时代周刊 中国三峡大坝受到责难

横跨中国长江的三峡大坝自88年前由现代中国缔造之父孙中山第一次提出以来就一直备受争议。1992年，当中国总理李鹏向全国人大提出大坝提案时，它就遭到强烈的反对，最终以人大历史上最微弱的优势通过。

　　但是，可以从北京高级政府官员如今的批评看出这个世界上最大的水坝面临的问题有多严重。在过去，官员故意回避对这个耗资1800亿美元项目的贬损。在6月，中国总理温家宝在国务院一个讨论三峡项目的会议上表示，解决这个受争议的大坝项目周围的环境问题应该是国家的优先要务。9月25日，一群高级政府官员及学者在武汉的一个工作会议上宣布，这个工程可能造成“巨大的灾难……如果不迅速采取措施的话。”10月9日，重庆市政府宣布由于大坝造成的环境伤害，它将不得不再迁移400万人。

　　三峡大坝的建造最初是为了控制长江的水患，为中国蓬勃的经济提供电力，并作为国家工程力量的象征，但如今面临一大堆问题。估计640公里长的水库导致140万居民的流离失所，而且淹没一些重要的考古学遗址。一些水文学者认为大坝阻挡淤泥，实际上可能令下游河堤更容易受到洪水的袭击。

　　然而，如今科学家说情况变得更糟糕。长江支流的水质迅速恶化，因为被水坝拦住的河水在疏散污染方面没那么有效。自2006年水库完成以来，藻类大量繁殖的范围大幅增加。而且河水的上涨也导致土壤的侵蚀，导致河岸崩塌以及长江支流沿岸的塌方。

　　大坝的环境问题和越来越多的政治问题联系在一起。最近对大坝的批评风暴可能跟党代表大会前的政治操作有关。但批评也可能反映中国政府已经到了不得不做些事情来解决该国严重的生态问题的地步。这是中国环境的骚乱之年。5月，无锡风景如画的太湖蓝藻爆发，导致该市80%的家庭一周无法获得可饮用的自来水。6月，沿海城市厦门万名公民抗议一个新化学厂的建造。今年早些时候，国家环保局副局长潘岳（Pan Yue）表示环境问题给和谐社会的建设构成严重问题，而且变成一个重大的经济、社会和政治问题。

　　这个庞大工程不大可能停顿；大坝仍将依原定轨道在2009年完成。但由于目前政府显然尽力显示对环境更敏感，可能可以处理最恶劣的效果。多年来致力于研究和保护三峡生态系统的重庆大学教授雷亨顺（Lei Hengshun）认为政府的谈论三峡问题的新意愿意味着北京在努力作出正确的指挥，他表示，没有人可以保证三峡免于灾难，但只要政府可以诚实以待，避免大灾难的机会就会大得多。（作者 Lin Yang）

China's Three Gorges Dam Under Fire

Friday, Oct. 12, 2007 By LIN YANG

The giant Three Gorges Dam across China's Yangtze river has been mired in controversy ever since it was first proposed 88 years ago by Sun Yat Sen, the founding father of Modern China. In 1992, when Chinese Premier Li Peng submitted a proposal for the dam to China's normally pliant parliament, the National People's Congress, it ran into serious opposition and ultimately passed with the smallest margin in the legislature's history.

Still, it is a sign of just how grave the problems are facing the world's largest dam that criticism is now coming from top government officials in Beijing, who previously had studiously avoided saying anything derogatory about the $180 billion project. In June, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao told a meeting of the State Council, convened to discuss the Three Gorges project, that solving environmental problems surrounding the controversial dam project should be a priority for the country. On Sept. 25, a group of senior government officials and scholars announced at a work meeting in Wuhan that the project had the potential to cause a "huge disaster ... if steps are not taken promptly." And on Oct. 9, the Chongqing municipal government announced it would have to relocate an additional four million people in at-risk areas due to environmental damange caused by the dam.

Originally built to control the Yangtze's regular flooding, produce electricity to fuel China's booming economy and (not incidentally) serve as a symbol of the nation's emerging engineering prowess, the Three Gorges Dam has already faced a host of problems. An estimated 1.4 million residents have been displaced by the 640-km-long reservoir forming behind it, which also flooded several important archaeological sites. And some hydrologists say that by trapping silt the dam could actually make downstream riverbanks more vulnerable to flooding.

Now, however, scientists say things are getting worse. The water quality of the Yangtze's tributaries is deteriorating rapidly, as the dammed river is less able to disperse pollutants effectively. The incidence of algae blooms have risen steadily since the reservoir was completed in 2006. The rising water is also causing rampant soil erosion, resulting in riverbank collapses and landslides along the shores of the Yangtze's tributaries. Professor Lei Hengshun, an environmentalist at Chongqing University who has devoted years to studying and preserving the Three Gorges ecosystem, says that if the water level of the reservoir reaches its planned height of 165 meters next year, it will bring tributaries of the Yangtze River under even greater environmental threat. "Now it's a good time to review the problems that have arisen," he says, "before a larger flooded area brings an even bigger impact on the tributaries."

The dam's environmental troubles go hand in hand with growing political issues. Li Peng, the dam's most ardent supporter, stepped down as Premier in 1998 and has little influence among China's current leadership. The recent storm of criticism the dam has garnered could be a result of political jockeying in the runup to next week's Communist Party Congress, a five-yearly event in which the coming reshuffles of the Party's senior ranks are usually decided. But it's also possible that the criticism is a sign that the Chinese government has reached the point at which it must do something to address the country's serious — and growing — ecological concerns. It's been a turbulent year for China's environment. In May, a blue algae outbreak on picturesque Lake Tai in Wuxi city rendered tap water for 80% of the local families undrinkable for a week. In June, 10,000 citizens in the coastal city of Xiamen took to the streets to protest against the imminent construction of a new chemical plant. Pan Yue, Deputy Director of the State Environmental Protection Administration said earlier this year that "environmental problems are posing a serious threat to the building of a harmonious society, and have become a significant economic, social and political issue".

At this point, it's highly unlikely that work will stop on the gigantic project; the dam is still on track to be completed by 2009. But with the current administration apparently at pains to seem more environmentally sensitive, it's possible that its worst effects can be dealt with. Lei, for one, thinks the government's new willingness to talk about the dam's problems means Beijing is trying hard to make the right call. "No one can guarantee the Three Gorges will be catastrophe-free," says Lei. But the chances are much greater that a catastrophe can be avoided "as long as the government is able to deal honestly with the situation."