China and the global environment - Asialink

CHINA AND THE GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTGOVERNING FROM ABOVE IN THE NEW CENTURYfor the purposes of irrigation. But toxins (mercury, chromium, phenol,cyanide, and arsenic) render water unusable. 117In the immediate term, it is the survival of the Chinese people that ismost at stake. Poor communities living in rural areas carry the heaviestburden because they are the most vulnerable to water contamination.Despite the advance of regulatory controls, up to two-thirds of industrialwastewater is still released into rivers untreated. There now exist morethan 50 different types of waterborne diseases in China — over anextended period of time, high fluoride intake can lead to deformationand paralysis and arsenic can cause skin and other cancers. 118 Highlevels of toxicity are also closely linked to abnormal pregnancy outcomes.Particularly shocking is the increase in designated ‘cancer villages’. InXiaojidian village, for example, located on the tributary of the YellowRiver in Shandong Province, 50 residents out of a total of 1300 havedied of stomach or esophageal cancer in the past five years.Under such conditions, it is hardly surprising that water conflictsare now on the rise — 51 000 water pollution incidents were recordedin 2005 alone. 119 Conflicts are occurring between factories andfarming communities as well as between upstream and downstreamwater users. China’s so-called ‘many dragon management system’means that water flowing across jurisdictional boundaries isgoverned on the basis of special interests rather than collective rulesfor sharing resources.In bringing about a secure water future, the Chinese Governmentfaces two parallel challenges. The first involves reconciling supplyconcerns with growing demands for equitable distribution. Above all,allocating water resources efficiently and fairly remains a central task.In the case of the Yellow River, upstream diversions have had a seriousimpact upon downstream areas. Since the early 1970s, the river hasrun dry, failing to reach the sea for prolonged periods of time. 120 TheYellow River Conservancy Commission was set up in 1998 to coordinatewater resources across all 11 provinces. Similar to other coordinatingmechanisms across China, it has failed to deliver substantial benefits.As a consequence, responsibility has now shifted back to the WaterResources Ministry in Beijing. But once again, there is little evidenceto suggest that a centralised approach is more effective. In general,upstream users continue to benefit at a cost to their downstreamcounterparts. 121A second major challenge involves shifting from a supply-drivenmode of water governance to a conservation model that recognisesthe importance of conserving water rather than simply rediverting it.Today, in order to produce RMB10 000 of goods, Chinese industries useapproximately 100m 3 of water, ten times more than the internationalstandard. Up to 65 per cent of China’s water is used for agriculturalpurposes, although irrigation is no more wasteful than in many othercountries. As noted by Kenneth Pomeranz, ‘limited supplies make wastea more pressing problem.’ 122 And correcting quality and wastage issuesis part of the answer to dealing with water shortages. 123There are signs that a conservationist approach may be gatheringmomentum. Fixing leaky pipes, relining irrigation ditches, orinstalling drip irrigation can make a difference depending on thelocal conditions. However, this kind of approach stands in starkcontrast to the overwhelming emphasis placed upon infrastructuraldevelopment. A continuing reliance upon large-scale engineeringprojects that pay inadequate attention to the environmental andhuman costs involved is one of China’s most enduring legaciesaffecting its environmental future.Symbolic in this regard is the south–north water transfer scheme(nanshui beidiao) that aims to alleviate flooding in the south andwater scarcity in the north by diverting water from the Yangtze to theNorth China Plain. The scheme was officially approved by the StateCouncil in 2002. Three planned routes have been designed to connectthe Yangtze with the Huang, Huai, and Hai Rivers. Construction isnow underway on the eastern route that brings water from the lowerYangtze in Jiangsu Province to Tianjin city on the coast. The middleroute runs between the Three Gorges in Sichuan and Beijing. And thewestern route, yet to begin construction, aims to redirect water fromthe Yarlong Tsangpo, Dadu, Tongtian and Jinsha Rivers into the YellowRiver. Looming problems include large-scale soil salinisation, pollutedsewage water intrusion, and adverse effects upon aquatic life along the4445