Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
The challenges climate change pose to China's
environment and its people are addressed in
various government reports and White Papers,
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clearly stating the government's awareness of the
vulnerability and urgency regarding the negative
implications of climate change (China's Policies
and Action for addressing Climate Change). The
White Paper on Policies and Actions for address-
ing Climate Change also highlights specific areas
of concern, by identifying a number of key issues
and emphasizes that adverse effects are already
identifiable especially within the agricultural sec-
tor, regarding the availability of water resources
and an accelerating trend of sea level rise (China's
Policies and Action for addressing Climate
change).
One has also to think of the effects of melting
glaciers in the Himalayan region, a trend which is
already accelerating, albeit the earlier projected
time-frame of 2035, by which all glaciers in the
Himalayas are thought to have melted away, may
no longer stand up to scrutiny as the current discus-
sion indicates.
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Yet, when evaluating the impact of
melting glaciers, we may not only think in terms
of reducing the availability of fresh water for
millions of people, but also that the very process
of melting may lead to increasing instances of
flooding with devastating ecological, economic
and human costs, not only for China, but for India
and Bangladesh as well. This may also remind us
that specific environmental issues are not consis-
tent with national boundaries, an issue that will
be addressed later in the section on the security
dimension of environmental issues. With regard
to fresh water resources China already faces water
scarcity, yet the situation is more severe in the
northern parts of China, compared to the region
south of the Chang Jiang. This unequal impact
is exaggerated as northern China encompasses
almost 60% of China's farmland.
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In addition,
industrial and household pollution further increase
the pressure on fresh water resources as well. Land
degeneration represents yet another pressing is-
variety of origins. Among them we can identify:
desertification, deforestation, soil erosion, and
salinization. It certainly does not help to diminish
the pressure on land and the rural environment that
China has to feed 20% of the world's population
with 7% of the world's farmland.
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Sandstorms
(Kosa) representing another critical topic not
only at the national level, by negatively impact-
ing on the living conditions of several northern
and western provinces in China, but also as a
prominent regional environmental concern, in the
form of a cross border pollution issue with strong
negative implications for South Korea and Japan.
Originating in the desserts of northern China and
parts of Mongolia, Kosa is related to desertifica-
tion, with a rooted course in a combination of
natural, human induced (overgrazing, population
pressure) as well as climate factors. The impact
Kosa has on Northeast Asia includes the disrup-
tion of electricity supply; respiratory distress; the
potential distribution of air pollution over a great
area; the loss of fertile top soil; damage to property,
business and local and regional infrastructure; to
name a few. The impact of global warming will
likely add to the intensity and longevity of the
Kosa phenomenon, and a series of exceptionally
strong storms within a narrow period of years
(1998, 2001, 2002, and 2006) raised an increasing
awareness of the challenge Kosa represents for
China and northern East Asia.
In addressing the challenge climate change
poses, the 11
th
FYP for Environmental Protection
highlights the connection between development
and environmental issues, by stating: 'The con-
tradiction between socio-economic development
and resources and environment constraint becomes
increasingly evident' (The National Eleventh FYP
for Environmental Protection 2006-2010). Con-
sequently, promoting sustainable-development
represents a crucial goal in addressing climate
change and environmental issues. Yet, it is the
economic success of the reform period, which
significantly increased the pressure on the envi-
ronment. Here again, we are reminded that envi-
