China Part 1

China in Motion: 

China in Motion

Hazardous Waste: 

Hazardous Waste

2 Different Wastes: 

2 Different Wastes China’s Self-Generated Waste 11.71 Million Tons 17% Growth Rate 2nd Largest in the World 2 Biggest Sources: Industry and Agriculture Imported Waste (E-Waste) 100,000’s Tons Imported 50-80% of World’s E-Waste Exported to Asia

E-Waste “Recycling”: 

E-Waste “Recycling” Why? Cheaper Labor Lower Occupational and Environmental Standards Who? Family run workshops Village Factories

Waste Industry: 

Waste Industry Bury Untreated Waste  Soil/Water Contamination Incinerate  Air Contamination Hydrochloric Acid Acid Worker

Health Effects: 

Health Effects Stomach and Lung Disease Miscarriages Birth Deformities Premature Deaths

Gov’t and Waste Control: 

Gov’t and Waste Control Central Government Ban No Central Enforcement Local Government Support High Profits More Jobs Weak Regulation Weak Enforcement

Solutions: 

Solutions Produce/Consume Less Higher Safety/Environmental Standards Enforcement and Unified Monitoring System Public Awareness SEA, SEPA, etc. More and Better Waste Treatment Facilities; Better Technology Role for Private Investors Waste-to-Energy Plants China Credit Holdings Ltd. Plan for New Waste-to-Energy Complex

Slide9: 

China’s Water Problem What are the main problems? - Northern China suffers from droughts. Southern China from floods. Industrial water use has soared due to economic growth Water scarcity and pollution hurting Beijing and Tianjin the most. In rural areas about 60 million people (mostly farmers) barely get enough water for daily need. Rather than changing consumption patters, government has searched for new water sources.

Slide10: 

Pollution from untreated waste discharge and agricultural run-off causes low quality water. Lack of water: urbanization, underinvestment of water supply, river diversion. - Attention to economic growth means much less water for agriculture.

Slide11: 

The Rivers - How do they play a role? - Mekong River project would take water from river source thus cutting off water to southern parts of Asia. - Yellow River (biggest river in China) - River runs dry when it used to constantly flood. In 2002 government responded to lack of water. Shut off water to Shandong agricultural areas. - When Shandong suffered huge agricultural looses moved water from Inner Mongolia and Ningxia hurting the agriculture in these areas. - Yangtze River - Flooding due to deforestation. - Lots of pollution due to poor waste management techniques, soil erosion and industrial run-off. - Diverting water from south to north which is expensive and displaces many people.

Slide12: 

China’s Main Rivers and their Water Quality

Slide13: 

What has caused the problems? Strong central and planned economy under Communism enabled the misuse of power. ~ Strength of an emperor measured by his ability to control water. Changed in 1979 with marker-oriented reforms and new laws. ~ Power decentralized and more given to provinces. ~ Good for economic growth but led to competition for water. State Council in 1987 made a water allocation scheme to use about 1/3 of water for ecological purposes . - Rapid industrialization and urbanization around the Yellow River

Slide15: 

Failure of the Government Over the years China has lowered the water amount for provinces and created different levels for drought time. ~ Laws are in place but weak monitoring and enforcement capability. ~ If a province wants water they just need to ask. Top-down approach. If provinces don’t use water than will be diverted to other provinces. No conservation efforts. Focus on economic development especially hurts farmers.

Slide16: 

What are some of the economic losses? Poor conservation results in water scarcity and pollution. Government still favors supply-side water management over conservation work. - Loss: $24 million annually in agriculture output - Loss: $14 billion in industrial output.

Slide17: 

What are the possible solutions? Enable provinces to buy water or trade water rights. ~ Create a system that does not force provinces to compete with each other. Work with provinces to develop a water conservation scheme Water Law (2002): gives river basin commission more control over water diversions, need a permit to withdraw water and payment of water resource fees. Raise water prices Costs for pollution treatments passed to polluter Farmers sell water to factories Produce less water-needy crops.

Slide18: 

Current Water Diversion Projects Three Gorges Dam: Help prevent floods and ease safer navigation in the upper and middle areas of the Yangtze River. Provide 6% of China’s total electrical energy. 350 miles upstream and displace millions of people. May also fill with siltation behind dam that will hurt water quality and wildlife.

Slide19: 

South-North water transfer (nanshui bediao) Moves water to north from the Yangtze River Basin. Will relocate people because need to build three routes (west, central, east). - North unhappy about paying user fees and getting polluted water.

Slide20: 

Understanding the Impact - Where to go from here? Realize that environmental problems can constrain economic development. Increase strength of SEPA - Enforcement of environmental law and regulation Increase spending on urban sanitation and environmental protection. Government much more open about problems and seeking advice from foreign governments and NGOs. ~ USDA working with China on a watershed management project analyzing water quality of Yellow River. ~ Environmental INGOs (Nature Conservancy and WWF-China) working to create river basin conservation projects.

Slide21: 

Land Use

Slide22: 

• China constitutes 6.5% of the world’s total land area. total: 9,596,960 sq. km land: 9,326,410 sq. km water: 270,550 sq. km arable land: 15.4% permanent crops: 1.25% other: 83.35% (2001)

Slide23: 

The Tibetan Plateau contains headwaters for major rivers of many neighboring countries: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam • 18% forest • compared to Japan’s 64% • world average: 30% • 40% natural grasslands • drier, northwest region, second only to Australia • 90% are now considered degraded • China constitutes 10% of the world’s wetlands. • 3/5 of swamps in the Sanjian Plain have already been drained for farmland

Slide24: 

Within 20 years, China’s wetlands will account for only 3.8% of the country, compared to the world average of 6%. • Greater water fluctuation • Less capacity to mitigate floods and store water

Slide25: 

• Two thirds of the annual sand flow into Chinese rivers can be linked to deforestation. • Logging in the upper reaches of the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers causes siltation, erosion, and constant flooding. • Land loss in the Yangtze River area is as high as four billion tons annually. • Sediment has shortened navigable river channels by 56% between 1949 and 1990.