Engineering and Construction Issues that Surrounded the Three Gorges Essay

Engineering and Construction Issues that Surrounded the Three Gorges Project - Essay Example Riddled with massive corruption that even worsened the environmental hazards tied to the project, the Three Gorges projects holds the world record for the number of people displaced (Shu, 2012 pg. 14). The most damning yet unthinkable reality is the number of people displaced during the construction of the Dam. From the onset, the dam was intended to be a massive project, little was it known that the effects will be enormous as well. According to available statistics, close to 1.2 million people were ejected out of their dwellings to give room for the project. As if not enough, several cities, towns and villages were flooded. As such, the project led to unimaginable levels of human rights violations. Moreover, the environmental impacts of this initially heroic undertaking are incredible. To make the situation even worse, the environmental effects of this project may continue into the unforeseen future if measures are not taken to mitigate them. As the dam transforms the landscape of the area, so are the weather pattern and ultimately, the climatic conditions. Precisely, while the erosion is likely to cause landslides, the weight of water in the reservoir is likely to cause reservoir-induced seismicity. Also, the model of this dam is likely to develop complications in future, which may in turn add more trouble to the existing string of trouble for the locals. As much as the effects may be blamed on corruption and the engineers, it is also certain that the size of this project may have significantly contributed to the current predicaments facing the dam. Up until now, more and more controversies spring up from engineers concerning the model of the Three Gorges Dam, which, unfortunately, is already being replicated by the Chinese engineers world-over.