Water and Food Shortages in China - Essay Example

Final Assignment There are many issues that are facing the world at the moment ranging from climate change to financial crises. One thing that people may not be familiar with at this time is the trend taking shape within different regions with regard to the accessibility of excellent cultivatable farmland. China is one area that is falling to this current trend in its loss of quality farmland. Unfortunately, if the region goes on without getting the right and necessary tools to raise awareness, the entire region might continue to suffer the decrease in size of cultivatable farmland areas. The amount of arable farmland in China continues to decline sharply even as the region faces yet another problem, which is water shortage (Imura 93). This paper will examine some of the ways China is trying to curb the recent trends, and what it might mean to the future of the region if these techniques do not work. In order to be an economic powerhouse, the country has to have its affairs in order so as to be able to control most of what it imports into the region. The fact that arable farmland is diminishing and water shortages are becoming rife, the region may soon be faced with problems its citizens or government may not be fully equipped to handle. A recent report by the Minister of the National Development and Reform Commission, Zhang Ping, indicates that the severe shortages of the reserve farmlands and water resources present the biggest challenges to ensuring food security for the region. Urbanization that is considered to be rather rapid and natural disasters are said to be among the top reasons why the region is losing cultivatable or arable land, thus; making it a herculean task to save the remaining percentage of land that is still cultivatable (Imura 97). Statistics China’s National Bureau of Statistics indicates that China is responsible for 20pc of the globe’s population. However, only 7pc of this has been recorded as cultivatable land. It goes on to claim that; of the over 130 million hectares of arable land that was present in China in 1996, there was only a little over 120 million hectares left by the year 2008. Bank of America has, unfortunately, claimed that China has already bypassed the 120 million hectare mark, meaning that only 115 million will be available by the year 2015. China, at the moment, can only boast of having less than 5 million hectares of land as reserve farmland (Imura 101). Further statistics by an agricultural consultancy firm indicate that there is need to maintain or preserve the remaining 120 million hectares that will allow crop production until the year 2020. Below is a chart indicating the availability of land in China in millions of hectares This is to allow China be autonomous in crop and grain production. As seen earlier, China is becoming one of the largest importers of foodstuffs. This is from areas such as Brazil and the U.S., which provide China with soybeans and corn respectively. It is estimated that by the year 2015, China will be importing over 15 million tons of corn from the United States, which will be an increase from 5 million tons in 2013. The main area that needs to be looked at is the manner in which China is likely to deal with such problems, and such receding numbers. New numbers indicate that China is likely to handle itself in the wake of an economic crisis, and it seems to handle challenges well. This means that despite the decrease in cultivatable farmland and water shortages, China is already looking for areas that may allow it to purchase farmland (Imura 103). Techniques to curb arable farmland loss and water shortage crises There are different methods which have been implemented by the Chinese government to try and reduce the deficit that the region is currently facing. Some special agricultural policies were implemented to look at the tax reduction or exemption of agricultural products, which then positively affected the famers in the region. Further amendments saw the abolishment of the Agricultural Tax Regulations, which took the burden off the farmers who were bearing the full weight of these regulations. Subsidies are being granted to farmers in order to stabilize the production of food and other agricultural products in the region. Farmland protection policies are also a means to ensure that the arable or cultivatable land present is fully protected from waste, which force people to be accountable for their actions. Subsidies for machinery purchase have also been increased so that the labor productivity of the region can be fully maximized (Imura 134). China can be considered as a water-poor country, and as a result, tries to implement policies that aim to satisfy the demand that the massive population places on its government. With each passing year, China continues to get drier while the situation gets dire. Natural calamities like droughts, which hit the region in 2000, 2007, and 2009, affected the freshwater reserves leading to a profound decline of water levels. The changes mentioned earlier, that is; climate change may have a role to play in the manner in which China is receiving its rainfall. Rivers are being affected with the melting of the glaciers. Temperatures are rising and the precipitation patterns are no longer constant, which then leads to different climatic changes that lead to droughts and desertification (Imura 139). There is need for energy in the region as there are reports that indicate that China’s population is likely to increase by 2020, which means water is required to satisfy the energy demands the region has. Coal mining is one area China is trying to increase its energy production, but the mining and processing guarantees that over 20% of the country’s water supply is consumed. This means that by the year 2020, the consumption of water will have to multiply to suit the various needs of the water-intensive activities that the region is dealing with. The plans to ensure that the water scarcity issue is dealt with led to the creation of some projects, some of which are currently underway. There are plans that are underway to see the desalination of seawater so as to quadruple the region’s average water reserve. Currently, the region can boast of desalinating over 600,000 tons of water per day, but the region is hoping to ensure that by the year 2020, there is the capacity to desalinate over 3 million tons (Imura 142). Coal mining in one region in China There is also the construction of water diversion plants, which may help in trying to meet the energy and water demands of most urban areas in China. These diversion plants are a means to ensure that water is diverted from large water reservoirs, into areas that require the use of water, for example; irrigation schemes, where rice and grain require copious amounts of water. It may also necessitate the need to have water for more energy production in the various areas that are involved in coal mining and processing. Water crisis is a major concern for most economists, academics, and activists in China. There are constant debates as to what may be the appropriate courses of action for better agricultural/food and water security for the people in China (Imura 146). An image of the construction of the SNWDP diversion plant In conclusion, the current water and food shortage China is facing presents a huge problem for the growth and development of the people in China. Economists, educationists, policymakers, and even activists believe that the above solutions will only serve to prolong the coming of a major shortage in both areas, while others think that these strategies will only fill a small gap of what is actually taking place. Whatever the case, China needs to address the problem through different efficiency and conservation procedures. Water consumption needs to be taken down or reduced, and it is through proper implementation practices that some of the policies in place will be effective (Imura 154). That being said, it is up to the people in each region in the vast China country to be at the forefront in ensuring that some of their practices protect the resources and reserves so as to safeguard a future that promises water and food security for everyone. Work Cited Imura, Hidefumi. Environmental Issues in China Today: A View from Japan. New York: Springer Science & Business, 2013. Print. Read More