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Yangtze River Flooding - Coggle Diagram
Yangtze River Flooding
Sustainability
The Three Gorges Dam project was originally built for the purpose of preventing flooding, but some critics believe that it's still highly susceptible to major floods
Fan Xiao, a Chinese Geologists, believes that the dam could only contain up to 9% of the water capacity during a "once-in-a-century" flood
The Three Gorges Dam was the most expensive and largest such project in the world, dwarfing all other dams around the world
The Three Gorges Dam is considered the pinnacle of Chinese-led sustainability efforts, and the recent flooding can be seen as a blow for the reputation of future sustainable projects
The project behind the Three Gorges Dam has had concerns raised by environmentalists and hydrologists alike due to its immense cost, threats to surrounding geological environments, mass relocation of human population and resources, environmental damage and loss of architectural sites
To make way for the project, millions of people had to leave their homes, belongings and ancestral communities. An estimated 1680 villages, 114 towns and 2 cities were completely submerged as a result of this project
Wellbeing
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Close to 4 million people in Sichuan province, Chongqing province, and surrounding communities near the Yangtze River
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The Three Gorges Dam, the largest and most expensive hydroelectric dam ever built, has failed to stop the Yangtze River basin from overflowing and flooding to neighbouring communities
A 1,200 UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Leshan Giant Buddha, is at risk of being damaged by flood levels with water levels reaching its shore for the first time since 1949
The Three Gorges Dam is commonly considered by the Chinese population as a national symbol of technological achievements and environmental sustainability, but it has seemingly failed its primary goal, which may damage trust in future projects
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Due to Covid-19, most communities were already at risk of suffering major economic, social and wellbeing losses. The flood exasperates already dire conditions
Systems
The Three Gorges Dam was built as an all-encompassing project which would provide electricity and power for Chinese household, to act as a safety barrier for nearby communities from devastating floods, to control and maintain water levels, and as a symbol of pride for Chinese sustainability efforts
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Surrounding physical systems have had to be dramatically altered or even destroyed to make way for this project
Changes
Due to the artificial nature of the Three Gorges Dam, certain environmental, social and physical changes had to be implemented to ensure that the dam was able to operate at full capacities
Due to the flooding, many families will no longer have a long-term shelter, whilst also losing most or all of its resources and current lifestyle choices, meaning significant changes such as relocation may need to occur for many people affected by the flooding
The project has appeared to lead to an increase in some form of geological disasters such as more frequent landslides
Due to the displacement as a result of the project, many of those who were affected did not receive adequate compensation, leading to an estimated 20% decrease in wages, with some evidence pointing to embezzled funds as a culprit
The failure of the dam to protect surrounding villages may dampen expectations and hopes for similar projects in the future