Landslides and blasting
Fang Zhibin, an anxious villager and victim of the construction of a small hydropower station along Yuquan River, not far from the Shennongjia Forest Zone, complained that his house and windows had cracked because of blasting at the site.
In the past two years Fang has been regularly rattled at night because of construction blasting. Local villagers say they have had no option but to "get used to such a life."
Last August, rainfall triggered landslides in the construction area, and blasted tailing particles wrapped in mountain torrents surged along roads and rivers. It was revealed that such tailings from hydropower stations were usually dumped into rivers, and could threaten unguarded residents living near lower reaches.
"Construction blasting normally influences the mountain and therefore increases the danger of landslides" explained Chen Jin, a rock mass detection expert with the Yangtze River Scientific Research Institute. A geological survey, and detailed soil and water conservation plans are urgently needed, but such precautions are taken due to cost considerations, Chen added.
Species die out, jobs lost
The profit-driven hydropower stations have also spelled disaster for many rare species of fish in the area.
In a research paper published in 2007, Tian Chanbao, then vice director of the local Agricultural Bureau, revealed that locals had started to rely on mountain springs only for daily use, and that many fish commonly seen before had died out as rivers dried up.
Rare fish such as the schizothorax are picky about where they lay their eggs, and require a well preserved ecosystem. Such conditions have long been destroyed by the hydropower station boom at Shennongjia.
As fish disappear, the livelihood of nearby mountain villagers is undermined. The hydropower that has lifted the local government from poverty has failed to work similar magic on local residents, since fishing, their only means of livelihood, has vanished.
"I used to make 50,000 yuan ($7,828) a year from fishing before the damage," Chen Yiguo, a man who lives along the dried up Yuquan River, told the media. Now he has joined many of his fellow villagers who have become migrant workers in the city.
Ineffective crackdowns
In spite of the notably high tax income earned from the destructive hydropower industry, it's damage equal to at least 500 million yuan ($78 million) that has astonished the country.
In 2006, the State Environmental Protection Administration (SETA) ordered a shutdown of four kinds of small hydropower stations that lacked project approval, scientific design, inspections and supervision.
A number of such projects embarrassed the SETA by ignoring the order and operating as usual.
In 2007, four small hydropower stations that failed to meet the standards were halted by local authorities, yet have reopened in the last two years. Only 30% of such projects were qualified, said the vice secretary of the local Party Committee.
In response to the ineffective shutdowns, the local Forestry Bureau complained on many occasions that they were under pressure from the provincial government because economic development was still the urgent task on the agenda.
"Irresponsible local governments at various levels have now become addicted to the mentality that the central government will take care of the masses, so they have no interest in environmental protection," explained Weng Lida.
Residents say that such crackdowns are complicated by the fact that many government officials are personally involved in the projects and share the profits. Chen Guangwen, director of the local Hydroelectric Bureau, admitted that he receives 10,000 yuan ($1,565) to 15,000 yuan ($2,348) as an annual bonus from a small hydropower station, according to the Southern Weekend.
Another round of shutdowns was launched recently by the provincial government and investigation teams were sent to supervise the crackdown. The results have yet to come out.
