| Summary: | The fresh water resources, which we thought were inexhaustible, are in fact scarce and often difficult to access. According to most recent data, less than 1% of all fresh water on the planet is readily accessible to humans. But this small proportion could be enough if the geographical distribution of this resource were better balanced. At present, 1,2 billion people in the world, this is one out of five, do not have access to the vital resource fresh water. The lack of water is also related to demographical growth and pollution. This reality is particularly true in the case of the People's Republic of China. With a population of more than one billion and an increase of twelve million people per year, China cannot provide quality fresh water to all its inhabitants. Since the economic reform of the late 1970s, cities, industry and farmers relentlessly pour enormous quantities of untreated water into the environment, which contributes to contaminate the country’s fresh water reserves. This pollution has serious environmental and economic consequences, which are compounded by the natural disasters, which regularly strike the country. In order to solve these complex problems, ambitious projects such as the construction of the Three Gorges dam, which will be largest in the world, were put forward. This project will be the subject of an analysis of sustainable development in China. This allows to account for the social, economic and environmental impacts that this mega project causes.
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