Promised to be a new source of clean, renewable and cost-effective electricity, Site C is an enormous project built to sustain the BC population for the next decade. It involves the construction of a third dam and a hydroelectric generating station that will support 450.000 homes per year. This long term project, however raised a lot of controversy regarding its impact on the community and ecosystem surrounding the site.

The construction of the dam will result in the flooding of 83 kilometres of the Peace River Valley, demolishing farming area and wildlife habitat. The $8 billion project pose a huge threat not only to the ecosystem but also the lives of First Nations that use the area to fish, hunt, and practice ceremonial services. This means, project site C generate a conflicting externalities to the community around the area. To be more exact, the development of project Site C will abolish activities such as farming, fishing, and hunting in the area. This externality should be considered crucial to the life of the First Nations as it affect their food source, directly impacting their day to day lives. Acknowledging that the project is built to create sustainability, I strongly believe it is more than possible for more sustainability problems to emerge from the building of this dam.

 

In addition, Site C project not only affect the materialistic side of First Nations lives but also the culture and practices that is furthermore threatened by the flooding of this area. The site is seen as a respected place, a home that is used for ceremonial practices which in my opinion should be reserved and protected for the sake of the future generation of the First Nations.

 

On the bigger scale, it is understandable that the increase in population and demand for energy creates pressure for the government to expand more energy source. Overall, I believe that BC’s government should put more effort in finding another solution to solve the problem of energy scarcity as the Site C project can not only generate great positive long term impact, but also negative.

 

References:

https://www.sitecproject.com/sites/default/files/info-sheet-need-and-alternatives-june-2014.pdf 

 https://www.bchydro.com/energy-in-bc/projects/site_c.html

http://www.vancouversun.com/opinion/op-ed/Opinion+need+Site/10188814/story.html

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/metro/Site+threat+billion+ecological+values/10075979/story.html