International SQUALL

Yangtze Homeless

Squall 9, Jan/Feb 1995, pg. 36.

In December, the £22 billion construction of the immense Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River began.

The creation of a 600km-long reservoir will lead to the destruction of 140 towns, 4,500 villages, several cities and the removal of 1.13 million people from their homes as well as the eradication of a number of plant and fish species.

In 1992 a vote on the project saw at least one third of the delegates at the National Peoples’ Congress voting against or abstaining.

Opponents of the project claim the human and environmental costs are in no way justified by the perceived benefits. Funds for the relocation of people affected by the dam have yet to be secured.