Latest news with #ThreeGorgesDam
Irish Times
2 days ago
- Science
- Irish Times
Restoring biodiversity on the Yangtze river: ‘You have to do some balancing and make some difficult choices'
Yang Jin was taking his daily walk along the Yangtze river, close to the Three Gorges Dam, when he spotted something worrying in the water. The 67 year-old pensioner has cultivated a hobby of photographing the Yangtze finless porpoise, an aquatic mammal endemic to the river which was on the verge of extinction a few years ago. A finless porpoise was thrashing about in distress on the water's surface and when Yang looked more closely, he saw that it was entangled in an abandoned fishing net. Although the porpoise lives in the water, it needs to surface for air and this one was in danger of drowning so Yang called the local fishing authorities. They halted all shipping in the area and sent a team via speedboat to cut through the net and rescue the porpoise. The animal had cut itself struggling to escape from the net but its rescuers decided it was not too serious so they released it into the river. READ MORE 'I was worried about its injury and whether it would get infected so I visited every day to photograph and monitor it,' Yang says. 'Fortunately, I captured the moment it leapt out of the water. Its tail showed scars when it emerged, and I found it was pregnant. Around late April to early May, it successfully gave birth to a calf.' The number of finless porpoises in the Yangtze river halved from 3,600 in the 1990s to 1,800 in 2006 and by 2012 there were 1,045 left. But the decline stopped around 2017 and in the five years after that, the population grew by 23 per cent. 'The main reason is the fishery ban,' says Wang Ding, a professor at the Institute of Hydrobiology in the Chinese Academy of Sciences and China's top representative in Unesco's Man and the Biosphere programme. China imposed a 10-year ban on commercial fishing in the Yangtze river, its seven main tributaries and two biggest lakes. Private, recreational fishing is allowed but anything on a bigger scale is punishable by law. 'That's the main measure we have been carrying out to protect the Yangtze river. Also to remove literally every chemical factory at least 1km away from the Yangtze river,' Wang says. 'If you are sitting right here on the bank, you have to go and of course, the government will pay you to move. The water quality has been improved quite a lot. Yang Jin, an amateur photographer of finless porpoises, on a bank of the Yangtze River 'The Yangtze finless porpoise sits right on the top of the food chain of the biodiversity . If he's doing well, it means the biodiversity of the Yangtze river is doing well. If the number is increasing, it means the situation of ecological conditions of the Yangtze river are improving.' Restoring the Yangtze river's biodiversity is made more challenging by the impact of the Three Gorges Dam, the world's biggest hydroelectric power station and one of the most controversial engineering projects ever undertaken. Built between 1994 and 2012, the dam is 2,335 metres long and 185 metres high, creating a reservoir that stretches for 600km. The dam's most important function was to control the flooding that caused huge damage and loss of life along the river, affecting cities like Wuhan and Nanjing, which were home to millions of people. It was also a major new source of cheap, sustainable energy and improved navigation on the river, especially for cargo ships. The Chinese Academy of Sciences warned in advance about the dam's likely impact on the environment and the plan met unusually strong resistance in the National People's Congress. China's generally compliant legislature approved the dam in 1992 with 1,767 votes in favour but 177 voted against it. There were 664 abstentions and 25 invalid ballots. The Three Gorges Dam and low water levels along the Yangtze river in Yichang, China. Photograph: Bloomberg More than 1.3 million people saw their homes disappear under water and were forced to relocate, often to less fertile places with inadequate compensation. Some 1,300 archaeological sites and ancient villages were submerged, including centuries-old temples. The dam destroyed forests, wetlands and habitats for endangered species, trapped industrial waste to create water pollution and triggered thousands of landslides along the river. One of the most seriously affected species was the Chinese sturgeon, a critically endangered species found only in the Yangtze river. 'Chinese sturgeon used to go way up the river more than 1,000km from here to spawn. But because of this dam, the Chinese sturgeon can't go there, to their old spawning area,' Wang says. Prof Wang Ding, of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, is an expert on the Yangtze finless porpoise The Chinese sturgeon found a small spawning area downstream but their numbers have continued to decline, despite increasingly energetic efforts to save the species. At the Yangtze River Rare Fish Breeding Base, thousands of Chinese sturgeon swim in vast circular steel tanks as they wait to be released into the river. Last year, the breeding base released 200,000 into the Yangtze river and they are planning to increase the annual number to more than a million. Each fish is fitted with a tracking device and at least 70 per cent of those released make the journey downstream into the sea, where they typically spend more than 14 years before coming back to the river to breed for the first time. In the giant turbine room of the Three Gorges Dam power station, red lights mark the turbines that are currently in operation. In the control room, engineers monitor the inflow and outflow of water, the electricity generated and to which parts of central and eastern China it is distributed on the grid. 'If we want to generate more electricity, we must keep the water high. But if we want to control flooding, we must keep the level low. Now it is at a low level. It's not good for our electric power, but it's good for flood control,' says Yang Peng, deputy director of the operations department at the power station. 'We do our best to protect the fish. During the breeding time, we can control the water flow to meet the need of the fish so then fish can breed.' Chinese sturgeon and carp in cultivation tanks at the Yangtze River Rare Fish Breeding Base One problem created by the dam and its reservoir is the spread of algal blooms that form a green scum on the water surface, depleting oxygen in the water and harming aquatic life. The China Three Gorges Corporation, which runs the dam, has invested heavily in mitigation efforts in recent years, under instructions from Beijing, and the water quality is improving. 'We can't say the water quality in the Yangtze river is getting better because of the dam. The Three Gorges Dam creates some problems because it cut out the mainstream of the river. The water flow is getting slower and slower. So that provides a fundamental basis for this algal bloom and that's really bad,' Wang says. 'But the Three Gorges Corporation, they are investing quite a lot of money, required, of course, by central government who said you have to take care of this. So they set up wastewater processing stations in every single town along the river. And also some other big measures like not cutting trees, restoring the forest along the bank, and controlling pollution from farming and stuff like that. These are the reasons the water quality is becoming better. The corporation's actions reflect a remarkable shift in public attitudes and in government policy towards the environment in recent years. Years before he became the Communist Party's general secretary and China's president, Xi Jinping championed the closure of polluting factories as party secretary in Zhejiang province. China's president Xi Jinping championed the closure of polluting factories as Communist Party secretary in Zhejiang province. Photograph: Florence Lo-Pool/Getty Images 'Lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets,' he wrote in 2005. 'Lucid waters and lush mountains can bring invaluable assets but invaluable assets cannot buy lucid waters and lush mountains.' Since becoming leader in 2012, Xi has embedded the requirement to balance environmental protection with economic development into national policy. This saw the establishment of five national parks in 2021, with plans to designate 49 by 2035 covering 10 per cent of China's land area. Among the leading candidates for such a designation is Shennongjia Forestry District, one of China's most biodiverse areas with dense primeval forests, alpine meadows and karst landscapes. The forest is also home to the golden snub-nosed monkey, one of China's most endangered primate species. 'When we first established this nature reserve, the population of golden snub-nosed monkeys was only a little over 500. Now, after more than 40 years of protection, there are more than 1,600,' says Yang Jingyuan, head of the reserve's scientific research institute, as he takes a peanut from his pocket and hands it to a monkey. 'We need to protect its living environment and provide a sufficiently large habitat with adequate food, water, and shelter, so that the golden monkey feels comfortable living here. In this case, its population will grow rapidly. Golden monkeys are very gentle. If you don't harm them, they will never actively harm you.' In the core area of the Shennongjia reserve, only those engaged in scientific monitoring can enter. A belt around that allows visitors under restricted conditions and an outer circle is developed with hotels, shops and other businesses. Golden snub-nosed monkeys in Shennongjia Forest, Hubei province 'Sometimes we have to balance all kinds of requirements. For example for the Three Gorges Dam, flood control is about life. It's very important because if the river bank is broken, it could cause many people to die. That's the first most important thing,' Wang says. 'Navigation is another big issue because the river section above the Three Gorges Dam was very narrow and the current was strong. So no big ship could go up all the way to Chongqing. Now it's much better and also, of course, we have clean energy. So you have to do some balancing and make some difficult choices, right?'
Japan Times
10-06-2025
- Business
- Japan Times
Catastrophe on the roof of the world
The Tibetan Plateau is home to vast glacial reserves, which amount to the largest store of fresh water outside the Arctic and the Antarctic. It is also the source of 10 major Asian river systems — including the Yellow and Yangtze rivers of mainland China, the Mekong, Salween and Irrawaddy rivers of Southeast Asia and the Indus and Brahmaputra of South Asia — which supply water to nearly 20% of the global population. And, now, it is the site of a slow-burning environmental calamity that is threatening the water security, ecological balance and geopolitical stability of the entire Asian continent. For over two decades, China has been engaged in an aggressive and opaque dam-building spree, centered on — though not limited to — the Tibetan Plateau. Yet China's government has refused to negotiate a water-sharing treaty with any of the downriver countries, which must suffer the consequences of their upstream neighbor's whims. Already, Chinese-built megadams near the Plateau's border have brought water levels in the Mekong River to unprecedentedly low levels, with devastating effects on fisheries and livelihoods across Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam. As the Mekong Delta in southern Vietnam retreats — driven partly by Chinese dams — rice farmers are being forced to abandon their traditional livelihoods, instead farming shrimp or growing reeds. Yet China's dam ambitions continue to grow. The Three Gorges Dam, which runs along the Yangtze River, is the largest in the world. But it will be dwarfed by the dam China is now building on the Yarlung Zangbo river, also known as the Brahmaputra, in a seismically active region of the Tibetan Plateau. If completed, this project would drastically alter water flows into India and Bangladesh, threaten the region's food security and ecological balance and increase China's geopolitical leverage over downstream countries. The specter of water weaponization looms large. In fact, water is fast becoming the new oil — a strategic resource with the potential to trigger conflicts. Already, water disputes within and between countries are intensifying. But China's assault on the Tibetan Plateau extends beyond water. Its avaricious mining of Tibet's mineral-rich lands — which boast critical resources like lithium, gold and copper — is contributing to deforestation and producing toxic-waste discharge, while providing cover for China's militarization of the Plateau. It is impossible to know the full extent of China's destruction. The area is off limits to international observers and efforts by members of indigenous Tibetan communities — whose cultural reverence for nature has underpinned a long history of sound environmental stewardship — to sound the alarm are quickly quelled, often through imprisonment or exile. But there is no doubt that the Tibetan Plateau's ecosystem is becoming increasingly fragile, especially given its heightened vulnerability to climate change. The Plateau is warming at twice the global average rate and its ice is melting faster than at the poles — trends that are reducing its water-storage capacity and reshaping river flows. The implications are far-reaching. The Tibetan Plateau, which towers over the rest of Asia (rising into the troposphere), profoundly influences Asian climatic, weather and monsoonal patterns and even affects atmospheric general circulation — the system of winds that transports warm air from the equator toward higher latitudes — in the Northern Hemisphere. Its degradation will exacerbate droughts and floods, accelerate biodiversity loss, contribute to agricultural collapse and fuel mass migration across Asia and beyond. Despite these risks, the international community, from global climate forums to multilateral institutions like the United Nations and World Bank, has been deafeningly silent about Tibet. The reason is not ignorance, but fear: China has used its clout to suppress meaningful criticism of its actions on the 'roof of the world.' Given the stakes, the international community cannot afford to let itself be cowed by China. Countries must relentlessly press for transparency about China's activities on the Tibetan Plateau. Specifically, China must share real-time hydrological data and submit its projects for international environmental assessment. Independent environmental researchers and monitors must be granted unfettered access to the Plateau to gather vital data and conduct unbiased analyses. China must also be held accountable for its violations of the rights of indigenous communities — including the nearly 1 million Tibetans who have been forcibly relocated from their ancestral lands since 2000. Western governments and multilateral institutions have leverage here. By tying environmental transparency, respect for indigenous rights and equitable management of shared river systems to trade agreements and climate cooperation, they can compel China to change its behavior. Direct support for indigenous Tibetan voices and civil-society networks would also help boost transparency. Ignoring the unfolding crisis on the Tibetan Plateau might seem expedient; after all, China has plenty of economic and geopolitical clout — and it is not afraid to use it. But the costs of inaction would be staggering. Tibet is Asia's ecological lifeline. China must not be allowed to use it in ways that threaten to upend the lives of people throughout the continent and beyond. Brahma Chellaney, professor emeritus of strategic studies at the New Delhi-based Center for Policy Research and fellow at the Robert Bosch Academy in Berlin, is the author of "Water, Peace, and War: Confronting the Global Water Crisis" (Rowman & Littlefield, 2013). © Project Syndicate, 2025
Sustainability Times
06-06-2025
- Science
- Sustainability Times
'Nasa Confirms the Unthinkable': China's Giant Water Diversion Project Will Slow Earth's Rotation and Disrupt Global Timekeeping
IN A NUTSHELL 🌍 NASA confirms that human-made structures, like the Three Gorges Dam, subtly affect Earth's rotation. confirms that human-made structures, like the Three Gorges Dam, subtly affect Earth's rotation. 🏗️ The Three Gorges Dam in China is the largest hydroelectric dam, impacting both energy production and global dynamics. in China is the largest hydroelectric dam, impacting both energy production and global dynamics. 🔄 Mass movements, from natural events to infrastructure projects, can alter the planet's rotation by microseconds. ⚠️ The interplay between human activity and natural systems raises questions about unforeseen global consequences. Human-made structures have always pushed the boundaries of what's possible, affecting not just our landscapes but also, according to NASA, the very rotation of our planet. As we continue to develop massive infrastructures, we inadvertently cause minute changes in Earth's rotation. This phenomenon is compounded by climate change, which alters the distribution of the Earth's mass. The implications of these changes are not entirely understood, but they underscore the interconnectedness of our actions and the environment. Let's delve deeper into some of the most significant structures that illustrate this impact on a global scale. Ever Taller and More Massive The era of skyscrapers and colossal constructions is well upon us. Iconic structures like the Burj Khalifa, the Shanghai Tower, and The Clock Towers symbolize humanity's drive to reach new heights. However, few structures can compare to the Three Gorges Dam in China when it comes to sheer mass and impact. Situated in Hubei Province, this hydroelectric dam is the largest in the world and took nearly 18 years to complete, from 1994 to its final phase in 2012. The dam serves multiple purposes: it asserts China's newfound power, controls a dangerous river, and supports the country's energy needs. 'We'll See Gravity Like Never Before': NASA's Wild Quantum Gradiometer Will Map Earth's Invisible Forces From Orbit According to the National Center for Space Studies (CNES), the dam aims to balance territorial dynamics by emphasizing the interior over the coastal regions. This underlines a strategic goal to integrate less developed areas into the national economy. As we construct ever more massive infrastructures, we must consider their broader implications, not just their immediate benefits. 'Nuclear Breakthrough at NASA': New Space Power System Passes First Test Using Fuel That's Five Times Cheaper Than Before The Largest Hydroelectric Dam in the World China stands as the world's leading producer of hydroelectric power, both in capacity and output. Yet, despite its monumental size, the Three Gorges Dam only meets a mere 3% of China's energy demands, far less than the initially projected 10%. This discrepancy highlights the challenges of meeting national energy needs even with massive projects. However, the dam's significance extends beyond energy production; it may slow Earth's rotation. 'China Disrupts Earth's Rotation': NASA Confirms Massive Project Is Slowing the Planet With Unprecedented Global Consequences A 2005 NASA article suggests that global events involving mass movement, such as the 2004 earthquake and tsunami, can influence Earth's rotation. Dr. Benjamin Fong Chao of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center points out that all mass movements, from seasonal weather patterns to driving a car, have an effect. This theory raises intriguing questions about the cumulative impact of our constructions and activities on a planetary scale. 0.06 Microseconds To better understand these changes, consider an analogy from IFLScience: an ice skater increases their spin by bringing their arms closer to their body. Similarly, the 2004 earthquake altered Earth's seismic structure, shortening the day by 2.68 microseconds. If the Three Gorges Dam's reservoir were filled to capacity, it would hold 10 trillion gallons of water. This mass redistribution could increase the length of a day by 0.06 microseconds, making Earth slightly more oblate. While these changes may seem negligible, they exemplify the profound influence of human activity on our planet. The potential implications for timekeeping, navigation, and even climate patterns warrant further investigation. As we continue to build and expand, understanding these subtle shifts becomes increasingly important. As humanity continues to construct monumental infrastructures, the intricate relationship between our endeavors and natural systems becomes ever more apparent. While the direct impacts of such projects are often well-studied, their broader effects, like those on Earth's rotation, remain largely speculative. What other unforeseen consequences might arise as we push the boundaries of engineering and technology? Our author used artificial intelligence to enhance this article. Did you like it? 4.4/5 (24)
San Francisco Chronicle
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
Review: The sweep of history courses through Jia Zhang-ke's ‘Caught By the Tides'
Tao Zhao in a scene from 'Caught By the Tides.' Photo: AP Photo: AP Jia Zhang-ke's 'Caught by the Tides' is less than two hours long and yet contains nearly a quarter-century of time's relentless march forward. Few films course with history the way it does in the Chinese master's latest, an epic collage that spans 21 years. Jia undertook the film during the pandemic, assembling a mix of fiction and documentary, including images from his earlier films as well as newly shot scenes. That might sound like a mishmash kind of moviemaking. But for Jia, the preeminent cinematic chronicler of 21st century China, it's a remarkably cohesive, even profound vessel for capturing what has most interested him as a filmmaker: the tidal wave-sized currents of technological progress and social transmutation that wash over a lifetime. The high-speed upheavals of modern China are, of course, a fitting setting for such interests. Jia's films are often most expressed in their surroundings — in vistas of infrastructure that dwarf his protagonists. Fans of Jia will recognize some from his previous films. For me, there's never been a more moving backdrop from him than the rubble and mass displacement of the Three Gorges Dam project (seen here, as in his 2008 film 'Still Life'). Tao Zhao in a scene from 'Caught By the Tides.' Photo: AP Photo: AP 'Caught by the Tides' is ostensibly about Qiaoqiao (Zhao Tao, Jia's wife and muse) and her lover Bin (Li Zhubin), whom she searches for years after a row sent them in different directions. But in 'Caught by the Tides,' these characters are more like life rafts bobbing in expansive waters, making their way aimlessly. The poetry of 'Caught by the Tides' comes from a grander arc. In one of the film's opening scenes, shot on grainy digital film, women in a Datong city room laugh together, singing old, half-remembered songs. The film's final scenes, set more than two decades later in the southern city of Zhuhai, are more crisply photographed and depict a more impersonal world of smartphones, robots and QR codes. For a moment, Jia even adopts the perspective of a surveillance camera. Tao Zhao in a scene from 'Caught By the Tides.' Photo: AP Photo: AP Another moment: a shot, from pre-digital times, drifting down a street with men looking back at us, smoking and mildly curious. Cut then to what might be the same street years later, where a woman parades as a model in front of a sprawling shopping mall. In 'Caught by the Tides,' these changes go unexplained and unspoken. But the evolutions they chart are deeply familiar to anyone who has lived through even some of these years, in China or elsewhere. We see how people once moved differently, spoke differently and sang differently. Progress and loss exist together as one. Zhao and Li age through the film, leaving them weathered, too, by time. A song late in the film goes: 'I can't grasp the warmth we once shared.' More Information 'Caught by the Tides': Romance drama. Starring Tao Zhao, Zhubin Li and You Zhou. Directed by Jia Mandarin with English subtitles. (Not rated. 116 minutes.)
Associated Press
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
Movie Review: The sweep of history courses through Jia Zhangke's ‘Caught By the Tides'
Jia Zhangke's 'Caught by the Tides' is less than two hours long and yet contains nearly a quarter-century of time's relentless march forward. Few films course with history the way it does in the Chinese master's latest, an epic collage that spans 21 years. Jia undertook the film during the pandemic, assembling a mix of fiction and documentary, including images from his earlier films as well as newly shot scenes. That might sound like a mishmash kind of moviemaking. But for Jia, the preeminent cinematic chronicler of 21st century China, it's a remarkably cohesive, even profound vessel for capturing what has most interested him as a filmmaker: the tidal wave-sized currents of technological progress and social transmutation that wash over a lifetime. The high-speed upheavals of modern China are, of course, a fitting setting for such interests. Jia's films are often most expressed in their surroundings — in vistas of infrastructure that dwarf his protagonists. Fans of Jia will recognize some from his previous films. For me, there's never been a more moving backdrop from him than the rubble and mass displacement of the Three Gorges Dam project (seen here, as in his 2008 film 'Still Life'). 'Caught by the Tides' is ostensibly about Qiaoqiao (Zhao Tao, Jia's wife and muse) and her lover Bin (Li Zhubin), whom she searches for years after a row sent them in different directions. But in 'Caught by the Tides,' these characters are more like life rafts bobbing in expansive waters, making their way aimlessly. The poetry of 'Caught by the Tides' comes from a grander arc. In one of the film's opening scenes, shot on grainy digital film, women in a Datong city room laugh together, singing old, half-remembered songs. The film's final scenes, set more than two decades later in the southern city of Zhuhai, are more crisply photographed and depict a more impersonal world of smartphones, robots and QR codes. For a moment, Jia even adopts the perspective of a surveillance camera. Another moment: a shot, from pre-digital times, drifting down a street with men looking back at us, smoking and mildly curious. Cut then to what might be the same street years later, where a woman parades as a model in front of a sprawling shopping mall. In 'Caught by the Tides,' these changes go unexplained and unspoken. But the evolutions they chart are deeply familiar to anyone who has lived through even some of these years, in China or elsewhere. We see how people once moved differently, spoke differently and sang differently. Progress and loss exist together as one. Zhao and Li age through the film, leaving them weathered, too, by time. A song late in the film goes: 'I can't grasp the warmth we once shared.' 'Caught by the Tides,' a Sideshow and Janus Films release, is unrated by the Motion Picture Association. In Mandarin. Running time: 116 minutes. Three and a half stars out of four.
