Three Gorges Dam murky. In 1997, the Three Gorges area had 10% forestation, down from 20% in the 1950s. Research by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization research suggested that the Asia-Pacific region would, overall, gain about of forest by 2008. That is a significant change from the net loss of forest each year in the 1990s. This is largely due to China's large reforestation effort. This accelerated after the 1998 Yangtze River floods convinced the government that it must restore tree cover, especially in the Yangtze's basin upstream of the Three Gorges Dam. Concerns about the potential wildlife impact of the
Three Gorges ladder of the Chinese mainland—which form the Qutang Gorge (), the Wu Gorge (), and the Xiling Gorge () along the Yangtze River, which is where this area gets its name. The Three Gorges span from the western, upriver, cities of Fengjie and Yichang, in Chongqing Municipality, to the east, downstream, to Hubei province. The Three Gorges Reservoir Region is approximately in length, while the Three Gorges themselves occupy approximately within this region. The Three Gorges region has attracted global attention due to the Three Gorges Dam, which is changing the culture and environment of the region. Although it is