National and International Conservation Challenges: China Brook - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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National and International Conservation Challenges: China

Brook Milligan

Department of Biology New Mexico State University Las Cruces, New Mexico 88003 brook@nmsu.edu

Fall 2009

Brook Milligan National and International Conservation Challenges: China

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China

Brook Milligan National and International Conservation Challenges: China

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China

Brook Milligan National and International Conservation Challenges: China

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China

World’s most populous country

1.3 billion people 20% of world total more than doubled over past 50 years annual growth rate down from 2–3% to below 1%

World’s 4th largest country in area

consumption of ocean resources: 15% of world’s fish catch; 33% of global fish/seafood consumption

Complex topography and ecosystems

Brook Milligan National and International Conservation Challenges: China

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China: Demographic Shifts

Rapid increase in number of households

3× as fast as population size 2000: 80 million new households (more than total number of households in Canada and Russia)

Reduction in household size from 4.5 to 3.5 Increase in household floor area: over 3× over last 30 years Increase in divorce rate

Brook Milligan National and International Conservation Challenges: China

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Human Population

Brook Milligan National and International Conservation Challenges: China

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Demographics

Brook Milligan National and International Conservation Challenges: China

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Per Capita Floor Space

Brook Milligan National and International Conservation Challenges: China

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China’s Economy

Third in GDP Highest growth rate: 3× world average Second largest producer and consumer of pesticides; 14% of world’s total Worlds largest coal producer/consumer; 25% of world’s total

exporter of atmospheric pollution, even to US exporter of greenhouse gas emissions

Much of China’s economy relies on outdated, heavily polluting technologies

Brook Milligan National and International Conservation Challenges: China

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Manufacturing Output

Brook Milligan National and International Conservation Challenges: China

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Energy Consumption

Brook Milligan National and International Conservation Challenges: China

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Business Activity

Brook Milligan National and International Conservation Challenges: China

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China’s Environmental Impacts: Air

Air quality: generally low 3/4 city dwellers live below China’s air quality standard Very high incidence of acid rain Signs of improvement in SO2 and NOx emissions

Brook Milligan National and International Conservation Challenges: China

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Atmospheric Haze

Brook Milligan National and International Conservation Challenges: China

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Atmospheric Emissions

Brook Milligan National and International Conservation Challenges: China

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Industrial Solid Waste

Brook Milligan National and International Conservation Challenges: China

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China’s Environmental Impacts: Land

Soil erosion: affects 19% of China’s land area River sediment has shortened navigable river channels by 56% between 1949 and 1990 Desertification: over 25% of China’s land Deforestation

0.1 ha forest per person (world average: 0.6 ha) forest: 18% of China’s land area (Japan: 64%; US: about 1/3; world: 30%) deforestation a major cause of soil erosion and floods

Grasslands

40% of land area declining: 15,000 km2 annually since 1980s 90% considered degraded

Wetlands

660,000 km2 10% of world’s total

• nly 3.8% of China’s territory (world average: 6%)

Brook Milligan National and International Conservation Challenges: China

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China’s Environmental Impacts: Fresh Water

Water quality poor and declining 70% lakes are polluted Uneven distribution: wet south, dry north River diversions lead to flow stoppages

during 1997, 230 days of no flow on lower Yellow River South-North Water Transfer Project: Yantze-Yellow River transfer

Brook Milligan National and International Conservation Challenges: China

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Annual Waste Water Discharge

Brook Milligan National and International Conservation Challenges: China

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China’s Environmental Impacts: Oceans

3 million km2 sea area Almost all coastal seas polluted

Brook Milligan National and International Conservation Challenges: China

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China’s Environmental Impacts: Biodiversity

10% of world’s terrestrial plant and vertebrate species 15–20% of species are endangered Reserves

almost 2,000 by end of 2003 land area: 14.4% of China’s territory (high compared to other countries worldwide) need improved management and integration

Invasives: rising; over 400 species by 2004

Brook Milligan National and International Conservation Challenges: China

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Interactions between China and the World

Import of agricultural products: reduce local impacts due to fertilizer/pesticide use Import of oil/natural gas reduce pollution from coal burning Import of industrial (often electronics) waste increases local pollution Transfer of pollution intensive industries from overseas into China increases environmental degradation Export from China: most primary goods or manufactured goods producing pollution in China Exported deforestation

China ranks 3 in timber consumption second only to Japan as an importer of tropical timber international trade in tropical timber contributes to deforestation China conserving its own forests by exporting deforestation to

• ther, often already devastaed, countries (e.g., Malaysia,

Papua New Guinea, Australia)

Brook Milligan National and International Conservation Challenges: China

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Conservation Impact of China

Increasing population size Rising per capita impact

China per capita impact generally low total impact high because of population size demographic trends suggest increasing per capita impact

Overall impact: population size × per capita impact Rapidly increasing overall impact Similar future for India: second most populous country

Brook Milligan National and International Conservation Challenges: China

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China: Comparison with the World

Supplementary Table Additional information about population, economy, and environmental conditions of China and 14 other major countries*

Country Area (10,000 km2, 2002) Population density (people/km2, 2003) Urban Population (%, 2003) Fertility rate (births per woman, 2003) GDP per capita (US$, 2003) GDP (current US$ billions, 2003) Annual change in household size (%, 1985- 2000) Foreign direct Investment US$ billions, 2002) Energy use (kg of

• il

equivalent per capita, 2001) Forested land area (%, 2000) NOx per populated area (thousand metric tons/km2, 2000) China 960 134 39 1.9 1,094 1,410

• 1.5

49 900 18 0.8 Bangladesh 14 959 24 3.0 376 52

• 0.7

150 10 0.7 Brazil 845 21 83 2.1 2,788 492

• 1.1

17 1,070 64 0.3 India 328 324 28 2.9 563 599

• 0.4

3 520 22 0.5 Indonesia 190 113 46 2.3 971 208

• 1.0
• 2

730 58 0.2 Japan 37 338 65 1.3 34,010 4,326

• 1.3

9 4,100 64 1.5 Malaysia 32 75 64 2.8 4,164 103

• 1.1

3 2,170 59 0.2 Mexico 195 52 76 2.4 6,121 626

• 1.2

15 1,530 29 0.4 Nigeria 92 147 47 5.1 370 50

• 2.4

740 15 0.2 Pakistan 79 187 34 4.5 464 69 1.5 1 460 3 0.3 Philippines 30 272 61 3.2 989 81

• 1.1

1 540 19 0.3 Russia 1,707 8 73 1.3 3,022 434 No Data 3 4,290 50 0.4 Thailand 51 121 32 1.8 2,309 143

• 0.7

1 1,240 29 0.5 USA 963 30 80 2.1 37,388 10,882

• 0.5

40 8,000 25 1.3 Vietnam 33 245 26 1.9 482 39

• 1.1

1 500 30 0.6 World 13,377 47 48 3.0 5,797 36,356

• 0.6

631 1,690 30 0.6 * The most populous countries in the world with at least 100 million people each, plus the four next most populous countries (Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam) in Southeast Asia.

Brook Milligan National and International Conservation Challenges: China

References

Liu, J. and J. Diamond. 2005. China’s environment in a globalizing world. Nature, 435:1179–1186.

Brook Milligan National and International Conservation Challenges: China