Environmental protection should be the priority when the nation develops hydropower projects, Water Resources Minister Wang Shucheng told the Eighth National Conference of the China Hydraulic Engineering Society. An excerpt from his speech follows:

Today, there is increasing public awareness about the environmental impact of hydropower projects. Heated discussions have been sparked on whether these dams should be built.

Power shortages have intensified in China as the nation achieves rapid economic growth. And developing the hydropower sector is an important way to solve this problem. But it also becomes an important challenge for us to understand and tackle the negative ecological impacts brought by hydropower projects.

At present, we should attach greater importance to the ecological problems in exploiting hydropower. We should correctly understand their relationship, and solve these problems using the scientific concept of development.

There are a number of problems that might be caused by the construction of dams.

Migration: Migration of local residents to make way for a reservoir is an enormous undertaking, which is connected to people's rights of living and inhabitancy.

Impacts on sediment and river course: Sediment causes great effects on the river course. The hydrologic characteristics of the whole river would be changed, this is the most worrying fact.

Impact on the atmosphere and climate: This is recognized as the most important issue according to foreign experts. Forests submerged by reservoirs will produce poisonous gases and cause pollution.

Impact on the water body: Changes will happen to the water stagnating in the reservoir. Navigation will be affected. Water temperatures would increase and water quality would decrease. Expanded water surface would also bring up more vapor and spray.

Impact on fishes and other aquatic lives: The impact on migratory fishes has attracted much attention. Two common ways, namely building fish ladders or fish routes and artificial propagation, have been developed to solve the problems.

Impact on cultural relics and scenic views: A lot of cultural relics would be submerged and many noted scenic views would disappear.

Geological disasters: Earthquakes, bank collapse and landslides might be triggered.

Dam burst: Improper operation, bad quality of dam construction, overloading, or man-made destruction like war, could all cause possible dam bursts.

For China, migration and impact on the water body are the most serious issues. And concrete analysis is needed for different conditions.

The following points will be helpful for us to gain a better understanding on this issue.

First, increasing public attention of the ecological impacts caused by hydropower projects shows the progress achieved in our society.

Sustainable use of water resources is a part of sustainable socio-economic development. The starting point and stand of hydraulic work should be ecological protection instead of exploiting resources.

Second, different views of the construction of dams are objective reflections of different stages of social-economic development.

China agrees to the building of dams and at the same time attaches great importance to ecological issues.

The development level in developing countries is very low at an average of 10 percent. Tapping more hydropower potential is essential for the further growth of developing countries.

Third, different ecological problems would be caused by dams built on different rivers, sections and locations. A concrete ecological assessment should be made and countermeasures be taken in each and every case.

And caution is needed when building a dam as well as when demolishing one. The latter would also lead to the damage of an existing ecological system. A set of strict procedures should be followed in both cases.

(China Daily May 17, 2004)