References 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
References China Brook Milligan National and International Conservation Challenges: China
References China Brook Milligan National and International Conservation Challenges: China
References 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
References 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
References Human Population Brook Milligan National and International Conservation Challenges: China
References Demographics Brook Milligan National and International Conservation Challenges: China
References Per Capita Floor Space Brook Milligan National and International Conservation Challenges: China
References 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exporter of atmospheric pollution, even to US exporter of greenhouse gas emissions Much of China’s economy relies on outdated, heavily polluting technologies Brook Milligan National and International Conservation Challenges: China
References Manufacturing Output Brook Milligan National and International Conservation Challenges: China
References Energy Consumption Brook Milligan National and International Conservation Challenges: China
References Business Activity Brook Milligan National and International Conservation Challenges: China
References 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 SO 2 and NO x emissions Brook Milligan National and International Conservation Challenges: China
References Atmospheric Haze Brook Milligan National and International Conservation Challenges: China
References Atmospheric Emissions Brook Milligan National and International Conservation Challenges: China
References Industrial Solid Waste Brook Milligan National and International Conservation Challenges: China
References 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 km 2 annually since 1980s 90% considered degraded Wetlands 660,000 km 2 10% of world’s total only 3.8% of China’s territory (world average: 6%) Brook Milligan National and International Conservation Challenges: China
References 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
References Annual Waste Water Discharge Brook Milligan National and International Conservation Challenges: China
References China’s Environmental Impacts: Oceans 3 million km 2 sea area Almost all coastal seas polluted Brook Milligan National and International Conservation Challenges: China
References 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
References 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 other, often already devastaed, countries (e.g., Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Australia) Brook Milligan National and International Conservation Challenges: China
References 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
References China: Comparison with the World Supplementary Table Additional information about population, economy, and environmental conditions of China and 14 other major countries * Energy NO x per Fertility Annual Foreign use (kg of populated rate GDP GDP change in direct oil area Area Population (births per (current household Investment equivalent Forested (thousand (10,000 density Urban per capita US$ size US$ per land area metric km 2 , (people/km 2 , tons/km 2 , Country Population woman, (US$, billions, (%, 1985- billions, capita, (%, 2002) 2003) (%, 2003) 2003) 2003) 2003) 2000) 2002) 2001) 2000) 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 0 150 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 0 740 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
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