Photos byXinhua (left ) and CFP (right)
Land Subsidence in Central Shanghai (mm per year) that water from the Yangtze River will reach Beijing in 2014. Attached to this estimation is the hope that with sufficient surface water supplyies, the capital will curb its underground water exploitation. Many experts have questioned the wisdom of this approach. For example, Wang Hao, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering argues that the government should address water conversation before resorting to costly diversion projects which pose serious environmental and social hazards, as well as fueling interprovincial conflicts of interest. For example, after the completion of a water diversion project in 2004 that diverted water from the Yellow River to Qingdao in coastal Shandong Province, the exploitation of underground water continued as it remained cheaper than relying on the diverted supply. “Ultimately, the price of underground water needs to rise,” said Wang.
New Threats
With the scarcity of water resources yet to be addressed, China also faces new challenges in regard to land subsidence, which refuses to go away. As Chinese megacities grow, the concentrated construction of skyscrapers has become another major factor that leads to uneven land sinking, a more complicated problem than NEWSCHINA I February 2012
Total number of skyscrapers in Shanghai
Source: The Journal of Hydrological and Geological Engineering, Vol.35:4, 2008
overall subsidence, which has even seen the bottom stories of buildings sink entirely into the earth. An even more pressing problem is posed by global climate change, which is already taking its toll on China’s economy. In recent decades, annual rainfall on the North China Plain has fallen from 600 millimeter (23.6in) to 300-400 millimeters (11.8-15.7in), exacerbating drought. In tandem with the drop in rainfall, the rise in sea level has led to increased flooding on the coast. According to the data released by State Oceanic Administration, the sea level in China has risen by up to 20 centimeters (7.87in) in the past three decades.
While China’s hinterland dries out, its coast is slowly being reclaimed by the ocean. Another alarming possibility is effect of climate change on the country’s river basins, which some experts hypothesize could even cause the water-rich southern provinces and the Yangtze River Basin to gradually dry out, endangering the effectiveness of various water diversion projects. While experts and special interests lock horns over these issues behind closed doors, however, Chinese people from the rural hinterland to the prosperous coast, are having to learn to live with the environmental cost of China’s economic miracle.
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