Chinas Struggle for Environment Protection - Essay Example

China’s struggle for environment protection and related issues: How to deal with reduction of arable land and shortage of water One can see that rapid industrialization and urbanization results in the decrease of arable (farm) land. Besides, encroachment on woodlands (forests) and marshy areas, desertification, and high population results in the lack of water. To be specific, human presence is evident in both these problems and remedial measures must be based on less encroachment on natural resources. Besides, unrestricted exploitation of resources that can be obtained from Mother Nature can result in the disappearance of human race. Within this scenario, the environmental problems faced by modern China are crucial and the same can happen anywhere because nature does not have national boundaries. Thesis statement: The environmental problems faced by China proves that decrease of farm lands, scarcity of water, rapid industrialization/ urbanization and unrestricted utilization or natural resources are the reasons, but this can be overcome by implementing strict measures related to environmental protection. Analysis: Reduction of arable (farm) land in China First of all, the impact of rapid industrialization/ urbanization is evident in the Chinese society. Jianbo Ma makes clear that, “According to a national survey by the MLR, China’s arable land decreased by 120 million mu (i.e., 8 million hectares), or 6 percent of China’s total arable land area, between 1996 and 2005” (34). More industrial areas are emerging and the adjacent areas are transformed into urban areas. Besides, this rapid development attracts skilled laborers from villages and adjacent areas to urban areas. One can see that industrialization/ urbanization led China towards development. On the other side, the aim to attain rapid industrialization/ urbanization forced the government to cover up the after effects. When desirable development is attained in China, the authorities came to realize that they made use of farm lands for development purpose. Besides, the government provided ample importance to the development of industrial areas and rapid urbanization without planning. On the other side, rural China was neglected by the Chinese government. In the modern world, world nations cannot neglect the scope of industrialization. But lack of planning can result in drastic effects related to rapid industrialization. One can see that industrialization helped China to be in the forefront of development. But more farm lands were utilized to form industrial areas and production of food crops was totally neglected. Earlier, the Chinese society provided less importance to industrialization because the civil society was able to maintain the proper balance between production and expenditure. But the dilapidation of Communism in USSR and the advent of globalization forced the Chinese government to reconsider their industrial policies. This resulted in the rapid transformation of China from an agrarian society to an industrialized society. Chen Gang states that, “As widely reported, the country’s double-digit economic growth rates have led to serious environmental problems, including worsening air conditions in the cities, rocketing green-house gas emissions, serious water shortage, and pollution as well as desertification and loss of biodiversity” (xiii). When more rural areas were changed into industrial areas, more farmlands were transformed into SEZ areas. So, the government and civil society provided less importance to the agricultural sector because the people began to enjoy the benefits of modernization. On the other side, infrastructure development resulted in the rapid decrease of more farmlands. The Chinese society depends upon Eastern China for agricultural products. On the other side, the western area is vast but the land is arid. So, this uneven distribution of farmlands and encroachment on farmlands resulted in the decrease of arable (farm) land in Chinese context. Shortage of water resource in Chinese context The problem of encroachment on woodlands (forests) and marshy areas is an imminent threat on the availability of water resource in China. For instance, the south-west Sichuan area in China can be pointed out as one among the examples of rapid encroachment on woodlands. Still, China is able preserve a vast area as forest. On the other side, the government is spending more money to preserve the forest areas. But the government policy on industrialization reduces the scope of the preservation of vegetation. When the government tries to accelerate industrialization, the end result is the unrestricted exploitation and encroachment on woodlands (forests) and marshy areas. Besides, the Western area of China is undergoing rapid desertification. At the same time, the Gobi Desert is extending to other area and it results in further desertification. One can see that the innovative project named as Green Wall of China, implemented by the government in 2000s, aims to limit desertification. On the other side, increase in population and sustenance of population pose threat to the Chinese society as a whole. The government takes measures to limit the increase in population, but it is difficult to meet the needs of millions within the current condition. From a different angle of view, the government policies to limit population increase are successful to an extent. But China is already overpopulated and this creates unexpected problems on successful implementation of government policies. Zmarak Shalizi states that, “It is estimated that more than 400 of China’s 600 cities are short of water and about 100 face serious water shortage problems” (10). So, one can see that all these factors result in the shortage/lack of water resource. To be specific, encroachment on woodlands (forests), marshy areas, and desertification results in unrestricted exploitation of water resource. Besides, unrestricted exploitation of ground water results in the lowering of water table and further exploitation of the same. So, one can see that all these problems cannot be solved within a limited time interval. Instead, the Chinese civil society must show more responsibility towards their duties related to environmental protection. Suggestions: First of all, the reduction of arable (farm) land can be solved by limiting the influence of industrialization on arable land. To be specific, there must be strict laws that can limit the industrial sector from making use of farm lands for industrial purposes. The government must realize that dependency on industrialization can result in environmental problems. Besides, the people must realize that it is their duty to keep watchful eyes on their farm lands. The industrial units in the SEZ areas lead the whole nation towards development, but there must be some limitations on the dependency on farms for industrial purposes. Besides, the shortage of water resource in Chinese context cannot be solved by industrialization. So, innovative policies that limit the encroachment on woodlands (forests) and marshy areas must be implemented. Besides, the government must provide ample importance to afforestation policies. Still, the government must try to seek support from the civil society because this sort of policies cannot be implemented successfully without seeking support from the civil society. The government policy to limit population increase is successful to an extent. But the sustenance of the existing population is an important problem faced by the government. Still, less encroachment on woodlands and natural resources can solve the problem of the shortage of water. In short, the co-operation and co-ordination between the Chinese government and the civil society can solve the problems like the reduction of arable land and shortage of water. Summing, rapid industrialization can lead an agrarian society towards development and to enjoy the benefits of modernization. On the other side, industrialization results in the uncontrollable exploitation of natural resources. So, the world nations must realize that industrialization cannot solve the problems related to the protection of environment. One can see that industrialization helped the Chinese society to enjoy the benefits related to the same. But these benefits were not shared among the mass, but these benefits were limited to the context of elite class. On the other side, the civil society was forced to face the drastic effect of industrialization on environment. To be specific, more arable lands were converted into industrial areas and the same resulted in the less production of agricultural products. Besides, dependency on industries resulted in the unrestricted exploitation of natural resources and ended up in the shortage of water. So, the environmental problems faced by the Chinese society can be generalized to the wider context of world nations because the problems related to Mother Nature is global, not limited to the context of a specific nation. Works Cited Gang, Chen. Politics of Chinas Environmental Protection: Problems and Progress. Singapore: World Scientific, 2009. Print. Ma, Jianbo. The Land Development Game in China. Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, 2013. Print. Shalizi, Zmarak. Addressing Chinas Growing Water Shortages and Associated Social and Environmental Consequences. Washington DC: World Bank Publications, 2006. Print. Read More