Just as Americans moved out west in search of wealth and prosperity in the 19^th century, China has initiated its own gold rush, prompting development in Western regions in hopes of finding the same thing. The Wilson Center recently released an interesting report titled “Rock, Metal, and Electronic: Yunnan’s environmental discord Between Mining, aluminum, and Hydropower,” detailing China’s Great Western Development Campaign. China has pumped half a trillion into this project in an attempt to raise the economic standards and attract more people out west.

In the Yunnan province, there are resources such as water, gas, and electricity waiting to be extracted. Moreover, the unique geography of the Yunnan provinces lends itself to generating hydropower because it hosts three rivers – the Yangtze, Mekong, and Salween. The potential of this is enormous with the ability to provide 97.95 GW of energy and fully power four major cities in the south.

Furthermore, the region is rich in many mineral resources like lead, tin, iron, coal, aluminum and many others.  Hydroelectric power in the Yunnan region is complementary because metallurgy requires a lot of energy. Specifically, China is home to some of the most aluminum producers and aluminum plants which require a lot of energy in a process called aluminum electrolysis. More hydroelectric power in the region means that more power can be reserved in dams for these energy intensive industries.

According to the report, not everything about China’s plans to develop the Western regions is cut and dry. These projects face opposition from local communities that argue new power plants or the introduction of new businesses will undermine environmental protection and contribute to poorer water and air quality. The aluminum industry has sought to circumvent by registering illegal electrolysis plants or labeling electrolysis plants as aluminum profiling processing plants.

There have been a slew of grassroots campaigns aimed at protecting the environment which are now turning their attention to the Yunnan province.  Many groups have taken to various media outlets including social media to raise awareness about the potential impacts of continued industrialization in Yunnan. However, they are facing an uphill battle as many local governments are either willing or being pressured to cover up the truth in favor of economic development.

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