Ministry blocks dams on upper reaches of Yangtze

The Ministry of Environmental Protection rejected one of China's biggest hydropower dam projects on March 30 based on the results of an environmental impact assessment, the 21st Century Business Herald reported on Thursday.

The ministry said in its response to the assessments of a series of dam projects that all dam construction, including the Xiaonanhai Dam, should be banned on the Jinsha River, the upstream segment of the Yangtze River.

The response document, which hasn't been made public, said the national-level reserves protecting rare fish located upstream of the Yangtze have been greatly affected over the past 10 years because of the dam projects on the Jinsha.