THE EFFECTS OF THE THREE GORGES PROJECT ON ECOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENT

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The effects of the three gorges project on ecology and environment

The impacts of the Three Gorges Project are summarized in this paperfrom the viempoint of the whole Changjiang (Yangtze) River basin and system ecology.Among the impacts on aquatic ecosystem and fishery of the river basin, the emphasis isplaed on the survival of certain precious and rare species, such as the indigenous RiverDolphin, Lipotes vexillifer. The impacts on terrestrial ecosystem include the ecologicalchanges of the inundated, agricultural land, and the carrying capacity of the land for theresettled population in the upper reacheS of the river, and changer of the environment oflowland district and lowlying paddy fields in the middle and lower reaches. The impactson the surrounding geology and safety of the reservoir area include mud-rock flow,land slide and earthquake. The impacts on estuarine ecology involves increasingsalinization of water and soil, erosion of coastline, and the security of Shanghai City.The impacts on the cultural landscape of the Three Gorges area are also highlighted.Through the overall and systematic analysis, the conclusion is drawn that there are bothadvantageous and disadvantageous aspects in the effects of the Three Gorges Project onecology and environment, but the disadvantageous effects are the greater.