What environmental problems is China currently facing?

1. Air pollution problems

In 2000, my country's sulfur dioxide emissions were 19.95 million tons, ranking first in the world. According to expert calculations, to meet the national weather environmental capacity requirements, sulfur dioxide emissions must be reduced by at least 40% on the current basis. In addition, China's smoke and dust emissions in 2000 were 11.65 million tons and industrial dust emissions were 10.92 million tons. Air pollution is currently China's number one environmental problem.

2. Water environment pollution problems

The pollution levels of China’s seven major water systems are: Liaohe River, Haihe River, Huaihe River, Yellow River, Songhua River, Pearl River, and Yangtze River, of which 42% have water quality Exceeding Category 3 standards (cannot be used as a drinking water source), 36% of urban river sections across the country have worse than Category 5 water quality and have lost their use functions. The water quality of large freshwater lakes (reservoirs) and urban lakes is generally poor, and more than 75% of lakes have intensified eutrophication, mainly caused by nitrogen and phosphorus pollution.

3. Garbage disposal issues

China’s annual industrial solid waste generation reaches 820 million tons, with a comprehensive utilization rate of about 46%. The annual urban domestic waste generation nationwide is 140 million tons, less than 10% of which meets the requirements for harmless treatment. White pollution caused by plastic packaging and agricultural film has spread across the country.

4. Land desertification and sand disaster issues

Currently, desertified land in China accounts for 27.3% of the total land area, and the desertified area is 2,460 square kilometers per year. Speed ??growth. The number of severe sandstorms China suffers from every year increased from 5 times in the 1950s to 23 times in the 1990s. Desertification of the land has caused residents in some areas of Inner Mongolia to be forced to migrate to other places.

5. Soil and water loss problem

The total amount of soil lost in China every year reaches more than 5 billion tons, and the annual loss of soil nutrients is 40 million tons of standardized fertilizers (equivalent to one year’s national amount of fertilizer used). Since 1949, China's total cultivated land destroyed by soil erosion has reached 40 million acres, which is a huge loss to China's agriculture.

6. Drought and Flood Issues

In the 1950s, the average annual drought-stricken farmland in China was 120 million acres, which rose to 380 million acres in the 1990s. The Yellow River was cut off for the first time in 1972, and it was cut off every year after 1985. In 1997, the number of days without flow reached 227 days. Relevant experts speculated after investigation that drought will continue in China in the next 15 years. The frequency of floods in the Yangtze River Basin has increased significantly. Over the past 500 years, there have been 53 major floods in the Yangtze River Basin. However, in the past 50 years, there has been a major flood every three years. The 1998 flood caused huge damage. economic losses.

7. Biodiversity destruction problem

China is a country with serious biodiversity destruction. There are 4,000-5,000 endangered or near-endangered species of higher plants, accounting for about 10% of China’s total. It holds 15%-20% of the total number of species, which is higher than the world average of 10%-15%. Among the 40 world-endangered species listed in the United Nations' "National Times", China has 156 species, accounting for about 1/4 of the total. The phenomenon of indiscriminate hunting and killing of wild animals and large-scale predation of wild animals in China is still very serious and has been banned repeatedly.

8. WTO and environmental issues

China will face two new environmental issues after joining the WTO. On the one hand, there are international "green trade barriers". Since China's current environmental standards are generally lower than those of developed countries, products from China's food, mechanical and electrical, textile, leather, ceramics, tobacco, toys, footwear and other industries will be restricted in export trade. On the other hand, the huge demand for China's minerals, stones, medicinal plants, agricultural products, and livestock products in the international market may increase the damage to China's ecology, environment, and natural resources. At the same time, China may become a location for the relocation of foreign pollution-intensive enterprises and a location for "supplied processing" of large amounts of foreign industrial waste, which will greatly aggravate China's environmental problems.

9. Environmental issues in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area

The Three Gorges Project is a huge water conservancy project currently being implemented in China. The project is scheduled to start generating electricity in 2003. The impact of the completion of the Three Gorges on the geological environment, water resources environment, ecological environment (involving both sides of the reservoir area and the entire upstream area), and how to effectively prevent and control pollution in the reservoir area are currently major issues facing the Three Gorges builders. The Three Gorges Project has become an environmental issue that attracts worldwide attention.

10. The problem of persistent organic matter pollution

With the development of China's economy, the pollution of persistent organic matter that is difficult to degrade has begun to appear. The international community signed the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants this year. The first batch of 12 types of persistent organic pollutants that were banned have been detected in China's environmental media. China is a signatory to the convention. This type of organic pollutants has the characteristic of being transferred to the next generation and showing its harm many years later. It is also called "environmental hormones" or "environmental hormones" and causes serious harm. At present, this type of organic pollutants are widely present in chemicals used in industry, agriculture, and urban construction.