Yangtze River: threats
© WWF-Canon / Yifei ZHANG
Yangtze Basin has been subjected to intensive land reclamation
Today, the Yangtze River Basin is a region struggling to contend with the environmental problems arising from population pressure and rapid economic development.
In the last half century, China's population has more than doubled and become heavily concentrated along the major river valleys. Slope erosion, sedimentation and industrial pollution are some of the factors that have degraded water quality and the wetland landscape.
In order to carve additional spaces for farmland and urban settlements, the lakes and floodplains of the Yangtze Basin have been subjected to intensive land reclamation.
As a result the wetland ecosystem has been severely affected by habitat fragmentation and the disruption of natural processes. Rare wildlife species are now critically endangered.
Dangerous reduction in floodplain capacity
The reduction in the extent of the wetland and lakes has dangerously reduced the capacity of the floodplain to mitigate the impact of seasonal flooding.
Coupled with deforestation and other land clearing activities in the upper basin, the loss of wetlands has had devastating consequences for people living in the basin. In recent decades, floods have occurred with alarming frequency and intensity. The 1996 and 1998 floods were particularly catastrophic and contributed to the tragic loss of of many lives and damage amounting to billions of US dollars.
In response, the Chinese government has instituted new policies to prevent flooding of this magnitude in the future. Its interventions demonstrate a strong resolve to work with nature not against it . They include:
- controlling logging in the upper catchment;
- reforesting steep slopes;
- relocating settlements in flood-prone areas to higher ground; and
- reinforcing embankments, and maintaining river courses.
A prominent focus of these policies is the restoration of wetlands in the Yangtze floodplain, particularly near the Dongting and Poyang lakes which serve as huge buffers for storing freshwater and reducing the potential for flood disasters.
The central Yangtze will require considerable attention to achieve this objective.
Fragmentation and degradation of the wetlands
Currenly, there is a significant loss of wetland function due to the fragmentation and degradation of the wetlands from the construction of dams, dykes and farming polders.
There is also a limited understanding of wetland values and functions among local people and authorities.
Because of long histories of association with polder farming, there is also some resistance to relocating and adopting new income earning activities. Land use management in the floodplain has also traditionally suffered from a lack of coordination between relevant agencies.
