Although there have been so many debates on the establishment of Heishanxia Hydro-Junction——due to its potential threat of causing earthquakes and floods——which may in turn destroy farmlands and historical sites, these disputes have not yet covered the contents about biodiversity. Therefore, once this huge project is settled, local fishes will be certainly disturbed and cause the whole ecosystem even more vulnerable.
Among all elements in this fragile nature system, Northernbronze-gudgeon (Coreius septentrionalis (Nichols), 1925) has been added in the List of First-class Protected Animals of China. What is worse is that this kind of fish merely live around the Yellow River featuring geographical and ecological advantages for them and that artificial reproduction and conservation technology does not prove to be mature enough. Therefore, the new project on hydraulic considerations could be particularly harmful to ecology.
Northernbronze-gudgeon (Coreius septentrionalis ((Nichols), 1925)
Source: Book-Fishes’ Illustrations of the Yellow River
Besides the fish I mentioned above, more fishes are unfortunately implicated into this human activity like Rhinogobio nasutus. To be more specific, as the new hydraulic engineering item is built, hydrologic specialties, oxygen content of per unit volume of water, as well as more natural features about the river ecosystem will be invariably changed irreversibly.
Rhinogobio nasutus
Source: Book-Fishes’ Illustrations of the Yellow River
In addition to dangers upon creatures, the new dam construction will also reclaim a great scope of wild lands, which will lead to tremendous water-soil losses and widespread salinization.
As a whole, this non-scientific, non-economic, and non-environment-friendly infrastructure plan should be modified and reevaluated from a biodiversity-related perspective and should guarantee a high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin.
Original Chinese article:
Translator/Kim
Contribution:
Do you know? CBCGDF is a non-profit organization. We rely on crowd-funding and donations. You have the opportunity today to help us to advance biodiversity conservation. Donate today to power up the movement to make this a better world for all life.
https://www.paypal.me/CBCGDFChina
http://www.cbcgdf.org/English/ConfirmDonaTion/0.html