Jie Zhou: Summary of “Dams and Sustainability in China” in Woodrow Wilson Internatinal Center

Summary of “Dams and Sustainability in China” in Woodrow Wilson Internatinal Center

By: Jie Zhou
07/26/2011

This Tuesday the Woodrow Wilson Center Hosted a China Environment Forum on “Dams and Sustainability in China” as China is home to roughly half the world's large dams and hydropower is set to play a key role in helping China meet its 2020 carbon intensity reduction commitments. The speakers explored dam trends and challenges in China,

Speakers

Doug Smith, International Hydropower Association (IHA)
As a Sustainability Specialist at the IHA, Douglas has focused on the new Hydropower Sustainability Assesemtn Protocol. He has experience over twenty countries on four continents, and worked in Beijing for three years until 2010.

Desiree Tullos, Oregon State University
Desiree Tullos is an Associate Professor in the Biological and Ecological Engineering Department at Oregon State University. Some of her current research include effects of hydropower development in China, analysis and design of dam removal, dam operations, etc.. She has been working in China since 2005.

Wang Hao, China Institute for Water Resources and Hydropower Research
Dr. Wang has been engaged in research on hydrology and water resources for 30+ years. He joined China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research in 1985 where he currently directs the Water Resources Department. He has won numerous scienfitic awards and recognition from the Ministry of Water Resources for his research and service to hydrology and water resources science in China.

Key Points

There has long been debate on whether it’s right or wrong to build large amounts of dams. Dr. Wang addressed the necessity at the forum of building dams in China for 4 reasons: national demand, national energy security, and demand of climate change, and natural disster relief.

An estimated population of 1.5 billion by 2020 and the urbanization progress demands large quatity of water and electricity; the existed water shortage in 400+ cities in China largely counted on dams for water supply; Tsunami accident in Fukushima raised great concern on the unpredictable and uncertain nuclear power plants leaning to hydropower plants.

However, there are problems and various issues in dam construction and operation: insufficient attention to imigants; interdiction of fish migration; long-term operation safety. Thus, China faces challenges such as the goal to reduce 40%-45% of CO2 by 2020, to increase storage capacity per capita, and to take better care of immigrants near the water area of dams constructed, etc.

Mr.Doug Smith and the Internatinal Hydropower Association has developed lots of acitivities in China, and been fousing on the Hydropower sustainability Assessment Principal, the frame of hydropower sustainability, which procedures along early stage, preparation, implementation, and operation of dams. Preparation stage, for instance, involves environmental, economic, and social aspects. The case of Shuibuya Trail assessment is one of the successes of the frame.

Ms. Desiree Tullos emphasized the decision support tool, silience, and the size that matters in the design, construction, and operation phases of dams, and said we should integreated biophysical, socioeconomic, and geopolitical axes into these different phases alsong with sustainability priorities.

More information can be found at: http://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/dams-and-sustainability-china

Morgan McCollum: Looking to Afghanistan to Understand the Importance of Natural Resources

Review of:

"International Symposium on Harnessing Natural Resources for Peacebuilding:

Lessons from US and Japanese Assistance"

On Wednesday, July 20^th, I attended the International Symposium on Harnessing Natural Resources for Peacebuilding. The concept behind the symposium is that natural resources can and usually do play a significant role in post-conflict areas. The availability of natural resources can lend a hand in peacebuilding efforts, and can also be destructive to peacebuilding efforts. One example of positive natural resource use is giving excombatants access to arable land. However, with over 45% of post conflict areas falling back into conflict, the lack of natural resources can be an even more important issue. For example, the lack of water can be a detriment to the peacebuilding process. Natural resources, or the lack there of, tend to be neglected in the peacebuilding process, but can easily push an environment on the brink of chaos back to complete instability.

One of the most current examples of the importance of natural resources in a post-conflict area is Afghanistan. Two areas that Afghanistan struggle with are the implementation of roads, and the trafficking of drugs.

Professor Jon Unruh of McGill University states there are clearly many pros to building a road, including increased communication, travel, possible increased standard of living, etc. However, there is also the risk that building a road will add to the insurgency in Afghanistan. One example of this is that city dwellers that require the court system will now be able to travel to Taliban areas and use their courts, which often are easier and more corrupt. In addition, the implementation of a road has been linked to land grabbing, based on a study of nine provinces residing along the Ring Road. There is also the added risk of landmines and explosives being located on the roads, and the potential increase of military presence. This is a question of how land can and should be used, and whether roads will help with the peacebuilding process, or work entirely against it.

One of the biggest issues affecting our world at large is the trafficking of drugs. Mr. David Catarious discussed the role that Afghanistan plays in supplying 80 percent of the world’s opium supply. Poppy plants secrete latex that can then be extracted and turned into heroin. The heroin is then trafficked from Afghanistan to Russia and Europe and all across the world. Poppy plants have been found to be one of the most, if not the most, lucrative crop in Afghanistan. Not to mention it grows easily and can be grown in between various harvest seasons. Thus, it is difficult to convince farmers in Afghanistan to stop growing the crops; especially when the farmers themselves are not the ones trafficking the drugs. There is a large need for education and a need for higher value crops to be introduced to the land. It is a question of whether a. the land should be saved, and farmers should be educated, b. farmers should be allowed to continue to grow poppy, or c. the land should be eradicated entirely. One man asked a question that likely was on many people’s minds: as American citizens, should we care about the poppy farmers? Or rather, should we care about our youth that are dying every day from drug use? From an American citizen standpoint, should we not just go in there and eradicate every single poppy plant and not care if we harm another country’s farmers?  It’s clearly a perplexing issue.

While the meeting overall did not contain information on natural resources and China, the topics, including the two listed above, provide provoking lessons. It is clear that the potential is there for natural resources to a. cause initial conflict, b. aid peacebuilding efforts, or c. complicate peacebuilding processes. Thus, it is important for all countries to carefully analyze and protect their natural resources, for the continued disappearance of them could eventually lead to disaster. Looking to Afghanistan as an example, I leave with the question: are one country’s natural resource concerns solely its own, or are they a global problem?

For more information, a final copy of Harnessing Natural Resources for Peacebuilding: Lessons from US and Japanese Assistance, edited by Carl Bruch, Mikiyasu Nakayama, and Ilona Coyle, is scheduled to publish in August 2011.

Sarah Xiyi Chen: IFCE Summary of the “Farm Bill Energy Title: Rural Energy for America Program”

IFCE Summary of the “Farm Bill Energy Title: Rural Energy for America Program” briefing hosted by the Environmental Law and Policy Center (EPLC) Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI)

7/19 in the Russell Senate Office Building

all materials accessible online

Speakers:

--Bill Midcap, Farmer and Rural Development Specialist, Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, Colorado

--Bennie Hutchins, Principle, Ag Energy Resources, Mississippi

--Bruce Knight, Dairy Advisor, Strategic Conservation Solutions, LLC and former Chief, Natural Resource Conservation Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C.

--Andy Olsen, Senor Policy Advocate, Environmental law and Policy Center, Wisconsin

            The United States Farm Bill, the primary federal legislation for agriculture and food, is coming before Congress again soon in the next few years. One aspect of the bill must address farm energy programs. The 2008 Farm Bill Energy Title provides mandatory funding for producing clean energy and power, advancing biofuels, and saving energy. The Energy Title has a $1.12 billion budget, with roughly 25% of that money going towards Biorefinery Assistance, another 25% towards the Bioenergy Program from Advanced Biofuels, and another 25% going towards the Rural Energy Assistance Program (REAP), which was the focus of the presentation. The last quarter of the budget went to an array of other programs supporting the Energy Title’s goals.

            REAP is the only significant federal financing incentive available for agricultural producers and rural small businesses. Eligible technologies for funding include energy efficiency, wind, solar, geothermal, anaerobic digesters, biomass energy, biofuels, marine energy, and small hydroelectric generators. REAP beneficiaries must raise 75% of needed capital to receive a grant that pays for 25%, and the maximum grants are $500,000 for renewable energy and $250,000 for energy efficiency projects. 20% of REAP’s funds are set aside for smaller grants. In terms of loans, the minimum guarantee is $5,000 and the maximum $25 million.

            REAP has been active in all agricultural sectors and states and creates not only energy efficiency and security, but also tens of thousands of new jobs. Projects include Jubilee Farms, a catfish producer in Missouri that installed a deep well to extract warm water for the fish hatchery, eliminating the need to heat 60 million gallons of water a year and saving $30,000 a year in energy costs; South Alabama Grocers, a family-owned grocery that replaced its old inefficient refrigerators for an annual energy cost savings of $53,000; and a member of the Rural Electric Convenience Cooperative’s Gob Nob Wind Turbine, which received a $375,000 REAP grant and placed a wind turbine on top of a 60-ft pile of coal mining waste.

            Overall, REAP appears to have significant positive impacts on rural energy by turning consumers into energy producers through Rural Electric Cooperatives, promoting energy independence, saving money, reducing emissions, creating jobs, and eliminating waste.

Morgan McCollum: "German Foreign, Security, and Energy Policy Reset? The Green Party Perspective"

German Foreign, Security, and Energy Policy Reset? The Green Party Perspective

July 13, 2011

CSIS, DC

Jurgen Tritten is currently the Chairman of the Parliamentary Group of the Green Party in the German Bundestag. On July 13, 2011, he spoke on a number of issues affecting Germany, including the recent decision to shut down all nuclear power plants by 2022.

Over the past few days, news has been released that Germany has sealed the fate on the future of nuclear power within the country. Parliament has declared the immediate shut down of seven nuclear reactors, followed by the phase out of all nuclear power plants by 2022. This will result in the disappearance of 23% of previous energy supplied to Germany.[1] Possible adverse side effects include a deficit of energy within Germany, leading to an increase in energy imports from France and the Czech Republic, as well as decreased exports from Germany to countries such as the Netherlands. In addition, there is the increased risk of higher energy prices for the EU as a whole.[2]

Many view this decision to shut down all plants as a rather rash decision following the events at Fukushima, Japan. Mr. Tritten argues the opposite. For starters, he says, the decision to shut down nuclear power plants is not a new one. Germany has started closing down plants since the Nuclear Consensus of 2001—10 years ago. In addition, while Germany is the first EU country to phase out nuclear energy entirely, the EU as a whole has seen a decline in nuclear power plants.

One of the biggest issues with nuclear power, Tritten states, is that no one wants to invest. Nuclear power plants are not competitive price wise, with other forms of renewable energy more market compatible.

 Finally, one of the reasons renewable energy has become so popular is due to increased national security—mainly due to less reliance on foreign countries. However, with Fukushima as an example, nuclear energy does not provide energy security.

So, is there a need to worry about Germany’s decision? Tritten says no. Germany currently invests 30 billion Euros per year on renewable energy technology. Due to binding EU renewable energy targets, 20% of energy in 2020 must be from renewables, and Germany has already invested much time, research, and money, into other forms of renewable energy. Tritten says that the EU is also lucky due to the presence of a European power grid. This allows energy to be imported and exported across the EU easily. For example, France needs a lot of imported energy in the summer, because for safety reasons many nuclear plants must be shut down due to the heat.

Mr. Tritten is very positive that Germany’s recent decision was the right decision. Overall, it will be very interesting to see how all turns out for Germany in coming years, if recent environmental decisions will help or hurt the Green Party, and if other countries follow in Germany’s example.

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[1] http://www.platts.com/RSSFeedDetailedNews/RSSFeed/ElectricPower/8094672

[2] http://www.resourceinvestor.com/News/2011/7/Pages/Germany-Unplugged.aspx