Optimizing Hydropower Planning in the Amur River Basin

Optimizing Hydropower Planning in the Amur River basin

The Amur-Heilong is the largest river in northeast Asia. It flows through Mongolia, China, and Russia from its origin at two sources, the Shilka and the Argun rivers. From this confluence the river forms a natural border between China and Russia.

The Amur-Heilong is one of the world’s largest free-flowing rivers. The main river stem should remain free of dams and the basin should be managed through sustainable IRBM principles.

The Amur River basin's location © UNEP

The nature of the Amur River basin is unique and rich in biodiversity. It supports thousands of species and many ecosystem types. This vast area is famous for rare waterfowl, big cats, and endemic fishes. The biological richness is explained by the great diversity of landscapes such as taiga, mixed broadleaf-coniferous forest, steppe, grassland, desert, and tundra. Floodplains of the Amur and its tributaries create a belt of wetlands, without which

millions of migratory ducks and geese cannot reach their breeding grounds on the tundra on the Arctic shores. The basin area is included in

the Global 200 Ecoregions of the World. © G. Nosachenko

Dams’ construction and operation have greatly influenced natural conditions of the Amur basin. In 2015 there are about a hundred dams in the basin, including 18 large dams, of which two are located in its Russian part, on the Zeya and the Bureya rivers. Large Russian dams significantly transform hydrological regime of the major left tributaries of the Amur.

Reservoirs’ regulation has led to a significant transformation of the basin’s freshwater ecosystem, changing species composition of flora and fauna in the flooded zone, and

downstream from the dam.

The large scale hydropower development of the Amur basin’s resources has been planned for decades. If constructed, dams would have a tremendous impact on the river basin ecosystem and local communities. Therefore a science-based assessment is needed to assess possible environmental changes under the influence of the existing and potential dams.

Existing (red) and potential (green) dams in the Russian part of the Amur basin In 2012 WWF-Russia and diversified industrial leader En+ Group launched a research project to look into the potential for hydropower development in the Amur River basin. The research aimed to study the possible impact of hydropower facilities on the ecosystem and socio-economic development of the basin. The objective was to identify key environmental, social and economic factors that need to be considered when tapping the Amur basin’s hydropower generation potential.

En+ Group decided to stop all their activities upon the development of the Transsibirskaya hydropower dam on the untapped Shilka River before the research is finished and its’ results are discussed with civil

society and stakeholders.

The research had lasted for three years and was finished in 2015.

The list of possible dam locations in the Amur basin was determined, and potential environmental and socio-economic impacts of the development on the region were analyzed.

The proposed assessment methodology is based on mapping of dams and modeling of their potential impacts on the river condition. The proposed methodology units GIS and the river basin approach which allows:

. analyze different water management situations

. predict the dynamics of natural resources reproduction

. formulate optimal strategy and tactics of natural resources management

Five indicators were determined to evaluate hydropower impact on a river basin:

[1] Downstream changes in the hydrological regime and floodplain ecosystems

[2] Transformation of aquatic ecosystems upstream the dam

[3] Isolation of the river basin

[4] River basin fragmentation

[5] Change in the natural regime of sediment runoff

Estimation of the dam impact

The existing and potential dams of the Amur basin were ranged according to their possible environmental damage. The research assessed the condition of freshwater ecoregions and decided that maintenance of the untapped Shilka ecoregion as important for sustaining ecological health of the Amur basin.

14 13 12 11

9 8 7 6

Integral indexIntegral 5 4 3 2 1

Zeiskaya

Bysskaya

Giliuiskaya

Bureiskaya

Urgalskaya

Ulminskaya

Urkanskaya

Ikindinskaya

Ivanovskaya

Tygdinskaya

Maengskaya

Usmanskaya

Stoybinskaya Putiatinskaya

Umaltinskaya Chalbinskaya Ust-Karskaya

Amazarskaya

Okononskaya

Dagmarskaya

Rusinovskaya Abaikanskaya

Lokshanskaya

Ust-Urovskaya

Karkolbinskaya Moskvitinskaya

Semiozerskaya

Ekimchanskaya Transsibirskaya

Shetukhinskaya

Chernigovskaya

Dzhalindinskaya

Ust-Nimanskaya

Nizhne-Zeiskaya

Dzharyksinskaya

Khorskiycascade

Dalnerechenskaya

Nizhne-Bureiskaya

Nizhne-Nimanskaya

Khingan (Taipingou) Khingan

Transsibirskaya (alt.) Transsibirskaya

Verkhne-Nimanskaya

Zeiskaya + Bureiskaya + Zeiskaya

Novovoskresenovskaya

Transsibirskaya + Utiosnaya + Transsibirskaya InzhanskayaGramatukhinskaya + Name of the dam

The determined dams’ range according to their environmental damage Assessed freshwater ecoregions’ condition

The results can be a base for a comprehensive approach to hydropower development in the Amur basin, in order to create growth opportunities while minimizing the impact on the environment.

The accomplished research is an example of the first Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) conducted in the Russian hydropower industry.

This project is a stage of the transforming partnership between an environmental organization and a business company. In view of the differences in approach to developing and use of nature resources the parts have finally obtained a compromise.

The research resulted in delay and current cancellation of the company’s activities on the environmentally harmful Transsibirskaya dam before it was designed. Therefore the project is a step toward greening the hydropower industry, demonstrating possibilities of an accurate approach to sustainable nature resources development.

O. Goroshko