The Coming China Wars: Where They Will Be Fought and How They Can Be Won

Chapter 7. The Damnable Dam Wars and Drums along the Mekong

Before the Chinese Communist Party came to power in 1949, China had only 23 large and medium-scale dams and reservoirs. Fifty-five years later, China has 22,000 of the world’s 45,000 large dams (those more than 15 meters [about 50 feet] in height). Excluding small farm-scale irrigation dams and mini and micro hydropower units, China has about 85,000 dams and reservoirs. And China continues to proudly be the most active large-dam builder in the world, despite the growing scientific evidence that large dams are not economical and sustainable in the long run. [Essayist] Dai Qing calls this trend “a blind faith that engineers and technical fixes can solve all problems,” a “conscious failure ...