China losing 20 lakes each year, study reveals

An average of 20 natural lakes dry out in China every year.

The National Forestry Bureau’s latest research report shows that the large-scale enclosure of tideland for cultivation and the disturbance of surface water flow have caused a rapid shrinkage in lake water, which has escalated the frequency of flooding.

In eastern and central China, nearly 1,000 natural lakes have disappeared in the past 50 years due to land reclamation by enclosing tideland for cultivation, according to the Jan. 12 Xinhuashe (Xinhua News Agency).

Hubei province had 1,052 lakes in the 1950s, but only 83 are left now. This has directly affected the water supply and has decreased the reserve water capacity of the lake areas, thereby increasing the danger of flooding. The increased risk of flood disasters has become a serious hidden restraint on the economic development of the lake areas, the article noted.

In western China, water is scarce and evaporates quickly. With the large-scale interception and diversion of surface water flow, some major lakes are gradually deteriorating into salty or dry salt lakes. Aydingkol Lake and many others are already lifeless deserts.

Manas Lake in the western part of the Junggar Basin used to have a surface area of 577.8 square kilometers (223.09 square miles). In recent years, however, the continuous diversion of water for irrigation has stopped the flow of water from rivers into the lake, turning the lake and the surrounding salt marsh and grassy marshland into dry saline and bleak desert, according to the story.

Diversion project set for 2002

Next year, China plans to begin a huge project to divert water from the southern Yangtze River to the dry northern cities and farmland, the Jan. 16 China Daily reported.

The State Council is expected to approve construction of the first phase of the 140 billion renminbi (US$16.94 billion) plan, a 2,400-kilometer (1,500-mile) channel through eastern China, later this year.

The entire project is expected to transfer up to 48 billion cubic meters (1.7 trillion cubic feet) of water a year via three channels through eastern, central and western China, linking three of China‘s major rivers—the Yangtze, Huai and Yellow.

Dreamt up by the late Chairman Mao Zedong 50 years ago, the plan was revived last year as serious water shortages hit northern China. Nearly 400 of 688 Chinese cities now have scarce amounts of water, while in the countryside, riots have broken out in some places over lack of water, Reuters reported.

The project’s eastern and central routes should be finished in the next 15 years, while further research will be done on the difficult western route that must pass through some of China‘s most rugged terrain. The first two phases will divert around 16 billion cubic meters (565 billion cubic feet) of water a year to northern China, which accounts for a third of China‘s population, farmland and grain output, by 2015.

Water from the project will cost no less than 1.6 renminbi (US$0.19) per cubic meter (1 cubic meter is equivalent to 35 cubic feet), which is approximately the price of water in Beijing. Some experts, however, believe that price could double, China Daily reported.

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