Have you heard about the Chinese company that’s been given permission to begin (not study, not plan, but begin) construction of a 300 kilometer Atlantic/Pacific canal in Nicaragua? Yeah, neither did I, until this morning.
A Nature article comments on the possible environmental devastation (and I don’t use that word lightly) that a canal could cause. For example, all the potential routes go through Lake Nicargua, where the majority of the countries drinking water comes from. No one can promise that ships won’t dump ballast, trash, etc. into the lake. This goes much farther than just pollutants too. Zebra mussels are an invasive species in most of the Americas and are often found in bilge water on ships. Since Lake Nicaragua also has to be dredged to almost double its depth (at least, in part), there will be a lot of damage to the benthic communites and who knows where the sludge will end up.
All three proposed routes go through a minimum of three developed or developing nature preserves. These include mangrove swamps and wetlands that protect the country from tropical storms and act a breeding ground for many fresh and salt water fishes. Both Atlantic and Pacific marine turtle hatcheries will be destroyed for the canal.
For terrestrial animals, for whom habitat loss is already a serious issue, even more land will be lost. Migration routes for non avians will be totally destroyed. There are numerous endangered species within the area set for construction. The estimate is that 1,000,000 acres of rainforest and wetlands will be lost.
Further, there is a human cost as well. Hundreds of indigenous villages will be destroyed and no plans have been announced for the relocation of the villagers. Archaeological sites will also be threatened.
What will Nicaragua get out of the deal? That much isn’t clear. The government has leased the land to the company for 50 years that it renewable for another 50 years. The contracts don’t seem to be available, so no one knows if the people of Nicaragua will get anything more than the lease fees. Indeed, the Panama Canal is shorter, meaning a quicker trip for boats. Also, there will need to be many more locks to raise the ships. Gatun Lake, in the Panama Canal, is 26 meters above sea level. Lake Nicaragua is 32 meters above sea level. It doesn’t sound like much, but (based on the Panama locks) an entire extra set of locks will be required on each side of the lake.
The government has also stated that the company doing the construction will also do the environmental study. Of course, they will be perfectly honorable about presenting all the findings…
It also seems that the head of the company given the rights to do this is something of a big planner without much follow through. The Smithsonian Magazine reports:
The chairman, Wang Jing, has so far failed to follow through on developing a telephone company he bought concessions for in Nicaragua last year, and there is likewise no signs of progress in 12 of the 20 countries where Wang has committed to other large-scale projects, the South China Morning Post reports.
In the case of the canal, Wang has at times expressed “implausible” plans, the Nature authors write, such as saying that the canal will be 520 meters (1,700 feet) wide. The entire project has so far has also been shrouded in secrecy, the Bangkok Post adds, from its environmental impacts to its logistics, and the government seems eager to hurry it along.
Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/nicaragua-plans-bisect-country-massive-canal-180949838/#ixzz2u1EChfbL
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At best, it seems like this is a pipe dream and will not happen at all.
At worst, this could be a truly epic environmental disaster for the entire country. Several people have speculated that this plan might set off another civil war in the region.
The government has already dismissed various legal complaints. There is a general call for conservation organizations to get involved.
