Measures to Protect Aquatic Resources in Large-scale Hydraulic Engineering Projects on the Yangtze River

摘要

The China Three Gorges Project Corporation (CTGPC) is a producer of clean energy that is primarily devoted to the development and operation of largescale hydropower projects. Since its inception, the CTGPC has remained committed to an environmental protection strategy that seeks to find harmony between development and protection. Environmental and ecological projection has been incorporated into the entire process of the project, from planning and design right down to execution and operation. During the feasibility study and the actual construction process of the Three Gorges Project, the CTGPC designed and built the Three Gorges Project Ecological and Environmental Monitoring System and has implemented integrated protective measures, such as the artificial propagation and release of Chinese sturgeons and the establishment of nature reserves. In the Xiluodu and Xiangjiaba projects, (which constitute the first phase of the hydro-power development of the Jinsha River) in order to facilitate the development and operation of the fish nature reserves in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, the CTGPC launched a fish species protection initiative, formulated long-term plans for artificial propagation and release of fishes, established an aquatic ecological environment monitoring system, built two artificial propagation and release stations in Yibin and on the Chishui River respectively and has persisted in scientific research on the aquatic ecological environment. All of these efforts demonstrate that the CTGPC is committed to its objectives of " building a superb hydropower plant which can stimulate the local economy, improving the local environment and benefiting resettled residents" and that it has been comprehensively promoting the conservation of bio-resources in the Yangtze River during the development of water resources.