The first annual health report on the Yangtze River indicates
that the billions of tons of waste that continue to be dumped into
China's longest waterway are taking a serious toll its aquatic
life.
The 2007 annual report on Yangtze River protection and
development shows that more than 600 kilometers of the river are in
critical condition. The report says almost 30 percent of its major
tributaries, including the Minjiang, Tuojiang, Xiangjiang, and
Huangpu rivers, are seriously polluted.
The report says the river's annual harvest of aquatic products
dropped from 427,000 tons in the 1950s to about 100,000 tons in the
1990s.
A separate study by the Yangtze River Water Resources Commission
shows cities along the river discharge at least 14.2 billion tons
of polluted water every year, 42 percent of China's total.
Pollution, damming and too many boats have caused a dramatic
decline in Yangtze aquatic life. While rare species such as the
white-flag dolphin are feared to be extinct, even common species
such as carp are gasping for survival, the report said.
"The impact of human activities on the Yangtze water ecology is
largely irreversible," said Yang Guishan, a researcher of the
Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology under the Chinese
Academy of Sciences and one of the chief editors of the report.
"It's a pressing job to regulate such activities in all the Yangtze
drainage areas and promote harmonious development of man and
nature."
The report, complied by Yang's institute, the Yangtze River
Water Resources Commission and the WWF, also warned of the higher
flood risks.
The Yangtze accounts for about 35 percent of China's total fresh
water resources but it's also responsible for 70 to 75 percent of
the country's floods, the report said.
"Flood control remains an arduous task along the Yangtze, given
the rising temperature and frequent occurrences of extreme weather
over the last 50 years," said Yang.
Although the Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest water storage
facility, has reduced flood risks in the middle reaches, the risk
of flooding remains high in the lower reaches, he said.
The report also assessed the Three Gorges Dam project, showing
its huge reservoir is seriously polluted by pesticides,
fertilizers, and sewage from passenger boats.
China allocated 4 billion yuan (US$513 million) in 2002 to
offset the impact of the dam on the ecology, the local environment,
and the local people, said Prof. Weng Lida, former head of the
Yangtze River Water Resources Commission, adding that more cash is
coming.
"We have to take into consideration the proper settlement of the
people who have been displaced, environmental protection, heavy
silting, and the prevention of geological disasters," said Weng who
cautioned that "faster is not always better."
The water level in the Three Gorges reservoir reached a landmark
156 meters last October, but some provinces want the level to go
higher so more electricity can be produced, Weng said.
"Higher water levels will worsen pollution and silting. We have
to seek more sustained development," he said.
(Xinhua News Agency April 16, 2007)
