The company that owns China’s problem-stricken Three Gorges Dam is expected to sign a pact with The Nature Conservancy to conduct a feasibility study on flood risk and floodplain management within the Three Gorges Dam reservoir. The Three Gorges Dam Company and the green group have also agreed to cooperate on researching eco-minded management of four more dams that are planned to be built upstream on the Yangtze River. These four dams have the potential to increase output of ecologically sustainable hydropower and generate more money from electricity generation, which could then be put toward warning systems, flood insurance, and floodplain protection downstream, says The Nature Conservancy. The Conservancy says it doesn’t support dams, but nonetheless, “These dams will be built,” says the group’s Yangtze River project manager. “We must use our experience and knowledge to reduce their ecological impact.”
