Keshav Kohli

The Triple Threat  Flooding (South)  Water Shortages (North)  Contamination by industrial pollution Severe pollution of Tai Lake in eastern China’s Jiangsu providence.

A Growing Demand  The breakdown:  78% Agricultural  18% Industry  5% Domestic

Domestic Demand  Household Consumption  Public Consumption  Livestock

Industrial Demand  Southeast, Yangtze, and Peal Basins in the south require more than 75% of the total industrial water demand.  Economic reforms of the 1970’s and 1980’s  Food and beverage industries; power plants; mining facilities

Agricultural Demand  Rain-fed Agricultural Uses  Irrigated Agriculture: covers 56% of total arable land and provides 67% of China’s total grain output  Cropping Intensities:  Northern Basins: 135%  Southern Basins: 200%

Water Shortages  China has the same amount of water as Canada, but with a population 100 times greater (The World Resources Institute)  Current policy failures in China's water management: underdeveloped system of water rights administration, weakness in water demand control, lack of market- based tools, and insufficient financing for pollution control.  In short, lack of infrastructure.

Water Contamination  Arsenic contamination of groundwater  Spread of Algae  Increased Industrialization  Toxic spills  2006: 60% of China’s rivers cannot be used as drinking water resources (Magazine of the International Water Association)

YearPopulation (million, obviously) Percent Urban Population Jianfa Shen: The Rural-Urban Population Shift Possible Causes

Sewage Crisis and Contamination  1996: more than 20 billion tons of urban sewage was discharged into rivers, lakes, etc.  Spitting on sidewalks contributes to sewage overflow  In effect, drinking water does not meet governmental standards

So What? Health Related Effects:  Liver and stomach cancer deaths have doubled since the 1970’s  China has the highest liver cancer rate in the world  Arsenic poisoning (Arsenic is a carcinogen) Economic Effects:  Water scarcity in urban cities causes a loss of about $11.2 billion (120 billion yuan) in industrial output