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Social Impact Analysis of Large Dams: a Case Study of Cascading Dams on the Upper-Mekong River, China

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Social Impact Analysis of Large Dams: a Case Study of Cascading Dams on the Upper-Mekong River, China SOCIAL IMPACT ANALYSIS OF LARGE DAMS: A CASE STUDY OF CASCADING DAMS ON THE UPPER-MEKONG RIVER, CHINA A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Cornell University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science by Pu Wang January 2012 © 2012 Pu Wang ABSTRACT Large dam construction has significant environmental and social impacts at different scales. This thesis first summarizes and updates information about the history, distribution, functions, and impacts of large dams, both globally and at China’s national level. It then addresses the social impacts of large dams, and introduces an empirical study conducted during the summer of 2010 in areas affected by dams along the Upper- Mekong River, China. The construction of large hydropower dams in this region has significantly impacted local communities. Numerous governmental policies have been designed to compensate for losses in wealth incurred by people relocated in the wake of new dam construction. I argue that wealth is a multi-dimensional attribute; identify three classes of wealth that are impacted by dam construction, namely material (land, houses), embodied (knowledge, skills), and relational (infrastructure); and compare losses and compensations for each class. Farmer interviews were conducted in ten villages affected by three dams built in 1995 (Manwan), 2003 (Dachaoshan), and 2009 (Xiaowan), and government statistics and documents were also analyzed to complement the empirical study. Results indicated that villagers often suffer from wealth loss in all three characterized dimensions, but government compensation policies typically consider only material wealth. This inequity leads to dissatisfaction on both sides, and is the root cause for disagreements and conflicts. The analysis further indicated that the degree of impact on the different dimensions of wealth varies among relocated communities, and that effects can sometimes be positive. These results will prove important to future dam projects in China, as they suggest that less dissatisfaction will arise from community relocation projects when the affected villagers and decision-makers acknowledge and agree on the degree of losses and resulting compensations in all three dimensions of wealth. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH Pu Wang was born and grew up in Shaanxi, China. He completed his high school education in Xi’an, the capital city of Shaanxi. He then entered Beijing Normal University in Beijing, China, majoring in Resources Science and Technology. Durng his undergraduate program, he studied earth sciences, calculus, statistics, and remote sensing. His undergraduate project focused on using remote sensing methods to detect the integrated water content of wheat fields. Pu started his master program at Cornell University in the fall of 2009, where he focused on resources management and environmental governance. Upon completion of his M.S. degree, Pu will continue his graduate education as a Ph.D. student in the Field of Natural Resources at Cornell University. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS In the process of completing my Master’s program I got support from many people and institutions. I would like to express my appreciation to all those who have given me support during my M.S. Program. I am deeply grateful to the chair of my special committee, Professor James Lassoie, who supervised the whole process of my M.S. program. From choosing my research topic, to designing my field interviews, to analyzing data, and finally to writing my thesis, every achievement I have made in the past two years would have been impossible without his great effort. He has not only provided me scientific knowledge and skills, but also helped me develop critical thinking abilities and interests in resources and environmental sciences, which I will benefit from for my whole life. I also thank Dr. Stephen Morreale and Professor Jon Conrad, members of my special committee, for their helpful suggestions and feedback for my proposal and thesis draft. Dr. Morreale’s suggestions in the final stages of writing this thesis were particularly valuable. I also must thank Professor DONG Shikui at Beijing Normal University, China, who kindly provided support for my research in Beijing and Yunnan, China. He helped me overcome many difficulties in my field research in Yunnan for which I am deeply indebted. I also need to express my appreciation to many people who helped me in my field research. XIAO Ziwei at Rochester University and LI Jinpeng, MEI Ying, DAI Jing, and CHEN Shaoqing at Beijing Normal University helped me conduct surveys in Yunnan. Dr. iv LIU Ende at the Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Science helped me arrange interviews in several villages. Finally, I want to thank all the members in Lassoie’s Research Group: Bob Beazley, Whitney Lonsdale, Akira Shintani, Eugene Fifer, Ryan Crowder, ZHOU Dan, XU Hui, ZHANG Dawei, and LI Maobiao. They gave me comments and suggestions during seminars that were very helpful to me. v TABLE OF CONTENTS BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH .......................................................................................... III ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .............................................................................................. IV CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................... 1 1.1 THE LARGE DAM DILEMMA ........................................................................................ 1 1.2 RESEARCH GOALS ...................................................................................................... 3 1.3 GENERAL RESEARCH FRAMEWORK ............................................................................ 6 1.4 THESIS STRUCTURE ................................................................................................... 10 CHAPTER 2 OVERVIEW OF LARGE DAMS .......................................................... 13 2.1 LARGE DAMS: A GLOBAL VIEW ................................................................................. 13 2.1.1 History and distribution of large dams ............................................................. 13 2.1.2 Multiple functions of large dams ...................................................................... 18 2.1.3 Environmental impacts of large dams .............................................................. 21 2.1.4 Social impacts of large dams ............................................................................ 24 2.1.5 Debates around large dams ............................................................................... 29 2.2 LARGE DAMS IN CHINA ............................................................................................. 34 2.2.1 The history of China’s dam construction ......................................................... 34 2.2.2 The thirteen hydropower bases in China .......................................................... 36 2.2.3 Relocation impacts caused by dam construction .............................................. 40 2.3 CASE STUDIES OF LARGE DAMS IN CHINA ................................................................. 43 2.3.1 The Three Gorges Dam .................................................................................... 44 2.3.2 Xiaolangdi key water-control project ............................................................... 49 2.3.3 The Nu River .................................................................................................... 54 2.3.4 The Lancang River ........................................................................................... 59 2.3.5 The Jinsha River ............................................................................................... 65 CHAPTER 3 A FRAMEWORK FOR SOCIAL IMPACT ANALYSIS: A CASE STUDY OF DAMS ON THE UPPER-MEKONG RIVER, CHINA .......................... 68 3.1. BACKGROUND INFORMATION .................................................................................. 68 3.2 RESEARCH SITES ....................................................................................................... 70 3.2.1 Case study 1: Manwan Dam ............................................................................. 72 3.2.2 Case study 2: Dachaoshan Dam ....................................................................... 77 3.2.3 Case study 3: Xiaowan dam ............................................................................. 80 3.3 WEALTH AND STANDARD OF LIVING ANALYSIS ........................................................ 83 3.3.1 Definition of three types of wealth ................................................................... 83 3.3.2 Loss in three types of wealth ............................................................................ 84 3.3.3 Compensation, subsidies, and opportunities in three types of wealth .............. 85 vi 3.3.4 Comparison of loss and compensation ............................................................. 85 3.4 GAP OF WEALTH ANALYSIS ....................................................................................... 96 3.5 INSIDER-OUTSIDER ANALYSIS AND ITS IMPLICATION FOR DECISION-MAKING ......... 100 3.6 CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSION ............................................................................... 104 CHAPTER 4 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS .................................................... 110 4.1. SUMMARY OF KEY FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ......................................... 110 4.1.1. Debates, trends, and the future of large dams ...............................................
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