Freshwater ecosystem destroyed after 50 years of turning desert into farmland, says report commissioned by Chinese government
Jonathan Watts, guardian.co.uk 18 May 09;
China should pay farmers to halt irrigation in the environmentally degraded far west despite long-standing concerns about food security, a senior government adviser has told the Guardian.
After more than 50 years of converting desert to farmland, the expert says the water problems in Xinjiang are so acute that the vast region – bigger than two-thirds of the world's nations – cannot develop further unless it pulls people off the fields and into cities.
Ideas for a pilot project aimed at reducing water use intensity in the area have been submitted by the expert, who was dispatched by the prime minister last year to study the problem.
The report's findings, as told to the Guardian, suggest the dash to transform desert into farmland over the past 50 years has resulted in a massive waste of water resources and environmental damage.
"In Xinjiang, close to 96% of the water is used for agriculture. In the world, this is the highest share," said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. "This structure has already caused the destruction of the freshwater ecosystem. In some lower reaches of rivers, there is no longer any water. Some wetlands and lakes have degraded."
Last year, officials and farmers complained they were suffering from the most severe drought in 50 years and called for more water to be diverted from neighbouring Kazakhstan, but the adviser found the cause of the problem was over-expansion of farmland and the drilling of too many wells.
The team has advised officials in Turpan – one of the most affected areas – to introduce a "grain for water" policy that compensates local farmers with food for giving up river-exhausting cultivation. They suggest the area becomes more industrialised and urbanised to make more efficient use of water resources.
"Given the water problem, Xinjiang should only be required to supply sufficient food for its own use," the adviser said. "The environment is already degrading. They don't have enough water for agriculture. We found that only if they go for industry, can they save water."
The government has already spent billions of yuan on a "grain for green" scheme that pays farmers to halt cultivation of slopes and very dry areas so that the land can be used for reforestation and land recovery. The new proposal would potentially commit similarly large sums to make water use more efficient.
If adopted, it would be a U-turn. In the 1950s, Mao Zedong urged millions of pioneers to settle in and cultivate the Uighur Autonomous Region of Xinjiang to ease the country's food shortages.
They have produced mixed results. According to government figures, Xinjiang now has 1.4m hectares (3.5m acres) of farmland, accounting for 3.3% of the national total. Although much of it is used for cotton, the area produces an agricultural surplus and is particularly famous for fruit.
Any change in the balance of food production causes unease in a country where the elderly still remember the devastating famines of the early 1960s that killed between 15 million and 40 million people. The expert said China would have no difficulty feeding its people even if Xinjiang produced food only for itself.
Climate change is adding to uncertainties by making Xinjiang warmer and increasing rainfall levels. Of greatest concern is the shrinking of mountain glaciers on which the region depends for a quarter of its water.
The survey team found that the melt-water bonus would increase river volume until 2020, after which the region could even suffer greater shortages than today.
"We have to be responsible for future generations so we cannot start developing when water income is very big, because later when water declines we wont have enough to sustain things," said the adviser. "We need to take advantage of the extra meltwater by doing all we can to solve the problems of dried-up lakes and depleted ground water".
Allowing Xinjiang to shift away from agriculture will allow the region to utilise its rich coal and oil resources and improve the efficiency of water use, the report found.
It estimates that each person moved from the countryside to the city saves 1,800 cubic metres of water, worth 64,000 yuan (£6,400) a year.
The relocation would be cost-efficient, according to the adviser. "For the Three Gorges Project, moving one person cost 40,000 yuan. In Xinjiang they only need to move them very close to cities and provide housing. It will be easier."
