Planned dam won't harm environment, say officials

Authorities from East China's Jiangxi province said the dam-building project in Poyang Lake will have little impact on the environment and a variety of species of fishes and migrating birds.

"We have carried out a thorough assessment to analyze and minimize possible damage to the ecosystem, such as the wetland, the migrating birds, fishes and the water quality," Sun Xiaoshan, director of the Jiangxi provincial water resources bureau and also a deputy to the National People's Congress, told China Daily at the sidelines of the annual NPC session on Monday.

The project has received preliminary approval from the Ministry of Water Resources, Sun said. The dam, consisting of sluice gates, will only control the water level in the lake and may relieve severe droughts like those in recent years, he added.