Global Environment Outlook 3 (GEO 3)

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STATE OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND POLICY RETROSPECTIVE: 1972–2002

OUR CHANGING ENVIRONMENT: Three Gorges dam, China

1987

2000

The Three Gorges Dam is located northwest of Yichang city in Hubei Province, China, a sub-tropical region that supports evergreen and deciduous mixed forest. In the images, vegetation appears natural green, water bodies blue, bare land pink and built-up areas bluish-violet. The images show the great changes that have taken place to farmland and to the original bush forest. In the area round the

Three Gorges dam (dead centre of both images), a formerly vegetated area has been largely replaced by a man-made landscape. Soil erosion in this area has been intensified, as can be seen in the year 2000 image.

Imagery and text: China National Environmental Monitoring Centre