By Wang Yinan, Research Institute of Resources and Environment Policies, DRC

Research Report, No.198, 2021 (Total 6263) 2021-7-15

Abstract: The attributes of developing small hydropower plants (hereinafter referred to as SHPs) are serving as the facilities for the comprehensive utilization of renewable and clean energy and the water resources in small and medium rivers, sustaining the power supply, preventing and controlling floods and offering irrigation for small- and medium-sized villages and towns which in the meantime, underpin the economic development and employment in mountainous and remote areas and help with the poverty alleviation efforts. As environment friendly facilities, SHPs with comprehensive social benefits have earned international recognition and in recent years, the United Nations and the World Bank have been calling on the proactive efforts to develop and construct SHPs in developing countries. However, given the relatively wide gap in terms of SHP development between China and developed countries like the U.S. and European counterparts, SHPs in China are regarded as the ecological disaster in some areas and encountered the crisis of forced demolition in “one-size-fits-all” fashion. To solve the problem, this paper has offered four tailored policy options in line with the idea of scientific governance based on the analysis on the harmful effects of the above-mentioned current practice, such as safety hazards to reservoirs and dams, the non-negligible damage to ecological environment and the negative impact on the economic development and social stability.

Keywords: Small Hydro-Power Plants (SHP), forced demolition in “one-size-fits-all” fashion, ecological environment, social and economic development, policy options