Damming the Three Gorges: What Dam Builders Don't Want You to Know

Richard G. Kuhn is an assistant professor of geography at the University
of Guelph.

In April 1992, China’s National People’s Congress gave formal
approval to the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze river. This was granted
despite protests from experts around the world, including contributors
to this volume. Omissions, errors, and biases in the official
justifications for the project are a common theme. Reference to other
hydro megaprojects around the world illustrates the technical and
financial record of similar undertakings.

This book provides an excellent overview of the complexity of the
project and the potential impact the dam’s construction will have on
the biophysical, social, and economic sectors of China. The introductory
sections are particularly poignant, setting the context for the more
technical chapters that follow, which include a critique of a Canadian
government-World Bank feasibility study of the dam, a historical
overview, and a discussion of the dam’s impact on people (more than a
million citizens will be displaced), on the environment (at the dam site
as well as down river), and on the economy.

This book is highly recommended for anyone interested in the project
specifically or in hydro megaprojects generally. For the most part the
text is accessible; the language is basic, and unnecessary technical
jargon is kept to a minimum. If there is a flaw with the book, it lies
in the cartography. The three maps included are difficult to read and
poorly reproduced. Nonetheless, whatever one’s position on the merits
of this project, this book provides an insightful and thorough portrayal
of it.