A plan to build a hydropower dam on Poyang Lake has been altered after it was criticised by environmentalists and academicians for its potential damage to an already fragile ecology.

“We now plan to build only sluice gates at the mouth of the lake where water flows into the Yangtze,” said Zhu Laiyou, head of the Poyang water control projects construction office. “The gates will help maintain Poyang’s water levels during the drought season.”

Mr Zhu went on to say that the project would improve the wetland ecology, boost fishery and help develop tourism − all of which have been impacted by falling water levels in recent dry seasons.

However, Cao Wenxuan, a biologist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said he also had doubts about the government’s latest plan as the sluice gates would still narrow the lake’s mouth by one-third and result in rapid water flows that might disrupt the activities of fish.