28,000 rivers disappear
China’s Ministry of Water Resources recently announced the results of a three-year survey in which water supplies were shown to have significantly diminished. The survey found that there are now only 22,909 rivers in the country – 28,000 fewer than the government’s previous estimates.
Officials have blamed the decline on global warming and outdated mapping techniques. They revealed that previous estimates had been based on incomplete topographical maps from the 1950s. However, some experts claim expansive economic growth and poor environmental stewardship are the real causes of the disappearances.
Ma Jun, Director of the Beijing-based Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, said: “Our research has shown that, in some areas, especially in north China, rivers are drying up or turning into seasonal rivers.” He went so far as to label pollution and overpopulation the predominant catalysts for decline.
Ma said industrialisation had drawn on colossal stores of water, and infrastructure projects had had a devastating impact on the environment. He said: “At the moment, pollution discharge is destroying the limited clean resources we have.”
