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From My Perspective
by Yao Yin
My career after graduate school has been focused on the Upper Mississippi River—its hydrology, ecology and impact of anthropogenic disturbances. The river's history of development after the arrival of European settlers and the challenge to protect its ecological integrity, while at the same time maintaining its nationally significant waterway transportation function, are fascinating. Besides work, life on the bank of the Mississippi River in Wisconsin is busy year round for an avid outdoorsman like myself, whether that be biking in spring, boating in summer, hiking in autumn, or ice fishing in winter. It did not take long for me—someone who was born in China and raised on a tributary of the Yangtze River, or the Changjiang River as it is known in the East—to fall in love with the beauty and grace of the Upper Mississippi River. I have been calling it home for more than 10 years now. During the same period, I have made frequent trips back to my first love, the upper Yangtze River basin to visit family and friends.
Recently, I have been offered an incredible opportunity to apply my training and experience in large river ecology and monitoring provided by the U.S. Geological Survey Long Term Resource Monitoring Program for the Upper Mississippi River System with my dedication to the people and the river of my birth, the Yangtze. My employer, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the Conservancy have developed an intergovernmental personnel agreement that is sending me to work on the Yangtze River for two years, beginning this month, to work on the Conservancy's Great Rivers Partnership. The assignment reflects well the two agencies' visions into the future. I will be on a mission to participate in the development of a blueprint for inventorying and protecting China's precious natural resources nationwide. The Conservancy recently asked me to share my perspective at the onset of this new assignment.
Chinese civilization originated on rivers and evolved with rivers. One of its legends describes the heroic act of Da-Yu ( ~ 2224-2198 B.C.), who controlled Yellow River flooding by diverting floodwater rather than blocking it, as did his predecessor, who happened to be his father. The father's failure was punished with death, while the son's success won him a royal crown. If the Da-Yu legend left no landmark as a testimonial to the proud and long history of Chinese wisdom on river management, the sophisticated Dujianyan Diversion-Irrigation System that was first developed around 256-251 B.C. and is still in use today leaves no room for doubts. The system consisted of rock and wooden structures that diverted a carefully estimated amount of flow from the Ming River (a tributary of the Yangtze River ) to irrigate the Chengdu Plain. At the same time, it prevented flooding by returning excessive floodwater to the river's main channel via spillways. Although the original structure had long been destroyed by floods, the hydraulic and engineering wisdoms of the time, generally credited to Governor Li Bin and his son, has survived today despite repeated repair, replacement and relocation of the structures over the course of the ensuing 2,000+ years.
Unprecedented population pressure and an ambitious plan to hasten the development of a world class economy is overburdening China's land, water and other natural resources. The vast land in the north and west has been drying up. In 1972, the Yellow River, which for a long time symbolized the cradle of Chinese civilization, couldn't reach the sea for the first time in the recorded history. This phenomenon has since reoccurred nearly every year. The extra burdens on the Yellow River are being transferred to the Yangtze River and other rivers in the south. The Three Gorges Dam project was approved in 1992. While concerns over sedimentation problems and ecological consequences still remain high, more mega dams are being built or planned, including four on the Jinsha (headwaters of the Yangtze River), eight on the Mekong River and 13 on the Nu River, to name a few. Yet the biggest earthen work China is undertaking, which rivals the Great Wall in scale, is the South-to-North water diversion project started in 2002. Once completed, China will have three canals to siphon a large portion of the Yangtze basin water to the north and west. While each canal is a branching-tree like network itself, the three main stems alone total 2,715 km (1,683 miles) in length.
The “develop (the economy) first, repair (the environment) later” doctrine—adopted since the early 1980s—has dealt many plant and animal species a grave blow and caused China's living environment heavy tolls. Local extirpation has been widespread and poorly documented. Many of the more than 350 fish species will be extinguished by the dams. Deteriorating air and water qualities are biting off increasingly bigger chunks of China's economic growth.
However, changes are starting to occur that indicate a greater environmental awareness in China. The central government recently announced that “Green GDP” indexes, which deduct the cost of environmental damage and resources consumption from the traditional gross domestic product, are being developed to better gage true growth. It has also increased environmental investment from 1 percent of the national GDP in 1999 to 1.4 percent in 2004 and expects to boost the ratio to 1.6 percent in 2006-2010. These are just two of many encouraging signs of China's devotion to a healthy environment as a necessity rather than an inconvenience for sustainable economic development.
This is a great opportunity for me to learn and bring back China's lessons to share with international audiences and to share with China my expertise from the Upper Mississippi River and the larger expertise available within my agency. I am looking forward to the work ahead. The outcomes of China's ongoing endeavors will undoubtedly affect its neighbors near and far. The China model of economic development, which has shown tremendous initial success, will be studied and examined by many, for decades to come.
China is at a critical turning point where the opportunity and the challenge for saving its precious natural resources are of equal enormity! |
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Yao Yin. © Yao Yin.
Tiger Leaping Gorge, The Yangtze River, China, © The Nature Conservancy
Overlooking the site of the Three Gorges Dam, Yangtze River, China, © The Nature Conservancy
Agriculture on the banks of the Yangtze River, China, © The Nature Conservancy
Disclaimer: The content of this article represents the views of the author alone and does not necessarily represent the standards or policies of the U.S. Geological Survey. |
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