JIANMIN VILLAGE, China — Last year, Chinese officials celebrated the completion of the Three Gorges Dam, calling it the world’s biggest dam, biggest power plant and biggest consumer of dirt, stone, concrete and steel. Ever. Even the project’s official tally of 1.13 million displaced people was a record.
Today, the Communist Party is hoping the dam does not become China’s biggest folly. In recent weeks, Chinese officials have admitted that the dam was spawning environmental problems such as water pollution and landslides that could become severe. Equally startling is the fact that officials want to begin a relocation program that would be bigger than the first.
The nation is concerned that its roaring economy is addicted to dirty, coal-fired power plants. Dams are much cleaner producers of electricity, but they’ve displaced millions of people and carved a stark environmental legacy on the landscape.
“It’s really kind of a no-win situation,” said Jonathan Sinton, China program manager at the International Energy Agency. “There are no ideal choices.”
