Mapping existing and foreseen environmental impacts related to the Belt and Road initiative

Abstract

China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) with the participation of over 100 countries (which together represent 48% of the world population and which produce 23% of global GDP) is the largest infrastructure development plan in history. It aims at reaching: political coordination, structural connectivity, unhindered trade, financial integration and connectivity between different populations along its routes. However, an overview of global environmental history clearly highlights that the development of large infrastructures aiming at reaching economic development is on the other hand largely responsible for the catastrophic loss of biodiversity and environmental pollution phenomena recorded since the late 1980s. An infrastructure project on this scale will necessarily pass through ecofragile regions and key biodiversity areas (KBAs) therefore representing a severe risk for the environment. The main aim of the thesis is to map the existing and foreseen environmental impacts and risks related to the BRI, discussing them in the wider context of the environmental impacts of large infrastructures at global level. I will start by delineating an environmental history of large infrastructures. Against this background I will then introduce and discuss the overall architecture and impact of BRI, highlighting its role in replicating models of development that have hoistrorically brought about huge environmental and ecological challenges. Finally, I will employ a case study approach to zoom in the reality of BRI implementation in a socio-ecologically vulnerable context. The WWF spatial analysis of 2017 identifies the area of south-east Asia as within the ones most likely to be at higher risks as a result of the BRI corridors. Therefore, I have decided to focus on BRI impact on this region, epitomizing biodiversity threats brought about by the initiative. As a case study I will analyse the Batang Toru Hydropower project. An under construction power plant which is part of the Belt and Road Initiative and it is of great relevance in this essay: it is a clear example of a plant that has already caused massive damages in the ecosystem of North Sumatra, Indonesia; moreover, if built, will most probably have an irreversible impact on the environment, the society and biodiversity of the region..