840 research outputs found
Environmental impact assessments of the Three Gorges Project in China: issues and interventions
The paper takes China's authoritative Environmental Impact Statement for the Yangzi (Yangtze) Three Gorges Project (TGP) in 1992 as a benchmark against which to evaluate emerging major environmental outcomes since the initial impoundment of the Three Gorges reservoir in 2003. The paper particularly examines five crucial environmental aspects and associated causal factors. The five domains include human resettlement and the carrying capacity of local environments (especially land), water quality, reservoir sedimentation and downstream riverbed erosion, soil erosion, and seismic activity and geological hazards. Lessons from the environmental impact assessments of the TGP are: (1) hydro project planning needs to take place at a broader scale, and a strategic environmental assessment at a broader scale is necessary in advance of individual environmental impact assessments; (2) national policy and planning adjustments need to react quickly to the impact changes of large projects; (3) long-term environmental monitoring systems and joint operations with other large projects in the upstream areas of a river basin should be established, and the cross-impacts of climate change on projects and possible impacts of projects on regional or local climate considered. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.Xibao Xu, Yan Tan, Guishan Yan
The return of river life—Urban river ecosystem restoration based on biodiversity enhancement
Biodiversity is the immune system of river ecological health. Restoration and improvement of urban river biodiversity and return of life to river are the main goals and important tasks of river ecosystem restoration. Taking Wuyuan River located in Xiuying District, Haikou city as the research object, based on the ecological environment and biodiversity background before river restoration, the design technology and practice of Wuyuan River ecosystem restoration were discussed, and four strategies of ecological restoration were put forward: 1) River ecological restoration—Three-dimensional ecological space reconstruction. 2) Riparian ecological restoration—Flexible ecological riparian design. 3) River-wetland synergy—River-wetland complex construction. 4) Multi-functional habitat restoration—Life landscape river reconstruction. Based on the goal of biodiversity improvement, the innovative path and mode of urban river ecosystem restoration were explored from the perspective of life landscape river restoration. Finally, the biodiversity of Wuyuan River after restoration was evaluated. The results showed that the habitat types of Wuyuan River after restoration were diverse, the habitat quality was good, and the improvement effect of biodiversity was obvious. The practice of ecological restoration shows that urban river ecological restoration aimed at the improvement of biodiversity is more conducive to the overall protection of urban river ecosystem and the optimization and improvement of river landscape quality
Land Use Conflict Detection and Multi-Objective Optimization Based on the Productivity, Sustainability, and Livability Perspective
Land use affects many aspects of regional sustainable development, so insight into its influence is of great importance for the optimization of national space. The book mainly focuses on functional classification, spatial conflict detection, and spatial development pattern optimization based on productivity, sustainability, and livability perspectives, presenting a relevant opportunity for all scholars to share their knowledge from the multidisciplinary community across the world that includes landscape ecologists, social scientists, and geographers. The book is systematically organized into the optimization theory, methods, and practices for PLES (production–living–ecological space) around territorial spatial planning, with the overall planning of PLES as the goal and the promotion of ecological civilization construction as the starting point. Through this, the competition and synergistic interactions and positive feedback mechanisms between population, resources, ecology, environment, and economic and social development in the PLES system were revealed, and the nonlinear dynamic effects among subsystems and elements in the system identified. In addition, a series of optimization approaches for PLES is proposed
The Three Gorges Dam Project in China : history and consequences
After several decades of planning and deliberations, the Three Gorges Dam (Sanxia Daba, ) in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River (Central China), is near to be completed. It is expected that this mega-dam, which will harbor the largest hydropower plant in the world, will contribute to flood control in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, will solve the energetic scarcity of the region, and will improve the river navigability. Its construction, however, would also imply a series of severe negative consequences, such as the loss and fragmentation of many habitats and other effects on the wildlife, the loss of many archaeological and cultural sites, and the forced displacement of more than 1 million people.Després de diverses dècades de planificació i deliberacions, l'embassament de les Tres Gorges (Sanxia Daba,), al curs alt del riu Iang-Tsé (Xina Central), és a punt de completar-se. S'espera que aquesta enorme presa, que comptarà amb la central hidroelèctrica més gran del món, pugui contribuir al control de les inundacions en el curs mitjà i baix del Iang-Tsé, solventi l'escassetat energètica de la regió, i millori la navegabilitat del riu. La seva construcció, no obstant, també significarà una sèrie de greus consequències, com ara la pèrdua i la fragmentació d'hà bitats i d'altres efectes negatius sobre la biodiversitat, la desaparició de nombrosos jaciments arqueològics i d'altres indrets d'interès històric, i el desplaçament forçós de més d'un milió de persones.Tras varias décadas de planificación y deliberaciones, el embalse de las Tres Gargantas (Sanxia Daba,), en el curso alto del rÃo Yangtzé (China Central), está cerca de su conclusión. De esta enorme presa, que contará con la mayor central hidroeléctrica del mundo, se espera que pueda contribuir al control de las inundaciones en el curso medio y bajo del Yangtzé, solvente la escasez energética de la región, y mejore la navegabilidad del rÃo. Su construcción, sin embargo, también significará toda una serie de graves consecuencias, como por ejemplo la pérdida y la fragmentación de hábitats y otros efectos negativos sobre la biodiversidad, la desaparición de numerosos yacimientos arqueológicos y de otros lugares de interés histórico, y el desplazamiento forzoso de más de un millón de personas
Evaluating the impact of highway construction projects on landscape ecological risks in high altitude plateaus
[EN] In China and other countries, many highway projects are built in extensive and high-altitude flat areas called plateaus. However, research on how the materialisation of these projects produce a series of ecological risks in the landscape is very limited. In this research, a landscape ecological risk analysis model for high-altitude plateaus is proposed. This model is based on the pattern of land uses of the surrounding area. Our study includes buffer analysis, spatial analysis, and geostatistical analysis. We apply the model to the Qumei to Gangba highway, a highway section located in the southeast city of Shigatse at the Chinese Tibet autonomous region. Through global and local spatial autocorrelation analysis, the spatial clustering distribution of ecological risks is also explored. Overall, our study reveals the spatial heterogeneity of ecological risks and how to better mitigate them. According to a comparison of the risk changes in two stages (before and after the highway construction), the impact of highway construction on the ecological environment can be comprehensively quantified. This research will be of interest to construction practitioners seeking to minimize the impact of highway construction projects on the ecological environment. It will also inform future empirical studies in the area of environmental engineering with potential affection to the landscape in high-altitude plateaus.This research is supported by the Branch of China Road and Bridge Corporation (Cambodia) Technology Development Project (No.2020-zlkj-04); National Social Science Fund Projects (No.20BJY010); National Social Science Fund Post-financing Projects (No.19FJYB017); Sichuan-Tibet Railway Major Fundamental Science Problems Special Fund (No.71942006); Qinghai Natural Science Foundation (No. 2020-JY-736); List of Key Science and Technology Projects in China's Transportation Industry in 2018-International Science and Technology Cooperation Project (Nos. 2018-GH-006 and 2019-MS5-100); Emerging Engineering Education Research and Practice Project of Ministry of Education of China (No. E-GKRWJC20202914); Shaanxi Social Science Fund (No. 2017S004); Xi'an Construction Science and Technology Planning Project (Nos. SZJJ201915 and SZJJ201916); Shaanxi Province Higher Education Teaching Reform Project (No. 19BZ016); Fundamental Research for Funds for the Central Universities (Humanities and Social Sciences), Chang'an University (Nos. 300102239616, 300102281669 and 300102231641).Li, C.; Zhang, J.; Philbin, SP.; Yang, X.; Dong, Z.; Hong, J.; Ballesteros-Pérez, P. (2022). Evaluating the impact of highway construction projects on landscape ecological risks in high altitude plateaus. Scientific Reports. 12(1):1-16. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-08788-811612
- …