Mao Tse-tung famously declared “man must conquer nature,” and his political heirs have followed his dictum zealously by building dams and other gigantic projects that have altered the landscape of China.

But May’s deadly earthquake may tilt the balance of public opinion in favour of a more cautious and environmentally conscious approach to such development.

China has more dams than any other country, about half of the world’s total, and the presence of so many near the epicentre in Sichuan province has been a huge complication in the quake’s aftermath. After two weeks of downplaying the problem, the Water Resources Ministry admitted Sunday that 69 reservoirs and dams were on the verge of collapse, while nearly 3,000 have sustained damage.

The threat of flash floods has forced tens of thousands of traumatised quake survivors to relocate. The dams also prevented rescue workers from navigating the rivers to reach victims in inaccessible areas.

Many Chinese ascribe to the belief that natural disasters are the result of human failings and point to the widespread construction of dams as a possible culprit. The Min River, a tributary of the Yangtze River that runs through the path of destruction, is one of the most dammed-up rivers in the country.

Geologists long have warned of the danger of building dams in earthquake-prone locations. Not only can the structures collapse, but some tremors are believed to have been triggered by the weight of a dam’s reservoir.

“We don’t want to appear to benefit from human catastrophe by pushing an agenda, but we are making information about earthquakes and dams available,” said Peter Bosshard, policy director of International Rivers of Berkeley, California.

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