What is the controversy with the Three Gorges Dam?

One of the most controversial aspects of the mega-project was its enormous cost for villagers who had lived for centuries on the banks of the river. To make way for the dam's massive reservoir, about 1.4 million people were uprooted, their ancestral homes demolished, communities broken up and farmlands flooded.



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Key problems included the danger of dam collapse, the displacement of some 1.3 million people (critics insisted the figure was actually 1.9 million) living in more than 1,500 cities, towns, and villages along the river, and the destruction of magnificent scenery and countless rare architectural and archaeological sites ...

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Above all, it was sustainable. The dam cut coal consumption by 6 million tons each year, according to the World Bank estimates. However, building it required access to international expertise and experts in the field capable of completing such a complex project.

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And for about 4 million people, the dam project was mostly a disaster, as it flooded 13 cities, 140 towns, and 1,352 villages.

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When the dam is completed, 13 cities, 140 towns and over 1,300 villages will be submerged by the Three Gorges Reservoir. To make way for the Three Gorges Dam, 1.5 million people will have to abandon their homes. More than 160,000 citizens have already been relocated.

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6. The flow of silt into the reservoir is a recognised problem which has badly affected other major hydroelectric projects in China. This has been addressed partly by reafforestation in the upper reaches of the river, but could still significantly shorten the dam's expected lifespan of 50 years.

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It also affects the wildlife and ecosystem of the areas near its location, and that's not the end of it. The Three Gorges Dam is claimed to be slowing the Earth's rotation! The huge capacity of the dam can hold 42 billion tons of water at maximum. NASA scientists believe that this shift has an impact on Earth.

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Parker Dam is a concrete arch structure commonly called the 'deepest dam in the world'.

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HUANGTUPO, China (Reuters) - China relocated 1.3 million people during the 17 years it took to complete the Three Gorges dam.

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Over 1,300 cultural and archeological sites and 100,000 hectares of agricultural land have been submerged by the reservoir, while also impacting the habitats of over 6,000 plant species, 500 terrestrial vertebrates and 400 species of fish along the Yangtze River.

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Situated on the Yangtze River in China, the Three Gorges Dam is the largest hydroelectric dam in the world. A Xylem solution at the dam provides data that helps prevent flooding and droughts.

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Three Gorges Dam, China is the world's largest hydroelectric facility. Accroding to Wikimedia, the Three Gorges Dam is a hydroelectric gravity dam that spans the Yangtze River by the town of Sandouping, in Yiling District, Yichang, Hubei province, China.

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