseTi ger ,
ChineseAl li
gator, Siber i
anCr ane, and
theGi antPanda.Ther ear eat otalof
fort
y -sevenr areorendanger ed
speci esi ntheThr eeGor gesDam
areat hatar eprot ect edbyChi nese
national law.Theonl ynat ural habitat
oftheChi neseRi v erDol phi
ni st he
Yangt zeRiver,andt her earel esst han
one-hundr edoft heseendanger ed
dolphi nsint heriver . PhotoofTheBeij
iDolphin.it
'sonl
yNatur
alHabi
tat

Ther eserv oircreatedf rom theconst ructi

onoft hedam cov er
sasi gni
ficantamountof
thedol phins’ natural habi
tat.Thegov ernmentpl anst osust
aintheRiverDol phinand
otherendanger edspeci esbycr eatingnat uralreservesandarti
fi
cialspawningpr ogr
ams.
Itshouldbenot edt hatpastat tempt storelocat etheYangtzeRiverDolphinhav e
fail
ed.dolphinsi nther i
ver.Ther eservoircreatedf rom t
heconstructi
onoft hedam
coversasi gnifi
cantamountoft hedol phi
ns’ naturalhabi
tat
.Thegov ernmentpl ansto
sustaintheRi verDol phinandot herendanger edspeci esbycreati
ngnat uralreserves
andar tif
icialspawni ngprogr ams.Itshoul dbenot edthatpastatt
empt stor elocatethe
Yangt zeRi verDol phinhav ef ai
led.

Townsandf orestslocatedinar easthatwillbeinundatedwillhavetobedemolished

andr emov edinordertoi ncr
easenav igabil
it
yont heriver
.Thel ossoffor
estsand
agri
cultural l
andswi ll
leadt oerosionandt hebuildupofsedi mentatthebaseoft he
ri
verandr eservoir
.Thiscoul dleadtoincreasedf l
oodingupstream.Sedimentsandsilt
containv aluablenutri
entsnecessar ytoagr i
cult
uralproducti
on.Theblockingof
sedi
ment sbehi ndthedam meanst hatthesenut r
ient
smaynotr eachfer
ti
lefar
mland
downst ream oft hedam.Thi scouldreducet heferti
li
tyoftheland.
Thedest ructi
onoft hev i
ll
agesalsol eadstoproblemsofpolluti
on.TheYangt zeRiveris
alr
eadypol lut
edf rom theshippi
ngofcoal ,aci
dr ain,
andit
scent r
allocati
oninChi nese
i
ndustrialacti
vity
.Pollutant
sf r
om t ownsandwast edumpsthatwillbeinundatedwi l
l
addtot hispoll
ution.Somef undswer esetuptoai dincl
eani
ngt heareaf ort
her eserv
oir,
butonlythef uturewil
l showwhet herasuf f
ici
entjobwasdone.Wat ermov esslowerin
thereservoirandsomear econcer nedthatthepolluti
onwil
lsitandwor senwaterqual i
ty
oftheriver.

Otherconsequencesoft heThr eeGor gesDam ar elowert emper atureanddi ssol

ved
oxygencont entinwat erdown- gradi
entf r
om thedam.Di ssol vedoxy genisnecessary
forhealthyaerobicactivi
tyinaquat i
cecosy stems.Fishandpl antsdependonoxy gento
survi
ve.Thepr esenceoft hedam wi l
ldisruptthenatur
al processesofaer at
ion(the
mov ementofwat er
)anddi ffusion,waysoxy gendissolv
esi ntowat er
.Wat erwill
mov e
mor eslowlydownst ream, t
husmaki ngitmor edif
fi
cultforav ail
ableoxy gentobe
presentinthewat er.Thiscouldhav eanegat i
veimpactont heaquat icecosystem
downstr eam.

Somepositi
veresultsoftheThr eeGorgesDam i ncludet heuseofwat er,
anatur
aland
renewabl
eresource,asanener gysupply.Hydroelectrici
tyi
scleansincenogreenhouse
gasesareemitt
edf r
om pr oducingthi
stypeofener gy .TheThreeGor gesDam wil
l
repl
aceupto50mi l
l
iontonsofr awcoalinChi
na’ sener gyuse,pr
eventmor eaci
drain,
andimprovehealthstandards,sincet
heai rwi
l
l becl eaner.