A PRELIMINARY APPROACH ON IMPACTS OF HYDROPOWER DEVELOPMENT IN UPPER YANGTZE RIVER ON ECOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENT

Abstract: There are abundant hydro-energy resources in the Yangtze River (also called Changjiang River), and the hydro-energy reserves in the upper reaches occupy nearly 90 % of the whole valley. In future 20 years, a great amount of hydroelectric projects will be constructed in the upper reaches of Yangtze River, and a large scale of cascade hydropower stations will be formed in the main channel and branches in the upper reaches at that time. After construction and operation of these power stations and reservoirs, some important impacts will be produced on the ecology and environment in the upper areas and even the whole valley. In the paper, distribution of cascade power stations in the upper reaches is forecasted according to completed plans; some restricting factors of ecology and environment on hydropower station constructions in upstream are discussed; the impacts of cascade reservoirs on the habitat and Aquatic Life (such as fishes) in the valley ecosystem are discussed; and finally, some countermeasures for mitigating the impacts arisen from the cascade reservoirs are put forward.