Beijing - A new WWF
study finds that many Yangtze River Basin
lakes are shrinking dramatically and could
dry up completely if measures aren’t taken
to stem the impacts of climate change, increased
industrialization, and urbanization along
China’s longest river.
The Yangtze Conservation and Development
Report 2011 (YCDR 2011) shows that lower
water levels, rapid urbanization and large
water infrastructure projects across the
Yangtze Basin are impacting the overall
health of many lakes along the 6,300km river,
which supports the livelihoods of nearly
one-third of China’s population.
“Lake ecosystems in
the Yangtze River Basin are showing tell-tale
signs of degradation, and problems like
water eutrophication from industrial runoff
are on the rise. We are also seeing a decline
in flood retention capacity and insufficient
water supply. These changes are putting
increased pressure on many of the species
found in the Yangtze, including the finless
porpoise and Chinese carps,” says Yang Guishan,
President of the Nanjing Institute of Geography
and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Climate change in the
Upper Yangtze
While water resources will increase over
the short term, the YCDR 2011 predicts that
the long-term impacts of climate change
will result in massive water shortages in
headwater regions.
“Over the short term, increased glacial
melt in the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau means
more water. But after the glaciers are gone
– and with them the source of the Yangtze
River - available water resources will decline.
The lack of water could cause lakes that
depend on glacial melt to shrink or dry
up completely,” says Yang Guishan.
Pollution, population
and land reclamation
From 1950-2010, the central and lower reaches
of the Yangtze lost approximately two thirds
of its lakes due to increased land reclamation
for agriculture and industrial development.
This has resulted in a water storage capacity
loss roughly equivalent to 20 million Olympic-sized
swimming pools – and means that smaller
floods now have the potential to inflict
much more damage.
Meanwhile, population
growth and rapid economic development -
particularly in the central and lower Yangtze
- as well as excessive fish farming has
resulted in more serious water pollution
issues and increased instances of eutrophication,
a process where excessive nutrients diminish
water quality in lakes or other bodies of
water.
Water quality monitoring
data from 2007-2010 in the central and lower
Yangtze shows that 77 per cent of the 77
lakes with an area of 10 km2 or more could
not provide safe drinking water, while over
88 per cent were in various stages of eutrophication.
Meanwhile, in 2009 alone, over 33 billion
tonnes of sewage was discharged into the
Yangtze River Basin, nearly a 22 per cent
rise from 2003.
Solutions
Similar to the diagnosis offered in the
previous two editions of the YCDR, the 2011
update points out that more work still needs
to be done to ensure the future health of
the Yangtze River:
“The Yangtze Conservation
and Development Report 2011 shows that a
comprehensive action plan is an absolute
necessity to ensure the future of this irreplaceable
resource,” said Jim Grandoville, CEO of
WWF China. “WWF will be working with partners
and seek solutions towards the protection
and sustainable usage of the lakes along
the Yangtze.”
The report also emphasizes
the importance of mitigating the accumulative
impacts of large infrastructure projects
such as the Three Gorges Dam and South to
North Water Transfer Project on the Yangtze
River, especially downstream.
Known
as the “Yangtze health check”, this is the
third edition of the Yangtze Conservation
and Development Report. It is jointly developed
by WWF, the Nanjing Institute of Geography
and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
and the National Development Bank.
