RJA #2b: Research Topic

I chose my research topic to be about dams and the effect they have on ecosystems, but also the effects they have on the people in the communities they are being built in. I would like to primarily focus on the dams being built or ones that have been built in India, Japan and various Asian countries where it is densely populated. I chose this topic because one usually do not associate dams with being harmful directly to the population, and sadly enough most people do not even know that dams significantly alter ecosystems. I chose this topic to explore it more in depth for myself, but also to help educate others who might know little to nothing on this subject as well.

I have limited knowledge on dams and their effects thus far, which is why I was so interested in exploring this topic further. I was exposed to this information first hand in my Concepts and Connects of Geography class, which was a class that focused more on the socioeconomic problems of regions, rather than physical geography itself. My professor was especially interested in water problems, as a problem with water can and does directly affect everything. We read a very long article written by an academic scholar in India, who was trying to raise awareness about a billion dollar dam being funded by the World Bank, even after they found out that it would displace millions of people. The facts were astonishing, so much so that I was fascinated to learn more. There are several arguments to be raised, one being that a dam will create jobs, stimulate the economy, generate power etc. On the other hand, big businesses that are eager to fund a massive project such as this and make a profit, are more often than not okay with overlooking safety regulations to get the project moving along, while compromising the lives of thousands if not millions of people in return for profit. There is so many factors and arguments that play into funding and building a dam, but these couple of arguments are what I would like to focus on.

What I am unsure of or do not know about this topic is hard facts and statistics. I am not aware of major violations that occur, or what secret deals are being made by local governments and big business to get a dam built for the right price. Also, I would like to know more about the citizens resistance, movements that occur to stop the building of dams, but also more in depth of what people are willing to compromise (morals, ethics etc) for big paychecks from building dams. I would love to find more in depth information regarding the toll a dam takes on not only its local ecosystems, but how overtime that sends a ripple effect into the rest of the environment. I would like to read more about each individual take on both arguments, that being for and against the building of dams, individual accounts of people affected by this personally. After all is said and done, it is then that I believe I can formulate a good argument, and have a better understanding how all of it is interrelated.