Scientists can play an indispensable role in minimizing adverse effects that might result from the Three Gorges Project, said a senior academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

Just how the gigantic project will affect the ecology and environment in the Three Gorges areas has concerned scientists both at home and broad, and is a major topic of discussion for Chinese scientists and technicians in the last stage of the project's feasibility study, said Chen Yiyu, vice-president of CAS.

The major ecological problems caused by the project can be found in the uncontrollable amount of silt, landslides, earthquakes, the influx of resettled residents, and the protection of renowned natural and historical sites and aquatic animals, especially rare species, said Chen, who has been studying the aquatic animals in the Yangtze River for many years.

Contrary to the opinions of some foreign scientists that silt-control will be an unsolvable problem for the Three Gorges Project, Chen said that the reservoirs in the Three Gorges areas will be able to maintain most of their water storage capacity by stocking clear water and draining the water with heavy silt content.

Using statistics from the hydrometric stations along the upper and lower reaches of the Three Gorges areas, Chinese scientists have already worked out the average amount of silt the river carries through the Three Gorges each year, he said.

Some areas in the upper reaches which have serious silt problems have been listed as the key spots for State water and soil conservation efforts, he said.

Chen said that the protection efforts which started in 1995, involving land animals and the rescuing of flooded species of both animals and plants in the area, will be finished by 2010.

The work includes building an experimental center to introduce the varieties of cash plants, two natural reserves and two on-site protection centers for 200 rare ancient trees.

He said that scientists from CAS's Institute of Aquatic Animals have conducted extensive surveys on the aquatic species in the Yangtze River and accumulated a vast amount of material. To a large extent, they are ready to protect the aquatic resources, he said.

Reserves for some rare species of fish are under construction and artificial breeding of some species reportedly has been successful, said Chen, who added that the loss of the aquatic resources can be kept to a minimum.

In response to some people's concern that earthquakes may damage the dams and cause flooding, Chen explained that the project is built as far away as possible from the epicenters of quakes measuring above five points on the Richter Scale.

Quakes that may be caused by flooding and the construction of dams cannot reach six on the Richter Scale, he said, and thus will not affect the quake-proof dam and major structures.

The project is famed for its large-scale resettlement of residents in the area, which started in 1984. The State has taken steps to head off potential problems that might arise, including raising the output in low-yielding farmland, developing the township enterprises and the tertiary industry and controlling the industrial pollution.

No outbreak of diseases has been reported among the 60,000 resettled people, he pointed out.

Chen said some of the natural and historical sites may be affected by the project, but many have been preserved, such as Baidicheng, a famous historical spot and the Minor Three Gorges.