ABSTRACT
This chapter serves as a cautionary tale. It reflects critically on the development of the Three Gorges Dam (TGD), and its tremendous impacts on different areas in China. The chapter begins by surveying the Chinese hydropower condition, shifting to the TGD as a case study. The paper briefly summarizes the primary purposes and proposed benefits of the TGD. After that, it explores in detail the multiple boomerang effects resulting from this huge project, including some direct ones like natural biology, environmental problems and cultural heritage, and two more profound influences, economic and social aspects. The last part reflects on lessons to be learned from this study. In light of the new era of dam building based on a discourse of ‘clean energy’, it highlights several elements that may be beneficial for a socially equitable, environmentally sustainable and economically efficient future of hydropower development not only in China, but elsewhere in the developing world.
