China blows up 300 dams, shuts hydropower stations to save Yangtze River habitat
www.scmp.com
Scientists hope the sturgeon known as the Yangtze’s last giant and other rare species may return to their breeding grounds as a result.

China has demolished 300 dams and shut down most of the small hydropower stations on a major tributary of the upper Yangtze River to safeguard fish populations as part of an effort to restore the ecology of Asia’s longest waterway.

According to a report by the state news agency Xinhua on Monday, 300 of the 357 dams on Chishui He – also known as the Red River – had been dismantled by the end of December 2024. In addition, 342 out of 373 small hydropower stations have been decommissioned, enabling many rare fish species to resume their natural reproductive cycles, the Xinhua report said.

The Red River flows for more than 400km (249 miles) through the southwestern provinces of Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan. It is regarded by ecologists as the last refuge for rare and endemic fish species in the Yangtze’s upper reaches.

Over the decades, water flows have been increasingly blocked by the dense network of hydropower stations and dams, restricting water volumes downstream and occasionally even causing some sections to dry up entirely.

This has drastically reduced the amount of suitable habitat and spawning grounds. The stations also blocked the routes of migratory fish species between breeding grounds and non-breeding areas.

    • gueybana [any]@hexbear.netEnglish
      7·
      20 days ago

      What exactly do you think I’m asking about here?

      A proposed dam literally the size of the entire subcontinent?

      • bort [none/use name]@hexbear.netEnglish
        151·
        20 days ago

        Why would a dam displace hundreds of millions of people?

        Water still passes through them even if it’s slightly reduced while they fill. It’s not like the rivers in India suddenly dry up.

        • gueybana [any]@hexbear.netEnglish
          15·
          20 days ago

          Dams can have downstream environmental impacts, among them are changes in water flow and water quality from the wild fluctuations in temperature. The river in question is one of the 10 largest in the world and it feeds into an even larger system

          This dam has been a topic I’ve heard discussed a few times among people I know and I tend to feel like an idiot for not having a response because this does sound like a pretty big deal.

          It could just be scare mongering from rightists I’m hearing. Maybe China has somehow found an appropriate environmental management plan. My OP sounded confrontational but I’m honestly concerned by this and I was hoping someone with more knowledge of the Chinese side of thinking give me some insight.

          Edit: I almost forgot, I’m literally in a thread celebrating the destruction of dams by China for good reason.

        • semioticbreakdown [she/her]@hexbear.netEnglish
          12·
          20 days ago

          the raised water levels as a result of the dam is what necessitates displacement. but it wouldnt be hundreds of millions. Three Gorges resulted in 1+ million ppl being resettled

          • gueybana [any]@hexbear.netEnglish
            8·
            20 days ago

            Three Gorges resulted in 1+ million ppl being resettled

            The Yangtze river spans almost entirely in China. China has the logistical capacity to make all of the necessary efforts for environmental impact mitigation and the prevention of the displacement people. This number would be much worse in a different country.

            This new dam spans several different countries. I dunno, seems pretty bad on the surface

            • purpleworm [none/use name]@hexbear.netEnglish
              8·
              20 days ago

              China would be building the dam within China, right? So the raised water level doesn’t impact India (and India might have a slightly lower water level and the other issues expressed, but those aren’t nearly as extreme effects as far as human settlement goes). It looks like the river between the origin point and the station is located entirely in Tibet (almost the whole length of it that is in Tibet, the station is right near where it crosses the border to India).

              I think some of China’s environmental planning has been bad or negligent or short-sighted or whatever (e.g. encroaching on natural deserts and not just the ones they caused), but based on the given information, this seems like a manageable problem at worst.

              • Meltyheartlove [love/loves, comrade/them]@hexbear.netEnglish
                7·
                20 days ago

                From what I remember reading in the past, the rivers on the Indian side always get flooded and destroy villages every year so lower flow might be good for them but maybe the southern most states are affected? (not completely sure but that is how I remember it)

        • Adkml [he/him]@hexbear.netEnglish
          121·
          20 days ago

          Hundreds of millions certainly seems like a stretch but dams displace people when there’s suddenly a 300’ lake in valleys where people lived.

          Not sure of the specifics of this project but it’s one of the major drawbacks of large scale hydro, it was a big problem with the TVA dams in America. Old crow medicine show has a song about it called “half mile down”.

          https://youtu.be/4E_AjWGsQJ0