Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Local Responses to Inundation and De-Farming in the Reservoir Region of the Three Gorges Project (China)

  • Published:
Environmental Management Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Large-scale infrastructural developments in rural areas often impose significant direct and indirect impacts on environment and people. The Three Gorges Project to dam the Yangtze River in China will create a huge reservoir, inundate farmlands and villages, and incur large-scale resettlement. The concurrent de-farming program to reforest marginal farmlands on steep slopes imposes additional stresses on local people. This study evaluates the ecological and economic adjustments in rural areas affected by both projects, and explores villagers’ knowledge, attitudes, perceptions, and expectations vis-à-vis the drastic changes. Eleven villages in Yunyang County in Sichuan Province, stratified into three zones based on topography and agriculture, were assessed by field studies, questionnaire surveys, maps, satellite imagery, and census and government reports. Multiple regressions identified predictors for 17 dependent variables. Spatial variations in the difficult terrain imposed zone-differentiated agricultural constraints, ecological impacts, and human responses. The dominant farming population—mainly young adults working as migrant laborers in cities—has adopted some nonagricultural work to supplement incomes. Expected per-capita standardized farmland (SF) exceeded threshold SF, which surpasses existing SF. Motivations to reclaim more farmlands, de-farm marginal lands, and become migrant laborers were explained by different multiple-regression predictors. Reduction in farmland stock by inundation and de-farming, aggravated by unwillingness towards nonlocal resettlement, would impose ecological pressures and stimulate demands for nonfarming incomes. Common anticipation of better future income and occupation has been subdued by unfavorable feedbacks from early relocatees. Future environmental and landscape changes are hinged upon changing human responses. Government policies could be informed by research findings to match economic, ecological, and social realities.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Altinbilek D. 2002. The role of dams in development. International Journal of Water Resources Development 18:9–24

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Antrop M. 2004. Landscape change and the urbanization process in Europe. Landscape and Urban Planning 67(1-4):9–26

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Asian Development Bank. 1998. Handbook on resettlement: a guide to good practice. Asian Development Bank, Manila, 115 pp

    Google Scholar 

  • Baota Township Government. 2002. Report of official duties by township head. Yunyang, Chongqing, Sichuan, China, 8 pp (in Chinese)

  • Bednarek A. T. 2001. Undamming rivers: a review of the ecological impacts of dam removal. Environmental Management 27:803–814

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Biswas A. K., C. Tortajada. 2001. Development and large dams: a global perspective. International Journal of Water Resources Development 17:9–21

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cernea M. M. 2000. Risks, safeguards, and reconstruction: a model for population displacement and resettlement. In: M. M. Cernea, C. McDowell (eds), Risks and reconstruction: experiences of resettlers and refugees. World Bank, Washington, DC. pp 11–55

    Google Scholar 

  • Changjiang Water Resources Committee. 1996. Planning report to tackle inundation and resettlement in Yunyang County, reservoir area of the Three Gorges Project, Yangtze River. Wuhan, Hubei, China, 266 pp (in Chinese)

  • Clevenger A. P. 2003. Spatial patterns and factors influencing small vertebrate fauna road-kill aggregations. Biological Conservation 109:15–26

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dai Q. 1998. The river dragon has come: the Three Gorges Dam and the fate of China’s Yangtze River and its people. Armonk, New York, 240 pp

    Google Scholar 

  • Dongcun Township Government. 2002. Schedule of afforestation of the de-farming project in Doncun Township, Yunyang County. Yunyang, Chongqing, Sichuan, China, 35 pp (in Chinese)

  • Dongcun Township Government. 2003. Annual report of comprehensive agricultural statistics of Doncun Township, Yunyang County, 2002. Yunyang, Chongqing, Sichuan, China, 35 pp (in Chinese)

  • Duan Y. F., S. A. Dai. 2002. Problems and measures of rural resettlement associated with the Three Gorges Project. Water Resource Economics 2002:34–37, 65 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Editorial Board of Gazetteer of Fengjie County. 1995. Gazetteer of Fengjie County. Gazetteer Publishing House, Beijing, China, 923 pp (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Editorial Board of Gazetteer of Wanxian County. 1995. Gazetteer of Wanxian County. Sichuan Lexicographic Publishing House, Chengdu, Sichuan, China, 803 pp (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Editorial Board of Gazetteer of Yunyang County. 1999. Gazetteer of Yunyang County. Sichuan People’s Press, Chengdu, Sichuan, China, 1350 pp (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Edmonds R. L. 1992. The Three Gorges Project: the environmental argument surrounding China’s super dam. Global Ecology and Biogeography Letters 2:105–125

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fan C. C. 2005. Interprovincial migration, population redistribution, and regional development in China: 1990 and 2000 census comparisons. The Professional Geographer 57:295–311

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fearnside P. M. 1999. Social impacts of Brazil’s Tucurui Dam. Environmental Management 24:483–495

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fearnside P. M. 2001. Environmental impacts of Brazil’s Tucurui Dam: unlearned lessons for hydroelectric development in Amazonia. Environmental Management 27:377–396

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fearnside P. M., R. I. Barbosa. 1996. The Cotingo Dam as a test of Brazil’s system for evaluating proposed developments in Amazonia. Environmental Management 20:631–648

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feng Z. M. 1994. The past, present, and future of researches on land carrying capacity. China Land Science 8:1–9. (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Forman R. T. T. 1995. Land mosaics: the ecology of landscapes and regions. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 632 pp

    Google Scholar 

  • Fu X. T. (ed.) 1997. Resettlement research for the Three Gorges Project. Hubei Science and Technology Press, Wuhan, Hubei, China, 244 pp (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • He D. B., Y. Hu. 2000. Existing problems and relevant countermeasures of a pilot project of returning farmland to forests and pastures. Central South Forest Inventory and Planning 19:18–21. (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • He J. S., J. Pooler. 2002. The regional concentration of China’s interprovincial migration flows, 1982–90. Population and Environment 24:149–182

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huang R. Q., J. H. Dai, J. P. Xia, Q. Chen. 2001. Opportunity and challenge: reforestation on slope cultivated land of the Three Gorges reservoir region. Issues in Forest Economics 21:325–332. (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Jackson S., A. Sleigh. 2000. Resettlement for China’s Three Gorges Dam: socio-economic impact and institutional tensions. Communist and Post-Communist Studies 33:223–241

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jim C. Y. 1998. Impacts of intensive urbanization on trees in Hong Kong. Environmental Conservation 25:146–159

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jing J. 1997. Rural resettlement: past lessons for the Three Gorges Project. China Journal 38:65–92

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lei H. S. (ed.) 2002. Migration in the Three Gorges in China. Chongqing University Press, Chongqing, Sichuan, China, 582 pp (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Li H. M., and P. Rees. 2000. Population displacement in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area of the Yangtze River, central China: relocation policies and migrant views. International Journal of Population Geography 6:439–462

    Google Scholar 

  • Li Q. 2003. An analysis of push and pull factors in the migration of rural workers in China. Social Sciences in China 1:125–136, 207 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Lu X. X., D. L. Higgitt. 1998. Recent changes of sediment yield in the upper Yangtze, China. Environmental Management 22:697–709

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lu X. X., D. L. Higgitt. 2001. Sediment delivery to the Three Gorges 2: local response. Geomorphology 41(2-3):157–169

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maslow A. H. 1998. Maslow on management. John Wiley and Sons, New York, 312 pp

    Google Scholar 

  • Mathur H. M. 1995. The resettlement of people displaced by development projects: Issues and approaches. In: H. M. Mathur (ed.), Development, displacement and resettlement: focus on Asian experiences. Vikas Publishing House, New Delhi. pp 15–38

    Google Scholar 

  • Murphy R. 2002. How migrant labor is changing rural China. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 286 pp

    Google Scholar 

  • Obosu-Mensah K. 1996. Ghana’s Volta resettlement scheme: the long-term consequences of post-colonial state planning. International Scholars Publications, San Francisco, California, 201 pp

    Google Scholar 

  • Roberts K. D. 2001. The determinants of job choice by rural labor migrants in Shanghai. China Economic Review 12:15–39

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Russell S. 1994. Insights from the Three-Gorges study. Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering 21:541–546

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sahin S., E. Kurum. 2002. Erosion risk analysis by GIS in environmental impact assessments: a case study—Seyhan Kopru Dam construction. Journal of Environmental Management 66:239–247

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schrijnen P. M. 2000. Infrastructure networks and red-green patterns in city regions. Landscape and Urban Planning 48(3-4):191–204

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Statistical Bureau of Yunyang County. (ed.), 2000. Statistical yearbook of Yunyang County, 1999. Yunyang, Chongqing, Sichuan, China (in Chinese)

  • Steil S., Y. F. Duan. 2002. Policies and practice in Three Gorges resettlement: a field account. Forced Migration Review 12:10–13

    Google Scholar 

  • Thukral E. G., M. Singh. 1995. Dams and the displaced in India. In: H. M. Mathur (ed.) Development, displacement and resettlement: focus on Asian experiences. Vikas Publishing House, New Delhi. pp 93–121

    Google Scholar 

  • Tian Q., D. R. Qu. 2002. Problems of reforestation in the Three Gorges Area. Ecological Economics 2002:33–34, 38 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Trombulak S. C., C. A. Frissell. 2000. Review of ecological effects of roads on terrestrial and aquatic communities. Conservation Biology 14:18–30

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van Bohemen H. D. 1998. Habitat fragmentation, infrastructure and ecological engineering. Ecological Engineering 11(1-4):199–207

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Viegas P. 1992. The Hirakud Dam oustees: thirty years after. In: E. G. Thukral (ed.) Big dams, displaced people: rivers of sorrow, rivers of change. Sage Publications, New Delhi. pp 29–53

    Google Scholar 

  • Viles R. L., D. J. Rosier. 2001. How to use roads in the creation of greenways: case studies in three New Zealand landscapes. Landscape and Urban Planning 55:15–27

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wakabayashi K. 1990. Migration from rural to urban areas in China. The Developing Economies 28:503–523

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wang E. Y. 1996. Some views on migration and employment of the reservoir area of Three Gorges. Acta Geographica Sinica 51:104–107. (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang L. M., Y. F. Yang, Q. F. Guan. 2001. Environmental emigration stress of slope farmland in the Three Gorges Area. Acta Geographica Sinica 56:650–656. (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Wen S. H. (ed.) 2002. Who stole away the future of Mekong River? Revelation from one river, six countries, and hundreds nations. Oxfam, Hong Kong, 147 pp (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Weng L. D. (ed.) 1997. Research on ecological and environmental effects of the Three Gorges Project. Hubei Science and Technology Press, Wuhan, Hubei, China, 290 pp (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Wu H. N. 1999. A preliminary assessment of reforestation on slope farmlands in the Three Gorges Area. People’s Yangtze 30:17–19. (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Wu J. G., J. H. Huang, X. G. Han, Z. Q. Xie, X. M. Gao. 2003. Three-Gorges Dam—experiment in habitat fragmentation? Science 300:1239–1240

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Xie Z. Q., M. X. Jiang. 1995. The characteristics and utilization of shrub vegetation in the limestone area of Sanxia Region. Chinese Bulletin of Botany 12 (special issue on ecology):85–89 (in Chinese)

  • Yuan H. R., K. M. Wei. 1997. Immigrant environmental capacity analysis of the Three Gorges reservoir area. Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology 8:557–561 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhao B., N. Nakagoshi, J. K. Chen, L. Y. Kong. 2003. The impact of urban planning on land use and land cover in Pudong of Shanghai, China. Journal of Environmental Sciences-China 15:205–214

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhao W. B. 2003. Assessing the effectiveness of reforestation in Ping’an County. Qinghai Agriculture and Forestry Technology 2003:21–22 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhu N. (ed.) 1996. Research on resettlement and reservoir region development of the Three Gorges Project. Wuhan University Press, Wuhan, Hubei, China, 300 pp (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the Committee on Research and Conference Grants of the University of Hong Kong. Special thanks are due to Prof. Mao Hanying who led the comprehensive study, and Prof. Wang Liming who led the subproject in the reservoir region of the Three Gorges Project in 1999, which formed the prelude of this research. We also appreciate the efforts of local helpers who conducted the questionnaire survey, and the government for providing data.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong

    C. Y. Jim & Felix Y. Yang

Authors
  1. C. Y. Jim
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Felix Y. Yang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to C. Y. Jim.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Jim, C.Y., Yang, F.Y. Local Responses to Inundation and De-Farming in the Reservoir Region of the Three Gorges Project (China). Environmental Management 38, 618–637 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-005-0253-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-005-0253-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation