The valley of the damned. (Cover Story: Cordillera Greens).Perhaps the most controversial dam ever to be built to date is the San Roque Dam San Roque Dam may refer to:
San Manuel is politically subdivided into 14 barangays. . Measuring 200 meters high and 1.13 km. across, it is expected to have a storage capacity of 850 million cubic meters. It will extend 25 km. upstream and have a water surface area of at least 12.8 sq. km. The San Roque Dam is expected to generate at least 345 megawatts of electricity--more than the combined 175 megawatts generated by the Ambuklao and Binga dams. The San Roque Multi-Purpose Dam (SRMPD) will be the 12th largest dam in the world, the highest dam in Asia and the third largest dam to be built on the Agno River. Since its conceptualization con·cep·tu·al·ize v. con·cep·tu·al·ized, con·cep·tu·al·iz·ing, con·cep·tu·al·iz·es v.tr. To form a concept or concepts of, and especially to interpret in a conceptual way: in the 1970s, the indigenous peoples along the borders of Benguet and Pangasinan have opposed and resisted its construction. And with valid reason. The $1.19 B project not only stands to displace thousands of households, it will also dislocate dis·lo·cate v. To displace a body part, especially to displace a bone from its normal position. Ibaloi communities and wipe out more than a thousand hectares of farmlands, fishponds, gold panning sites and rice fields. It will also affect the environment in a very dangerous way. For example, in 1999, flashfloods caused by the construction of the dam, have destroyed rice fields and vegetable crops of about 162 households in San Manuel. The floods also destroyed one communal irrigation irrigation, in agriculture, artificial watering of the land. Although used chiefly in regions with annual rainfall of less than 20 in. (51 cm), it is also used in wetter areas to grow certain crops, e.g., rice. system and partially destroyed six others. Other environmental hazards that the dam may pose to communities around the dam are siltation, sedimentation, the trapping of river borne soil nutrients and toxic concentrations, behind the dam and earthquake-induced flooding. Sediment-control check dams, which will be built at several points along the Agno, will not suffice to hold all the silt that will clog up the Agno river. Sediment build up may rise up to an estimated 6.35 million cubic meters per year. A watershed plan proposes only two methods to control sedimentation caused by erosion: reforestation Reforestation The reestablishment of forest cover either naturally or artificially. Given enough time, natural regeneration will usually occur in areas where temperatures and rainfall are adequate and when grazing and wildfires are not too frequent. and regulation of livelihood activities deemed destructive to the environment, such as swidden swid·den n. An area cleared for temporary cultivation by cutting and burning the vegetation. [Dialectal alteration of obsolete swithen, from Old Norse svidhna, to be burned.] farming and timber harvesting. Siltation will be a serious problem. When the dam becomes filled with silt, it has to dredged and all the water released, which in turn may cause flooding. Ambuclao and Binga dams have shown that this can happen. The dam will also trap important soil nutrients that farmers in the lowlands rely heavily on. The dam will also trap mine tailings containing gold, copper, zinc, lead, nickel, iron, manganese, cadmium, selenium selenium (səlē`nēəm), nonmetallic chemical element; symbol Se; at. no. 34; at. wt. 78.96; m.p. 217°C;; b.p. about 685°C;; sp. gr. 4.81 at 20°C;; valence −2, +4, or +6. , molybdenum molybdenum (məlĭb`dənəm) [Gr.,=leadlike], metallic chemical element; symbol Mo; at. no. 42; at. wt. 95.94; m.p. about 2,617°C;; b.p. about 4,612°C;; sp. gr. 10.22 at 20°C;; valence +2, +3, +4, +5, or +6. , arsenic, mercury and potassium cyanide. This will in turn, make the water toxic and make it inappropriate for agriculture. It will also kill acquatic organisms. The San Roque Dam has also been constructed within the Philippine fault zone. That makes the dam potentially hazardous when earthquakes occur. An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA (Electronic Industries Alliance, Arlington, VA, www.eia.org) A membership organization founded in 1924 as the Radio Manufacturing Association. It sets standards for consumer products and electronic components. ) and an Environmental Feasibility study has been conducted for the San Roque Dam project but concerned government agencies have not strictly enforced environmental regulations on the project. While the government may consider the San Roque Dam project the answer to the Philippines' energy crisis, its construction will cause and is causing a lot of ecological imbalances and socio-cultural problems. As the dam is almost finished, communities and concerned citizens should not stop being vigilant not only about the implementation of environmental regulations on the dam, but also in finding ways to protect whatever remains of the environment within and around the dam. Reference: The San Roque Dam Primer. www.inq7.net |
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