Editor’s note: Environmental issues have shot to the forefront of public debate in China this week, following the release of Chai Jing’s documentary, “Under the Dome”.  This translated article details the environmental challenges that China faces in 2015.

This year, the “haze” problem in 28 different provinces has become a hot topic within China. Measures for air pollution controls have been written into recent government work reports, but will it be enough?

Statistics from the Department of Environmental Protection report “disaster” levels of haze in Beijing, Tianjin and 13 other prefecture level cities. In 2014, over 74 cities had less than 85 days with acceptable air quality in a period of 156 days. 12 cities had an average PM2.5 reading of more than 93 and 13 cities had a PM10 annual reading of over 158. Cities with these readings included those in the Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta.

Photo: ecouterre

Water Pollution Costs 240 Billion per Year

This year, the National Environmental Chamber reported that China must, “take effective measures to deal with the phenomenon of black smelly sewage water in lakes and rivers.” The pollution in China's rivers and lakes is present throughout the country. The report noted that the water pollution issue must be resolved as soon as possible. Luo Jianhua said that at this time, black water pollution is present in China's urban and rural areas. The pollution is an issue because of untreated sewage being dumped directly into bodies of water. Urban waste is flowing directly into China's lakes and rivers.

In 2013, the national sewage treatment rate for cities in China was 89.21 percent. The Ministry of Housing reports that in 2012, the national urban sewage treatment rate was 87 percent. However, in smaller towns less than 30 percent of sewage was treated and only 8 percent of sewage in villages was treated. In cities, 11 percent of waste water goes directly into lakes and rivers. In small towns 70 percent of waste water runs off into lakes and rivers and in villages 92 percent of waste water pollutes lakes and rivers.

“The actual percentage of contaminated waste water may actually be greater than our statistics show,” said Luo Jianhua.

The Ministry of Environmental Protection put forth the “2013 China Environmental Bulletin,” last year. The report shows poor water quality in the Yangtze River, Yellow River, Pearl River, Songhua River, Huai River and Hai River. The report also mentioned that 59.6 percent of 4,778 groundwater monitoring sites, recorded “poor” and “very poor” water quality readings.

Researcher Xudan Yu, of Tianjin Academy of Environment Sciences, said that economic costs related to water pollution in industrial, agricultural, industry and health total 240 billion Yuan per year.

Soil Pollution Will Cost China Several Billion Dollars

Soil contamination is another serious issue for China along with air and water pollution. Government expert and present of Shanghai Academy of Environmental Engineering and Design Zhang Yi said that 16.1 percent of China's soil is contaminated with pollution. Much of this pollution is due to abandoned mining sites. Many people are worried about the quality of China's soil and soil pollution.

Last year, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the Ministry of Land and Resources jointly issued the “National Survey Report on Soil Pollution.” The report shows that more than 40 percent of arable land in China has been affected by soil pollution. Pollution of arable land and water in the soil over a long period of time is another grim factor in China's complex pollution problems.

An action plan to combat and prevent soil pollution is currently underway. Experts from the Ministry of Environmental predict that soil pollution prevention will cost China several billion dollars.

Former president of Tsinghua University Chen Jining recently took office as the new head of the Ministry of Environmental Protection on February 27. In a press conference on March 1, he stated the main points of the department's newest plan to enhance environmental protection. The core of the plan focuses on combating air pollution, water pollution and the prevention soil pollution.

With a new plan soon in place, 2015 will most likely be a “watershed” year in the history of China's environmental protection.

Source: Baidu News

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Keywords: Environmental governance in China