Ecosystem worsens despite efforts in China(2)

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION MEASURES

Local authorities built 12 cofferdams in the region in 2007 to gather water from surrounding areas. Some 15,000 mu (1000 hectares) of dry earth is now covered with vegetation.

Water conservation projects have been applied to the Jinghe and Daheyanzi rivers, along with tree and grass planting initiatives in their lower reaches.

Digging cistanche and desert plants has been seriously prohibited. Those who are caught selling the shrubs are fined as much as 50,000 yuan (8,010 U.S. dollars).

In December last year, a four-year project with funding of 12.18 million U.S. dollars was launched. It looks scientifically at the causes of the problem affecting Lake Aibi, and seeks to restore the area's ecosystem through piloting various solutions.

As a result, birds that migrate to the lake have increased from 1.1 million to 1.4 million and from 111 kinds to 135 kinds.

However, the biggest problem, desertification, is not being properly addressed, in the view of Gao Xiang. He said no studies on controlling desertification have carried out so far.

Little improvement has been achieved despite all the efforts. The lake continues to shrink while Jinghe River and Bortala River reduce to mere brooks. "Should drought come, the two rivers will stop flowing into Lake Aibi at any time," said Huang Faxin.

Experts agree that more effective measures are urgently needed.

Utilizing water resources is the top priority. Three counties and the eight farms near the lake should plan their water usage together, said Li Chengyi, director of the nature reserve and wetland administrative office at the Forestry Department of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Li said the counties should promote water-saving trickle irrigation by providing subsidies to farmers.

Moreover, instead of developing water-intensive industries, the counties should work on third-tier industries including tourism that need less water and can bring more income to local residents, urged Li.

Another priority is to channel more water to the Lake Aibi. The routes of Yili River tributaries can be altered to flow into the lake. With more economic use of upstream waters, the once cut-off rivers and underground water will be able to replenish themselves and feed into Lake Aibi, explained Huang.

Li believes the nature reserve administration may also draw experience from water conservation projects on Xinjiang's Bosten Lake and Tarim River, the country's largest inland freshwater lake and longest inland river respectively. Both are seeing a slowly improving ecological environment.

According to a survey on China's water quality, water volume and biological resource by Chinese Academy of Sciences, 243 lakes have disappeared in the past 50 years, one fourth of them located in Xinjiang.

Currently, Xinjiang has 114 lakes of more than one square km. They add up to 6,400 square km, which account for about 7.7 percent of the total lake area of the whole country.