Unless action is taken soon, the Yangtze River may become as heavily polluted as the Yellow River. This was the warning of experts at a press conference for the launch of the "Long March for Protecting the Yangtze River" organized by the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

"The Yangtze River Delta is now a region which urgently needs environmental protection," said Professor Chen Jiakuan of Fudan University.

The area of the Yangtze River Delta covers less than one fifth of the country's total area but it is home to more than one third of the population. The river runs through 10 provinces, cities and autonomous regions and links four major industrial centres -- Chongqing, Wuhan, Nanjing and Shanghai.

"As an important economic zone, China must depend on the Yangtze River if it wants to become a fully developed country -- the river has rich water resources, transportation capacity and also biological resources," said Chen who specializes in bio-ecology.

But what the river faces now is heavy man-made pollution.

Large-scale water power and dam construction has brought big changes. Lakes along the river have been turned into farming land making the area of some of the lakes smaller by half. With a big population and fast developing industry in the delta, both industrial and human sewage is being discharged into the river without being fully treated. As a result, the variety of aquatic species in the Yangtze has been decreasing.

According to an investigation launched by China Development Research Institute last year, pollution in the Yangtze River has affected the water quality of more than 500 towns and cities.

In a newsletter released by the institute, sources with Shanghai Environmental Protection Bureau said two water-drawing sites in Shanghai have been affected by pollution in the upper reaches of the river.

An official with the bureau said Shanghai, located near the mouth of the river, is both a victim and a cause of pollution. Ten years ago, the city was able to process only about 15 per cent of the sewage it produced meaning that about 85 per cent of raw sewage was being discharged into the river. This year, the treatment capacity was expected to reach 90 per cent.

"What surprised me more is not the serious situation but the low awareness of the problem by people living along the Yangtze River," said Zhang Qi, the managing president of the institute which is jointly organizing the clean-up campaign. "Many industrial plants have been built along the Yangtze River because of the easy transportation it offers and the 'convenient' way to discharge sewage.

"So the aim in kicking off this campaign is to raise all people's awareness of the need to protect the river -- that's an efficient way to change the serious situation," he added.

Activity in the campaign will start in July from Chongqing when a team of experts will travel along the river to conduct research and educate the population. The team is expected to reach Shanghai next March.

To raise financial support, the co-organizer decided to entrust the Shanghai Auction Co Ltd with the auctioning of the name of the campaign.
 
(Shanghai Star June 11, 2004)