Transcript Bio-remediation Programmes in China

Environmental Bio-remediation
Programmes in China
Dr. Wang Qiming
Counsellor for Science and Technology
Embassy of P. R. China to India
March 7, 2008
Priority of food and steel
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Looking back the Chinese history over last 150
years, much of the time was in wars, invasions,
turmoil, revolutions and class struggles
Therefore, for a long period, food and steel placed
as top priority in the national policies
This has caused the country’s large areas for
mountains, lakes, grasslands and forests being
cultivated for development of food yielding
As the result, by the year of 1970’s, China’s ecosystem had suffered a great deal of deterioration
to a critical point --- dust-storms threatening
Beijing in a pace much faster than before
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In recent 30 years, China’s development so
fast that the pressure of environment and
natural resources ever enhanced
Major environmental degradation includes:
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Soil and water erosions
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Land desertification
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Grassland degradation
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Forests shrinking
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Water resource shortage
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Soil and water erosion
 Total soil and water erosion area 3.56 million
km2
 37% of total national territory
 water erosion: 1.65 million km2
wind erosion: 1.91 million km2
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Land desertification
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Total land desertification area 1.6
million km2, 16.7% national territory
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Changes in last 50 years
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Land desertification increases 1,560 km2 / year
from 1950s to 1970s
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Land desertification increases 2,100 km2 / year
from 1970s to 1980s
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Land desertification increases 2,460 km2 / year in
1990s
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Grassland degradation
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Natural grassland area 2.8 million km2,
28% of total national territory
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Percentage of degraded grassland
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10% in 1970s
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20% in early 1980s
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30% in mid 1990s
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Water resources shortage
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Water shortage: 100 billion m3
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Crop loss by drought: 80 million tons/year
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Water shortage in cities
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There are 669 cities in China
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400 cities have water shortage problem
Water pollution
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Eutrophication: a major threat of water pollution
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56% lakes in China polluted with eutrophication,
such as Algae blooms
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A task for survival
In order to protect the ecological environment, the
Chinese government has launched a number of
mega bio-remediation programmes:
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Protection of nature-reserves
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Three-North Shelterbelt Programme: Green Great Wall
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Conversion of cropland to forests and grassland
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Restoration of lakes through conversion of cropland
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Protection of nature reserves
Legislations on nature reserve protection
 State
Council on China Conservation
Strategy released in 1987
 Regulations on nature reserves
protection in 1994
 Rules for land management of nature
reserves in 1995
 Regulation for wild species protection in
1997
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National programmes on wild life protection
and nature reserves development
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State Administration of Forests Initiated “National
Programmes on Wild Life Protection and Nature
Reserves Development” in 2001
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Goals: to rescue the endangered wild animal and
plant species; to expand and improve the
development of nature reserves, sanchary；and to
restore and develop rare wild life resources
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Objectives: by the year 2020, construct a total of
2,500 nature reserves with total area of 172.8
million hm2, 18% of the national territory
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National programmes on wild life protection
and nature reserves development
The first stage (from 2001 to 2010)
focusing on projects saving 15 key
endangered wild lives including:
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Animals: panda, crested Ibis, tiger,
golden monkey, Tibetan antelope,
Yangtze River crocodile, elephant,
gibbon, musk deer, Przewalski’s
gazelle, wild deer, crane
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Plants: cycad, orchid plants
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Achievements
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A total of 2,349 nature reserves set up as of June
2006
 Total area of nature reserves: 1.5 million km2,
15% of total territory
 14 wild animal conservation and breeding
centers, 400 rare plants breeding centers
constructed
 Endangered wild life species a steady increase
 Wild panda population: 1,000
 Wild elephant population: 270
 Wild musk deer: 1,300
 Wild tiger: 100
 Wild Tibetan antelope: 75,000
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Distribution of national nature reserves
(core areas shown in green dots)
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The tiger breeding centre in Northeast China, the
biggest in the world, having 800 tigers
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Panda conservation and breeding center in
Sichuan Province, China
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Tibetan Antelope Reserve in Qinghai Province,
China
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Migration bird reserves at Poyang Lake, Jiangxi
Province
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Three-North Shelterbelt Programme
 Goals:
developing forest shelterbelts；
reducing sand-storms, soil and water
erosions；protecting eco-system in
northern China
 Objectives:
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In mountain area: to restore and increase forest coverage
In plain and oasis: to build crop-shelter forest network
In loess plateau: to build soil and water conservation
forest
In grassland: to plant shrubs for protection of grassland
In desert areas: to develop diversified ecosystem by
planting wind-break and sand-fixing trees
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Three-North Shelterbelt Programme
Scope of project
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The Three-North Includes Northeast China,
North China and Northwest China
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4,480 km length from west to east
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500-1,400 km width from north to south
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Total project area: 4.07 million km2
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40% of the total territory area
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Biggest nation-wide afforestation project in
China
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Three-North Shelterbelt Programme
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Project tasks
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To increase forest area from 23 million
hectares to 60 million hectares
 To increase forest coverage from 5% to 15%
 To increase total wood stock volume from
720 million m3 to 4.27 billion m3, a 6-time
increase
 To enlarge the area of economic forest from
1 million hectares to 3 million hectares
 To build a farm-shelter forest network,
increasing crop yield by 10%-15%
 To control soil and water erosion
 To stop expanding of land desertification
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Change of Forest Coverage of China
20%
18.21%
18%
16.55%
16%
14%
12.70%
12%
10%
12.98%
13.92%
12%
8.60%
8%
6%
4%
2%
0%
1950s
19731976
19771981
19841988
19891993
19941998
19992003
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Three-North Shelterbelt Program: so far
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A total wood stock volume
raises from 720 million m3
to 990 million m3, an
increase of 270 million m3,
far less than planned
 Planting economic forest
3.71 million hectares,
higher than planned
 Fruit production 12.55 Mt
 Farmer income increased
up to ￥17.5 billion Yuan
Yuan and Rupees 1:5
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Three-North Shelterbelt Program: Results
Planting 0.91 million hm2 of fire
wood forest
 Producing 5.47 MT of fire wood
every year
 Meeting demand of 6 million
farmer households for cooking
fuels
 Inter-cropping model of
forests mixed with crops,
vegetables, grass
 Greatly improving
productivity
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Three-North Shelterbelt Program: results
Desertification control effects
million hm2 of wind-break and
sand-fixing forest planted in stage 1,
△ 20% of desertification land under
control
△ Not a good indicator
△ 4.76
Soil & water conservation effects
million hm2 of soil and water
conservation forest planted in
stage 1
△ 40% of the eroded area under control
△ A good indicator
△ 5.52
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Restoring forests and grassland from low
yielding cropland
---- a much difficult task
Project goals: converting low and unstable
yielding, sloppy and sandy farmland into
forests and grasslands by planting trees/
grass；increasing vegetation coverage；
and improving ecological environment
Main players: individual household of
farmers
A model of public private partnership
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Project of converting cropland to forests and
grassland
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A pilot project initiated in
1999 in Sichuan, Shanxi
and Gansu 3 provinces
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Implementing with a large
scale in 174 counties of 13
provinces in 2000
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Expanding to 25 provinces
in 2003
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All sloppy land with degree
above 25°needs to be
converted
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Converting Cropland to Forests and Grassland
A differentiated subsidy policy: government provides
grains and monetary subsidies to farmers
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Yangtze River watershed region and southern China:
2,250 kg / hm2·a (rich farmers)
Yellow River watershed region and northern China:
1,500kg / hm2·a (poor farmers)
Monetary subsidy: ￥300 Yuan / hm2·a
Subsidy period: 2-year for grassland conversion, 5year for economic forests, and 8-year for eco-forests
Government provides compensation for afforestation:
￥750 Yuan / hm2·a
Yuan and Rupees 1:5
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Cropland to forests and grassland
Challenges:
Problems:
Farmers prefer to economic
forests (fruit trees)
Policy 1:
Planting ecological forests no less
than 80% while economic forest no
more than 20%
Policy 2:
No grains or cash subsidy for
economic forests beyond 20%.
only afforestation compensation
fee applies
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What is after?
After due time, living allowance offered
to project farmers, all in cash:
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Yangtze River watershed region and southern
China: ￥ 1,575 Yuan / hm2·a
Yellow River watershed region and northern
China: ￥ 1,050 Yuan / hm2·a
Allowance period:
2-year for grassland, 5-year for economic forests,
8-year for eco-forests
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Results so far
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In Tenth Five-Year Plan (2000-2005), a total area for
conversion to grassland: 12.6 million hm2
9.27 million hm2 of cropland restored to forests
Afforestation on barren land: 13.6 million hm2
Sealed hills for afforestation: 1.33 million hm2
Fixed CO2 equals to emission of 3 million cars in 11
years
Forest coverage in the project area increased by
2%
Total government subsidies: ￥130 billion Yuan;
average ￥3,500 Yuan per household; 10- 45% of
farmers total income
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Results so far
 Donting, Poyang and Honghu Lakes, the three
largest in the central China, increased by 1,400
km2, flood holding capacity increased by 10
billion m3
 After project
completion, water
area of the three
lakes is expected
to increase by
2,900 km2
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