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Water: China's New Challenge

Early Taoist philosophers encouraged humankind to live in harmony with nature.

Nowhere is this approach more clearly seen than at Dujiangyan, where the Min River flows through a 2,000-year-old structure designed to irrigate rich agricultural fields within the nearly 1.5-million-acre Chengdu Plain, sustaining the Min as it does so.

The irrigation system protects the long-term health of the river, while diverting water and managing sediments. Two millennia ago, it unleashed the region’s potential, turning it into an agricultural powerhouse.

Not much has changed since then. Water and other natural resources still fuel growth and development in China.

The Parched North

Water increasingly is a precious commodity in China, as cities in the thirsty north demand water from the south. To fill this need and increasing demands for power, China is remaking many of its natural waterways, creating hydroelectric dams and canals to move water to urban areas.

It’s an immense undertaking. At the heart of many of these transformations is the Chinese government’s ambitious plan to transform the country into a leading economic power. The Yangtze, one of the world’s great rivers, is where much of this work is taking place.

The river, often called China’s “mother river,” is also an epicenter for freshwater biological diversity. It is home to 350 fish species, including the endangered Baiji dolphin, one of the world’s true river dolphins.

Despite this enthusiastic burst of economic development, there is growing concern that something is wrong. In 1998, tremendous floodwaters swept down the Yangtze, inundating 52 million acres in its wake. By the time waters subsided, 3,000 people were dead, and $5 million in homes were destroyed. Two decades of rampant deforestation and wetlands destruction eliminated the land’s ability to absorb these waters.

The country took immediate actions, including a ban on logging for certain regions. It was a turning point in many ways. Chinese officials began soliciting input from the best scientific minds on ways to develop without such severe consequences. Still, there is much work remaining.

Dam construction site

Construction is underway at numerous dam sites across China.
© The Nature Conservancy

 

"We need water to drink, and water to power industry. It is one of the most important ingredients for our success.”

Tong Zhiyun, vice-director of the Yunnan Provincial Government’s Policy Research Center

 

Quick Links

Spring 2005, a group of scientists from the Conservancy and its partner organizations visited China to tour a number of rivers and dam sites.

Brian Richter, director of the Conservancy's Sustainable Waters Program, recorded the trip in a series of field notes.

 

Yangtze River

The high mountains of the Yunnan Province tower over the Yangtze River. © The Nature Conservancy