Tiger Leaping Gorge - Environmental Concerns

Environmental Concerns

Although Tiger Leaping Gorge is an essential part of the Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan, a World Heritage Site since 2003, the Chinese government floated proposals for a hydroelectric dam on the Jinsha River in 2004. The Yunnan provincial government scrapped the project in 2007.

Details of the scrapped project follow: Construction had begun on the other 12 dams of the same project which lie just outside the boundaries of the heritage area, even though it has not been approved by the State Council. Media reports suggested that the Lijiang city government waived standard procedures in order to facilitate the project.

The project would displace up to 100,000 people to the north, mainly the Naxi minority, to a Tibetan area with harsh climate and the staples are such unfamiliar crops as barley and potatoes; virtually stop the flow of the upper Yangtze River, and irreparably alter the landscape of the Tiger Leaping Gorge. The project was abandoned in December 2007. This project was also related to the Three Gorges Dam and the South-North Water Transfer Project, which would cause massive environmental damage and the destruction of thousands of cultural sites.