2017 International Conference on Energy Development and Environmental Protection (EDEP 2017) ISBN: 978-1-60595-482-0 Ecological and Social Vulnerability Issues in the Western Route of South to North Water Transfer Project a b,* Yi LIN and Wen BAO Business School, Chengdu University of Information and Technology, Chengdu, P.R. China [email protected], [email protected] *Corresponding author Keywords: Western Route, North Water Transfer Project, Ecological vulnerability, Social vulnerability, Sustainable development. Abstract. Western Route of South to North Water Transfer Project (Western Route Project for short) is a major infrastructure project to solve the uneven spatial and temporal distribution of water resources in West China. The ambitious water transfer project will divert water from China's longest river, the Yangtze River, to Northwest China, where water shortage has become a bottleneck restricting sustainable development. After completion, the project will relieve water shortages in over six provinces in north and Northwest China, affecting about tens of million people. At the same time, it will bring many serious ecological and social problems in the project affected areas. 1. Introduction The Western Route Project goes from the upper reaches of Yangtze River (the Tongtian, Yalong and Dadu Rivers) near the Bayankala Mountain to into the upper reaches of the Yellow River. It aims to ultimately divert 17 billion m3 of fresh water annually from the Yangtze River to the arid Northwest and Central China provinces like Qinghai, Gansu, Shannxi, Shanxi Provinces, and the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. At the same time, the Western Route Project is also expected to supply areas on both sides of the Yellow River with water and replenish the Black River and the Shiyang River with water to restore their ecological function. The construction of the West Route will cost over 300 billion Yuan (about 48 billion U.S. dollars). The first stage of the Western Route Project is planned to be started in 2020 and finished in 2030 even though its high cost, complex geological conditions, and huge impact on the ecological environment. To move the water through the drainage divide between these rivers, huge dams and long tunnels are needed to cross the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. The Western Route Project is crucial for reliving the water shortage, improving the ecosystem in Northwest China and promoting the central government's western region development strategy. Like China's other mega-project—the Three Gorges Dam—the Western Route has provoked many environmental and social concerns, principally regarding the potential geological disasters such as earthquake, the loss of antiquities, the hydropower stations downstream of the project, the displacement of Tibetans, the destruction of pasture land, Tibetan cultural protection, ecological compensation and water transport problems in Min River. 194 Opponents object to the Western Route on the grounds that it is not a win-win solution for Sichuan Province[1], especially the Preliminary Report on the Western Route Project for South-to-North Water Transfer submitted by Yellow River Conservancy Commission (YRCC) ignored the severe ecological and social vulnerability; it should solve the problem of minimum the disadvantages during and after the project construction; it should create opportunity for local development other than only listed the submerge compensation; it could waste massive amounts of water through evaporation; the project's huge cost would make the water prohibitively expensive for consumers; climate change could reduce the total amount of water resources in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River; it would be detrimental to the Yangtze River's transportation; and it could cause an environmental disaster. 2. Ecological and Environmental Issues 2.1 Rangeland Degradation The region of the Western Route located is part of Tibetan plateau. In the region, a decrement change in vegetation cover has been noted and its ecosystem has deteriorated severely [2]. Nearly 80 percent of the source region of the Yangtze and Yellow River is rangeland. However, intense cold, high winds, seasonal unavailability of water, limited primary productivity, and lack of oxygen all combine to render survival precarious at best. In most areas, the local environment is favorable only to nomadic animal husbandry. Due to overgrazing and irrational use of pasture for a long time, ecological degradation of the source region is serious, which is mainly reflected in the following aspects: 1) Productivity of pasture decreased; 2) Severe rodent damage; 3) Proportion of poisonous grasses increased; 4) Exposed land surface increased. It is also reflected by land degradation in the region. 2.2 Geological Disasters The Western Route Project is located within the Kekexili-Jinsha River strong seismic zone and Xianshui River strike–slip fault [3] and its geological conditions are extremely unstable where earthquakes, landslides, debris flows, rock and snow avalanches and the like, all contribute highly frequent to the regional experience. For example, the number of debris flow gullies distributed in the first stage of the Western Route Project known is 103 (refer with: Table 1). Their occurrence is haphazard, sometimes devastating and sometimes not, but their effect is always unpredictable [4]. Moreover, its geological conditions are also complicated, for it is located in an intensely volatile seismic zone with a well-developed active fault which seismic intensity generally of 6-7magnitude (8-9magnitude in some areas). In recent years, many earthquakes happened in the vicinity of Western Route Project. Especially on 12 May 2008, the magnitude 8.0 Wenchuan earthquake that struck almost entirely leveled parts of Sichuan Province. 195 Table 1. Debris flow gullies distribution in the first stage of the western route project. Water Active debris flow gullies Potential debris flow gullies diversion Right Total Left bank Right bank Total Left bank regions bank Daqu 21 13 8 16 8 8 Niqu 11 8 3 4 1 3 Sequ 15 10 5 9 4 5 Duke River 26 21 5 5 5 0 Maerqu 13 11 1 9 2 7 Ake River 13 12 1 4 3 1 aqueduct 4 3 1 2 2 0 Total 103 78 25 49 25 24 2.3 Soil Erosion and Biodiversity Decrease In the areas where the Western Route Project located, soil erosion is serious developed. On mountainsides where the surface slopes are composed of smooth sandstones, the covering soil gradually slides downward under the influence of gravity. In many places the thin surface soils have been completely removed, leaving only bare rocks. When the surface rock is composed of comparatively rougher shale, the soil is less easily moved. The region possesses unusual natural resources and eco-system that have special value beyond the region itself. It is home not only to a unique biodiversity, but also to a unique nomadic pastoral society. The long interaction between Tibetan culture and the biological resources of the region is a special feature of this environment. The fact that viable pastoral cultures and wildlife remain to this day bears witness to the remarkable diversity and resilience of this highly unique ecosystem, as well as the sustainability of its resources if wisely used. However, if the dams of the Western Route Project are to be built, some national biodiversity, water source and fragile ecological functional regions would be interrupted, too much water would be diverted for some rivers, and the region’s biodiversity would be further decrease. Once the biodiversity decrease into a critical situation, it is impossible or requires significant input to restore its ecological function. Sustainability in a highly dynamic, economic, political, and biological setting is a daunting challenge and solutions often will be site-specific [5]. 2.4. Climate Change This water diversion route enjoys the advantages of having many water sources. There is good water quality in the water diversion regions on the one hand. However, on the other hand, it also faces the disadvantage of having limited water amounts due to its location at the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. In addition, it is situated in the Southeast of Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, an alpine and hypoxia area with harsh natural environment and underdeveloped transport access. 3. Social and Economic Issues 3.1 Tibetan Cultural Protection and Displacement of Tibetans The unusually large segment of the population located adjacent to the Western Route Project is Tibetans (refer with: Tab. 2) and actively engaged in religious pursuits of Tibetan Buddhism. 196 The overwhelming majority of local residents in the areas will be submerged (refer with: Tab. 3) are Tibetans that traditionally have the systemic ecological culture conception combined with the idea of worship of spirit mountain and saint lake. Each Tibetan has the responsibility endued by the spirit to protect the mountains and lakes. Even today, prayer flags fly from every home and adorn the mountain slopes. Monasteries are established throughout the region, and the Dalai Lama, the spiritual head of Tibetan Buddhism, has strong influence on some local people. Tibetan dwellings are commonly buildings with walls of stone or brick and flat clay roofs. Most families traditionally maintained houses were built of stone around a rectangular courtyard, usually three stories high. Tens of thousands of Tibetans that had lived in the same place for generations would be relocated to new homes to make way for the construction of the Western Route Project. The cost or rebuild their buildings and religious sites are much higher than inner China, the present compensation standards are too low for them. In Sichuan, the Western Route Project lies in two prefectures, namely the Aba Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, with its headquarters at Ma’erkang (Barkam); and the Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, with its capital at Kangding. Most of the agriculture, animal husbandry, and industry of Tibetan areas adjacent to he Western Route Project is concentrated in the valley, which includes the main towns of Dege, Rangtang, Seda, Aba, and Ganzi.