Editing Three Gorges Dam (section)

=== Wildlife ===
Concerns about the dam's impact on wildlife predate the National People's Congress's approval in 1992.<ref name="Li">{{cite thesis | url=https://scholars.wlu.ca/etd/312 | title=Environmental planning of large-scale water projects: The Three Gorges Dam case, China | publisher=Wilfrid Laurier University |year=1989 | last=Li | first=Long | type=MA thesis}}</ref> This region has long been known for its rich biodiversity. It is home to 6,388 plant species, which belong to 238 families and 1,508 genera. Of these species, 57 are endangered.<ref name="Wu Jianguo">{{cite journal | first1=J. | title=Three-Gorges Dam – Experiment in Habitat Fragmentation? | last2=Huang | first2=J. | last3=Han | first3=X. | last4=Xie | first4=Z. | last5=Gao | first5=X. | journal=Science | year=2003 | volume=300 | issue=5623 | pages=1239–1240 | doi=10.1126/science.1083312 | last1=Wu | pmid=12764179| s2cid=128845721 }}</ref> These rare species are also used as ingredients in traditional Chinese medicines.<ref name="chetham">{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K9XVZR-o45EC | title=Before the Deluge: The Vanishing World of the Yangtze's Three Gorges | publisher=Palgrave Macmillan | last=Chetham | first=Deirdre | year=2002 | isbn=978-1-4039-6428-1}}</ref> The proportion of forested area in the region surrounding the Three Gorges Dam dropped from 20% in 1950 to less than 10% as of 2002,<ref name=chetham /> adversely affecting all plant species there. The region also provides habitats to hundreds of freshwater and terrestrial animal species.<ref name="Wu Jianguo" /> Freshwater fish are especially affected by dams due to changes in the water temperature and flow regime. Many other fish are injured in the hydroelectric plants' turbine blades. This is particularly detrimental to the region's ecosystem because the Yangtze River basin is home to 361 different fish species and accounts for 27% of China's endangered freshwater fish species.<ref>{{cite journal | first=P. | url=http://ir.ihb.ac.cn/handle/152342/9612 | title=Three-Gorges Dam: Risk to Ancient Fish | journal=Science | year=2003 | volume=302 | issue=5648 | pages=1149b–1151 | issn=0036-8075 | doi=10.1126/science.302.5648.1149b | last=Xie | pmid=14615514 | s2cid=31587732 | access-date=October 8, 2019 | archive-date=October 8, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191008091312/http://ir.ihb.ac.cn/handle/152342/9612 | url-status=dead | url-access=subscription }}</ref> Other aquatic species have been endangered by the dam, particularly the baiji, or [[Chinese river dolphin]],<ref name="autogenerated1" /> now extinct. In fact, Chinese Government scholars even claim that the Three Gorges Dam directly caused the extinction of the baiji.<ref name="TheAge_101307">{{cite web | access-date=October 8, 2019 | url=https://www.theage.com.au/world/three-gorges-dam-could-be-huge-disaster-20070927-ge5x0x.html | title=Three Gorges Dam 'could be huge disaster' | date=September 27, 2007 | last=Toy | first=Mary-Anne | language=en | website=The Age}}</ref>

Of the 3,000 to 4,000 remaining [[critically endangered]] [[Siberian crane]], many spend the winter in wetlands that the Three Gorges Dam will destroy.<ref>{{cite news | archive-date=December 6, 2000 | url=http://american.edu/TED/threedam.htm | title=Three Gorges Dam Case Study | publisher=American University, The School of International Service | access-date=January 20, 2008 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001206061700/http://www.american.edu/ted/THREEDAM.htm | url-status=live}}</ref> Populations of the [[Yangtze sturgeon]] are guaranteed to be "negatively affected" by the dam.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.flathatnews.com/news/1304/three-gorges-dam-a-blessing-or-an-environmental-disaster | title=Three Gorges Dam: A Blessing or an Environmental Disaster? | publisher=[[The Flat Hat]] | date=October 2, 2007 | access-date=June 21, 2015 | last=Theuerkauf | first=Ethan | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080222061320/http://www.flathatnews.com/news/1304/three-gorges-dam-a-blessing-or-an-environmental-disaster | archive-date=February 22, 2008 | url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2022 the [[Chinese paddlefish]] was declared extinct, with the last confirmed sighting in 2003.<ref>{{cite web |title=Chinese Paddlefish |url=https://www.iucnredlist.org/ja/species/18428/146104283 |website=iucnredlist.org |publisher=[[IUCN Red List]] |access-date=May 16, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230516041907/https://www.iucnredlist.org/ja/species/18428/146104283 |archive-date=May 16, 2023 |language=en |url-status=live}}</ref>