Environmental Protection in China
As a developing country, China has encountered the following problems: the country has a large population base, but its natural resources average per-capita is quite low. Meanwhile, its economic development and natural resources preservation still remain imbalanced. Along with the growth of China’s population and the development of the economy, the pressure on the fragile environment has become increasing greater.
As industrial development grows in both the urban and rural centers of China and water treatment facilities continue to be in dearth, surface and groundwater pollution is becoming increasingly severe. Nearly every major river in China suffers from pollution. In a survey of seven China’s major river basins and 110 key sections of these rivers, only 32 percent of river water was found to meet the national standards for drinking water sources. Major pollutants included ammonia oxide and toxic chemicals. Currently, 24 percent of the population are still drinking very polluted water and 79 percent is drinking somewhat polluted water. The drinking water of nearly all cities located in a river’s downstream also contain colon bacillus, a kind of bacteria harmful to the human digestive system. The untreated waste water discharged directly into the rivers is primarily from the surrounding plants, paper mills, breweries and tanneries which still rely on outdated, environmentally unfriendly production technology. The situation has been further aggravated by the lack of response to pollution and to industrial activities which discharge pollutants.
The frequent water pollution incidence has made the Chinese, who are aspiring for harmonious development, feel threatened. The vicious cycle, including stained water sources, polluted drinking water and unclean food, is a vital issue affecting people’s health and safety.
Apart from water pollution, China’s air pollution is still serious. China is a country with coal as its main energy source. Seventy percent of the some and dust in the air comes from burning coal. As a result, the cities with concentrated industries, such as Shijiazhuang, Datong and Luoyang, have suffered from serious air pollution and the situation has gone from bad to worse in some regions and cities.
Moreover, the spread of acid rain is also growing. Acid rain hit 30% of China’s total area, making China the third largest heavy acid rain region in the world, behind Europe and North America. Acid rain is a serious problem in central, southern, southwestern and eastern China. Tests of the pH level of rainwater in 106 cities revealed that the range of pH level in water was between 4.3 and 7.47 and that 43 cities has a pH level lower than 5.6. A number of cities in the south had an acid rain frequency exceeding 80%.
Another environmental problem in China is the deforestation. It is causing some notably serious environmental problems. For example, deforestation causes soil erosion that degrades water quality and increases water problems. High rate of species endangerment is also a directly linked to forest loss. Like many developing economies, in terms of fuel wood and charcoal dominate wood use, China ranks first in the world just ahead of Brazil in this king of wood consumption.
As we have already discussed above, there are several environmental problems haunting China. As the Chinese government has paid great attention to the environmental issues, and has made environmental protection a very important part of its policy agenda, the downgrading trend has been curbed. However, China should make continuous efforts to strengthen environmental legislative work to further make our planet a better place to live.