The Northern China River Basin

Claire Fraisl

Historical State of the Ecosystem

The Northern China River Basin, including its surrounding area, is known historically as “the ancient land of fish and rice” (Kahn). The ecosystem, spanning a regional scale, was historically known for its prosperous agriculture, beautiful scenery, and thriving tourism industry. This ecosystem was a postcard perfect glimpse into the typical landscape of Northern China. Additionally, the region has a semiarid climate and is characterized by grasslands and minimal precipitation (Strahler). Citizens of the area could easily compensate for the naturally low precipitation and runoff by virtue of a prudent and sustainable lifestyle. In the past, agricultural needs accounted for approximately 74% of total water use in the region (Cai).

(http://makemytripadvisor.blogspot.com/2011/05/travel-china.html)

(Cai)

Human Impacts on the Ecosystem

Today, China’s exploding population and rapid industrialization have contributed a sever degradation in the status of the Northern China River Basin ecosystem. Not only have factory runoff and agricultural pesticides caused drastic pollution of the water, competition over the limited resources of the area has resulted in a water shortage crisis. Indeed, between 1980 and 1999, water use has increased by 41.7 kilometers^2 (Cai). In comparison with the annual averages of 1956 through 1979, the average precipitation in the Northern China River Basins as of 2001 has decreased by 9.6%, runoff has decreased by 23.8%, and flow to the ocean has decreased by 58.6% (Cai).

As these statistics demonstrate, the agricultural, industrial, and consumer needs in the River Basin region have outstripped the resources of the region, and human activity has ceased to be sustainable. In addition to the overuse and misuse of water resources in the region, humans have damaged the Northern China River Basin through deforestation as the drive toward regional development continues. Low agricultural irrigation efficiency as well as the relatively recent introduction of nitrogen based agricultural fertilizers have led to a phenomenon known as eutrophication in the region’s rivers. Eutrophication occurs when excess nitrogen fertilizer reaches rivers as runoff and allows for massive growths of algae blooms, which turn the lakes a bright green color and which are not natural to the ecosystem.  Excess nitrogen also encroaches on the drinking water supply, which can be deadly to humans (Zhang).  Additionally, downstream ecosystem degradation occurs as water becomes increasingly scarce and the dwindling supply itself becomes increasingly polluted in parts of the valley further downstream. Clearly, this presents a problem for citizens living in downstream areas of the ecosystem, as well as for the ecosystem itself. Lake dry-up and decreasing vegetation cover are additional problems further downstream in the Northern China River Basin (Cai).

(http://media.treehugger.com/assets/images/2011/10/big-water-trouble-china-fertilizer.jpg)

Future Prospects for the Ecosystem

Future prospects for the Northern China River Basin appear grim. China’s population is only increasing, which will create additional resource stress as well as increased demands for the products provided by both industry and agriculture. Nitrogen fertilizer use is expected to increase in the coming years as demands for agriculture skyrocket. Currently, China’s government is attempting to combat the ecosystem degradation through acts such as the 1999 Enviornmental Protection Law of China, which places quotas on water use and pollution discharge for specific industries and for specific areas in the region (Cai). However, China’s bureaucratic, top down approach does not hit at the root of the problem in human behavior and is unlikely to institute long term, systemic change towards sustainable use of the resources of the region.

As China's population grows, resources become strapped. (Cai)

 

Manufacturing and Industry are increasing use of water resources. (Cai). 

What Can We Do?

Innovation and new technology must be employed in order to make more efficient use of the region’s water, including building infrastructure to catch and redistribute precipitation and runoff in the region. Additionally, planting hybrid rice varietals that require less irrigation will also contribute to the water resource issue. Once implemented, such infrastructure will significantly improve the problem of water shortages since no such system currently exists on a large scale in the region.

At the same time, infrastructure can only fix the problems of the Northern China River Basin ecosystem to a certain extent. In order to fully combat the multiple detrimental human impacts on the region, it is essential to educate citizens and industries in the proper and sustainable use of the precious water resources of the Northern China River Basin. Grassroots education movements would contribute to teaching family farmers about the proper, sustainable methods of using fertilizers and pesticides.  Nitrogen fertilizer usage must be controlled and farmers must be educated about the proper usage and potentially disastrous effects of overusing this particular technology (Zhang).

Algae levels in Lake Tai have skyrocketed in recent years
 (http://plankt.oxfordjournals.org/content/25/4/445.full)

China’s centralized government is wary of grassroots campaigns gaining power and is perhaps concerned about lobbyists than it is about the actual ecosystem degradation. One country peasant and grassroots pollution protester, Wu Lihong, has encountered threats from the government for attempting to educate his fellow countrymen and has lost his job because of his outspoken environmental stance. Even Mr. Wu admits that “our society lacks the right atmosphere for environmental protection” (Kahn).  Nonetheless, changing human behavior is crucial to recovering the valuable ecosystem of the Northern China River Basin, and mandated government quotas will not provide the intensive investment required to shift the current societal norms and behaviors which are destroying one of Earth’s unique ecosystems. A cultural mindset shift is required and it will take the hard work and dedication of many passionate environmentalists like Wu Lihang in order to save the Northern China River Basin.

Works Cited

Cai, Ximing. "Water Stress, Water Transfer and Social Equity in Northern China—Implications for Policy Reforms." Journal of Environmental Management (2007): 15-25. Web. 18 Nov. 2011.

Kahn, Joseph. "In China, a Lake's Champion Imperils Himself." The New York Times. 14 Oct. 2007. Web. 18 Nov. 2011. <http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/14/world/asia/14china.html?pagewanted=all>.

Strahler, Arthur N., Strahler, Arthur H., Elements of Physical Geography. John Wiley & Sons, 1984.

Zhang, W.L., Z.X. Tian, N. Zhang, and X.Q. Li. "Nitrate Pollution of Groundwater in Northern China." Agriculture Ecosystems and Environment (1996): 224-31. Web. 18 Nov. 2011.