Gorges Dam!!!!!
Running Head: CONFLICT ANALYSIS: THREE GORGES DAM
Three Gorges Dam Conflict: Views and Analysis
Sarah F. Watson
Colorado State University
Abstract
The Three Gorges Dam currently being built on the Yangtze River in China is forcing the resettlement of over a million people. Shipping interests, city dwellers, and the Chinese government all support the dam's construction, while archeologists, human rights organizations, and those forced to resettle do not. This paper explores and organizes the stakeholders' views through conflict tree and conflict mapping analysis methods. The AmericaSpeaks methodology is suggested as a transformation method to ease the tension between the stakeholders.
Introduction and Background As tall as a 60 story building, storing over 11 trillion gallons of water, stopping 55 million tons of coal being burned a year, producing enough energy to equal 18 nuclear power plants and forcing the resettlement of over 1.3 million people what single building project is doing all this (Chetham, 2002; Kennedy, 2001)? The Three Gorges Dam Project on the Yangtze River in China is one of the most controversial building projects ever. The conflict between groups on opposing sides of the Three Gorges Dam truly began in the early 1930s (Gupta & Asher, 2000). However, the first suggestion for a dam in the Three Gorges area came from Sun Yet Sen in 1919 (Economy, 2004). The ground breaking ceremony was held in December of 1994 with proposed completion date in 2009 (Chetham, 2002). The conflict between the proponents and the opponents of the dam are based around the key issue of the reservoir that the dam will create. The water will rise an average of 290 meters within the gorges themselves (Chetham, 2002). The reservoir created by the dam will be 360 miles long and an anticipated 175 miles deep (Economy, 2004). The reservoir will cause the flooding of over 12,000 acres of tangerine orchards, 150 towns, 800 historical sites,
Three Gorges Dam Conflict: Views and Analysis
Sarah F. Watson
Colorado State University
Abstract
The Three Gorges Dam currently being built on the Yangtze River in China is forcing the resettlement of over a million people. Shipping interests, city dwellers, and the Chinese government all support the dam's construction, while archeologists, human rights organizations, and those forced to resettle do not. This paper explores and organizes the stakeholders' views through conflict tree and conflict mapping analysis methods. The AmericaSpeaks methodology is suggested as a transformation method to ease the tension between the stakeholders.
Introduction and Background As tall as a 60 story building, storing over 11 trillion gallons of water, stopping 55 million tons of coal being burned a year, producing enough energy to equal 18 nuclear power plants and forcing the resettlement of over 1.3 million people what single building project is doing all this (Chetham, 2002; Kennedy, 2001)? The Three Gorges Dam Project on the Yangtze River in China is one of the most controversial building projects ever. The conflict between groups on opposing sides of the Three Gorges Dam truly began in the early 1930s (Gupta & Asher, 2000). However, the first suggestion for a dam in the Three Gorges area came from Sun Yet Sen in 1919 (Economy, 2004). The ground breaking ceremony was held in December of 1994 with proposed completion date in 2009 (Chetham, 2002). The conflict between the proponents and the opponents of the dam are based around the key issue of the reservoir that the dam will create. The water will rise an average of 290 meters within the gorges themselves (Chetham, 2002). The reservoir created by the dam will be 360 miles long and an anticipated 175 miles deep (Economy, 2004). The reservoir will cause the flooding of over 12,000 acres of tangerine orchards, 150 towns, 800 historical sites,