{"id":28520,"date":"2010-03-05T15:04:00","date_gmt":"2010-03-05T15:04:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2020-05-14T18:39:53","modified_gmt":"2020-05-14T18:39:53","slug":"3520-wringing-china-dry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/energy\/3520-wringing-china-dry\/","title":{"rendered":"Wringing China dry"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Last December, 160,000 residents living along the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/poi.mapbar.com\/handan\/MAPISPXRCESWQESIJBTEC\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Qingzhang River<\/a> in <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Hebei\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Hebei<\/a>, north-east China <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/special.globaltimes.cn\/2010-01\/498612.html\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">petitioned<\/a> local government over the construction of a new hydropower station in neighbouring province <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Shanxi\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Shanxi<\/a>, complaining that it was cover for a new reservoir. They wanted the authorities to call an immediate halt to the project, saying that the Qingzhang River &ndash; the lifeblood of the county and its 400,000 inhabitants &ndash; would, otherwise, be cut off. <\/p>\n<p>The Qingzhang is part of the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/EBchecked\/topic\/251717\/Hai-River-system\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Hai River system<\/a>. It rises in Shanxi, then flows through Hebei and <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Henan\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Henan<\/a> and its waters are shared between the upper and lower reaches. Since the 1950s, various water-storage projects have been constructed in Shanxi. In the two decades leading up to 1965, the river&rsquo;s annual average flow was 1.96 billion cubic metres. But, from 1980 to 2000, it was only 356 million cubic metres &ndash; huge quantities of water were being retained upstream. <\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Hebei has been busy building its own reservoirs. Since 1949, more than 1,000 reservoirs of different sizes have been constructed &ldquo;for flood protection&rdquo;. This took reservoir capacity across the province to 10 billion cubic metres of water, 6 billion of which could be supplied to cities. But a mixture of economic growth, a rising population and years of drought left parts of Hebei suffering from water shortages. And so reservoirs originally intended to prevent flooding were gradually used to supply water to the cities. <\/p>\n<p>Hebei has another grievance. Even during times of extreme water shortage, it is obliged to provide a constant flow to Beijing to ensure the capital&rsquo;s water security. The Hebei to Beijing section of the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/South%E2%80%93North_Water_Transfer_Project\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">South-North Water Transfer Project<\/a> has already been completed. Should Beijing suffer a water crisis, Hebei&rsquo;s four major reservoirs &ndash; <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.economist.com\/displayStory.cfm?story_id=12376698\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Wangkuai<\/a>, <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/news\/1577367\/China-wrung-dry-of-water-for-thirsty-Olympics.html\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Xidayang<\/a>, Gangnan and Huangbizhuang &ndash; will be expected, come what may, to turn on the taps. When water levels at Beijing&rsquo;s <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ilec.or.jp\/database\/asi\/asi-08.html\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Miyun reservoir<\/a> fall below one billion cubic metres, the Hebao and Yunzhou reservoirs, over the border in Hebei, are also <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/china.org.cn\/english\/environment\/109248.htm\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">forced to provide water<\/a> &ndash; even if they themselves are nearly dry. <\/p>\n<p>But even Hebei and Shanxi are not enough to satisfy the capital. In the 1950s, Beijing built the four billion cubic metre <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.springerlink.com\/content\/q2nv52335657nq51\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Guanting reservoir<\/a> on the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Yongding_River\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Yongding River<\/a>, a tributary of the Hai River in north-east China. But, by 2009, water levels were hovering around the 100 million cubic-metre mark. Water expert and leader of Beijing-based NGO, Green SOS, <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ebeijing.gov.cn\/BeijingInformation\/BeijingNewsUpdate\/t1097139.htm\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Wang Jian<\/a>, blames the 270 reservoirs built upstream for the low levels. <\/p>\n<p>Currently, local governments are fighting to hold onto any water that passes through their borders. Hebei is also vexed about a <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/english.shaanxi.gov.cn\/articleNews\/news\/governmentnews\/200808\/4360_1.html\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">project<\/a> planned in <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Shaanxi\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Shaanxi<\/a>, central China, that will divert water from the stretch of the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/EBchecked\/topic\/253960\/Han-River\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Han River<\/a> in the south of the province, through the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Qinling_Mountains\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Qinling mountains<\/a> and into the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Wei_River\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Wei River<\/a>, where it will raise water levels and reduce pollution. With such large quantities of water being taken at the upper reaches &ndash; and another 10 billion cubic metres from the middle reaches earmarked for Beijing &ndash; nobody can predict what kind of conflict will arise. <\/p>\n<p>Per capita water resources in the north of China are <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.chinadialogue.net\/article\/show\/single\/en\/1593\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">inadequate<\/a>, giving rise to protectionism and hoarding. But south of the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Huai_River\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Huai River<\/a>, where flows are plentiful, a different kind of water war is under way. Hydroelectric firms <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.cn\/english\/2006-01\/31\/content_281715.htm\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">want to<\/a> turn water into electricity. For them, it is &ldquo;liquid oil&rdquo;, but all the hydropower stations and water distribution hubs they are putting in place will end up destroying the rivers&rsquo; ecosystems. <\/p>\n<p>China&rsquo;s major waterways flow down from the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Tibetan_Plateau\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tibetan Plateau<\/a>, with differences in altitude providing the potential for energy generation. So power firms are particularly smitten with the hydropower possibilities in the south-west of the country. After the year 2000, investment in hydropower was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science?_ob=ArticleURL&amp;_udi=B6V2W-473M825-8&amp;_user=10&amp;_coverDate=10%2F31%2F2003&amp;_rdoc=1&amp;_fmt=high&amp;_orig=search&amp;_sort=d&amp;_docanchor=&amp;view=c&amp;_searchStrId=1212338357&amp;_rerunOrigin=google&amp;_acct=C000050221&amp;_version=1&amp;_urlVersion=0&amp;_use\">liberalised<\/a>, leaving both major power firms and smaller private companies free to build hydropower stations. <\/p>\n<p>Within a few years, tributaries of the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Jinsha_River\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jinsha<\/a>, <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Yalong_River\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Yalong<\/a>, <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Dadu_River_%28China%29\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dadu<\/a>, <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.internationalrivers.org\/en\/china\/lancang-mekong-river\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Lancang<\/a> and <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.chinariversproject.org\/?q=node\/19\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Nu<\/a> rivers had been developed; as soon as water left one power station, it flowed right into the next. The actual rivers themselves are also unlikely to escape their fate; there are plans for numerous dams on almost all of them. And while the public is paying attention to the hydropower fever that has taken hold in the south-west, similar developments are taking place on some rivers in the east. The counties of Jinzhai, Yuexi and Huoshan in the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Dabie_Mountains\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dabie mountains<\/a> of Anhui province, eastern China, all have <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ifc.org\/ifcext\/spiwebsite1.nsf\/1ca07340e47a35cd85256efb00700cee\/FE2A8E350A576D1B852576BA000E2AB1\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">plans<\/a> to &ldquo;enrich the people&rdquo; and &ldquo;boost the economy&rdquo; through small-scale hydropower projects. <\/p>\n<p>The first hydropower station on the Jinhua, or <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Wu_River_%28Yangtze_River%29\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Wu River<\/a>, system, the largest southern tributary of the Yangtze, was built in 1950, at Huhai on the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Qiantang_River\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Qiantang<\/a> tributary. By 2005, 183 stations had been built, generating more than 61,000 kilowatts of electricity. Fujian&rsquo;s <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Min_River_%28Fujian%29\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Min River<\/a>, in the south-eastern corner of China, was not far behind. <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.chinalawedu.com\/news\/1200\/22016\/22026\/22256\/22286\/2006\/4\/ji323182316146002361-0.htm\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Figures<\/a> from 2004 indicate the river had 29 large or medium-sized hydropower stations and a large number of smaller stations. The city of <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Nanping\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Nanping<\/a>, in central Fujian, was alone home to 183 stations that were completed, under construction or in the pipeline. Environmental assessments or approvals had not been obtained for the majority of these. <\/p>\n<p>The density of hydroelectric development is shocking: the water outlet from one station feeds directly into the dam of the next. On the Min River, the outlet for the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/web.worldbank.org\/external\/projects\/main?pagePK=64283627&amp;piPK=73230&amp;theSitePK=40941&amp;menuPK=228424&amp;Projectid=P003484\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Shuikou station<\/a> flows into the dam for the Shaxi station, while the outlet for Shaxi flows into the dam for the Xiayang station. And so it goes on. As a result, these stretches of river are left without flowing water &ndash; they and their tributaries become a series of lakes. <\/p>\n<p>On December 12 last year, the State Council <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sourcejuice.com\/1287526\/2009\/12\/18\/Poyang-Lake-Ecological-Economic-Zone-Plan-approved-State\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">issued<\/a> an environmental and economic plan for the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Poyang_Lake\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Poyang lake<\/a> region, indicating the area had become a part of national-level strategy. This plan includes the construction of a water-distribution hub, roughly where Poyang Lake and the Yangtze River meet, to control the level of the lake. When the lake is full, water will be returned to the river and, when levels are low, water from the Yangtze will be fed in. The level of the lake will not, therefore, fluctuate so much across the seasons. <\/p>\n<p>Almost the entire global population of 3,000 white cranes <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.4panda.com\/special\/bird\/site\/poyanghu.htm\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">spends the winter<\/a> at Poyang Lake. &ldquo;For a long time, the white cranes have found the habitat and food that they need at Poyang,&rdquo; says wetlands expert <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.future.org\/news\/20091206\/new-country-director-future-generations-china-dr-guangchun-lei\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Lei Guangchun<\/a>. &ldquo;If the water level during the winter suddenly increases, they and other wintering birds won&rsquo;t be able to forage and populations will plummet.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The idea of a lock controlling the water level also worries dolphin experts. <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/sourcedb.cas.cn\/sourcedb_ihb_cas\/en\/expert\/pl\/200907\/t20090722_2156203.html\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Wang Ding<\/a>, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences&rsquo; Wuhan-based <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ihb.ac.cn\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Institute of Hydrobiology<\/a>, says that, like the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.guardian.co.uk\/environment\/2007\/aug\/08\/endangeredspecies.conservation\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">already extinct baiji, or Yangtze River Dolphin<\/a>, the originally populous <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.baiji.org\/in-depth\/baiji\/finless-porpoise\/conservation-status.html\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">finless porpoise<\/a> could also be lost. There may already be <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.iucnredlist.org\/apps\/redlist\/details\/41754\/0\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">fewer than 2,000<\/a> finless porpoises in the wild, divided into two main populations &ndash; one in the Yangtze River and one in Poyang Lake. Bridges over the entrance to the lake and frequent shipping have already virtually cut these two groups off from each other and there is an emerging consensus that this is resulting in genetic degradation. This &ldquo;ecological lock&rdquo; will completely remove any chance of genetic mingling and means that, in the not too distant future, the finless porpoise could follow the baiji into oblivion. <\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.time.com\/time\/magazine\/article\/0,9171,1187271,00.html\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ma Jun<\/a>, a well-known environmentalist, director of the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.ipe.org.cn\/ly.jsp?qybh=\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs<\/a> and <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.chinadialogue.net\/article\/show\/single\/en\/2847\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>chinadialogue<\/em> author<\/a> says: &ldquo;Full-on building of reservoirs and hydroelectric stations are not only the spark for frequent water conflict but also cause loss of ecological function by breaking the rivers down into sections. We need to let the rivers flow and keep their ecosystems healthy. We need to let people live in harmony. The best way to do that is to reduce the exploitation of rivers and let them recover.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>\n<em>Feng Yongfeng is a technology journalist at <\/em>Guangming Daily. <br \/>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\nHomepage image from <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wetwonder.org\/index.asp\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Wetland China<\/a> shows white cranes at Poyang Lake, south-east China.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Reservoirs and hydropower stations are sprouting up all over China, damaging ecosystems and causing conflict. It&rsquo;s time to leave the rivers alone, says Feng Yongfeng.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":54230,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[757],"tags":[],"hashtags":[],"country":[],"class_list":["post-28520","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-energy"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v26.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Wringing China dry | Dialogue Earth<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Reservoirs and hydropower stations are sprouting up all over China, damaging ecosystems and causing conflict. It&rsquo;s time to leave the rivers alone, says Feng Yongfeng.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/energy\/3520-wringing-china-dry\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Wringing China dry\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Reservoirs and hydropower stations are sprouting up all over China, damaging ecosystems and causing conflict. It&rsquo;s time to leave the rivers alone, says Feng Yongfeng.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/energy\/3520-wringing-china-dry\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Dialogue Earth\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-03-05T15:04:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-05-14T18:39:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/poyang_lake_white_cranes_china_0503_large.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"426\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"180\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Yongfeng Feng\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/energy\/3520-wringing-china-dry\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/energy\/3520-wringing-china-dry\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Yongfeng Feng\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/768cc7d35dfbb8e2214e71708e625759\"},\"headline\":\"Wringing China dry\",\"datePublished\":\"2010-03-05T15:04:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-05-14T18:39:53+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/energy\/3520-wringing-china-dry\/\"},\"wordCount\":1351,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/energy\/3520-wringing-china-dry\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/poyang_lake_white_cranes_china_0503_large.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Energy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/energy\/3520-wringing-china-dry\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/energy\/3520-wringing-china-dry\/\",\"name\":\"Wringing China dry | Dialogue Earth\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/energy\/3520-wringing-china-dry\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/energy\/3520-wringing-china-dry\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/poyang_lake_white_cranes_china_0503_large.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2010-03-05T15:04:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-05-14T18:39:53+00:00\",\"description\":\"Reservoirs and hydropower stations are sprouting up all over China, damaging ecosystems and causing conflict. 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