During the reign of Chairman Mao Zedong, Beijing mobilized the masses in great projects to build dams and cut down trees without regard for environmental consequences. Mao also encouraged the Chinese masses to go forth and multiply, and the resulting population boom not only put more pressure on the ecosystem, but also forced would-be farmers to seek fertile land increasingly close to waterways. Mao's successor, Deng Xiaoping, continued an environmentally questionable industrial revolution, and only since Deng's death has the Chinese leadership begun to address problems like massive erosion and worsening floods, Dai says. China's rulers often say that their multibillion dollar Three Gorges Dam project on the Yangtze, slated for completion early in the 21st century, will help tame the river and control the floods that currently threaten millions of riverside dwellers. Yet Dai, a longtime critic of the dam who has written two books on the subject, sharply disagrees.
Many areas are subject to floods.
Second, because the central government has budgeted so much money for the Three Gorges, it has meager funds left for disaster prevention and relief for the current floods, she adds. Before bookmarking this page in your browser, click here . We offer them for your additional research. The Christian Science Publishing Society. All rights reserved.