2. Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Faculty of Biology Department of Zoology Course: Water quality of running waters Teacher: Maria Lazaridou Presentation of: Aurélie Vallée, Isabell Wolowski Dams Their negative Effects on the Environment Construction area of dam (http://www.wcsience.com/giant/dam.html)

3. 0 Content 1 The “Three Georges Dam” in China 1.1 the project 1.1 the project 1.2 geological problems 1.2 geological problems 2 negative influences of the dam 2.1 ecological problems 2.1 ecological problems 2.2 social and cultural problems 2.2 social and cultural problems 2.3 financial problems 2.3 financial problems 3 summary of facts 4 References

4. Pic.2 : Map of China and Location of dam (http//:www.cnn.com/Earth) Pic.3: Yangtze River in china (encarta 2002)

5. 1.1 The Project - 1997 start of the project, will be finished by 2009 - across the 3 Georges section of the Yangtze River - 600 feet high, 1.3 miles long - backflow will create 360 miles long lake - expected costs: $29 billion Pic.4: Reservoir Capacities (http://www.wcsience.com/giant/dam.html)

6. 1.2 geological Problems - build on contact zone of eurasian and indian continental plate indian continental plate - earthquake zone, intensity at least 7 (Richter-scale) every 200 years - high pressure on the dam due to sediments upstream - sudden movement of Water  worldwide catastrophe (angle of rotation axe changes)

7. 2 negative influences of the dam - ecological problems - social and cultural problems - financial problems Pic.5: Demolition of buildings (http://www.wcsience.com/giant/dam.html)

8. 2.1 ecological problems - Spreading of water upstream (up to 630 km) - 3000 plant species, 350 animal species are endangered - Danger of sedimentation - Possibility of climate change - 2.87 million tons of garbage will be submerged due to flooding of… - 115 towns - 4500 villages - 4000 hospitals and clinics - 40.000 tombs - 100 bridges - more than 1700 factories!!! Pic.6/7: The city of Wushan (http://www.wcsience.com/giant/dam.html)

9. 2.2 social and cultural problems - flooding of tourist attractions - flooding of most fertile soil areas of china - flooding of populated areas - 1,8 mio people have to be relocated - unemployment, psychological problems - need of new infrastructure and villages - regional conflicts (east vs.west)

10. 2.3 financial problems - Can china afford this project? - Planned costs of $29 billion – now $79 billion - rising prices for electricity Costs of: -dam itsself -relocation of almost 2 mio people -new living space -Demontation of factories…. $$$ New powerstations (atomic & carbon) vs. Dam project

11. 3 Summary of facts - Improvement of the environmental politic??? - destroyed landscape - rising unemployement - social conflicts - financial problems - 30 small dams = same effect, less problems

12. 4 References - http://www.wcsience.com/giant/dam.html - http://www.cnn.com/Earth - www.Staudamm-China.de - http://www.three-georges-dam.com - http://www.eca-watch.org/problems/china/racechina.html - Microsoft Encarta Enzyklopädie 2002