CHINESE WATERWAYS ARE DISAPPEARING: STUDY REVEALS THAT AS MANY AS 28,000 RIVERS HAVE VANISHED.

 About 28,000 rivers in China have disappeared in the past 60 years.  Most researchers have reason to believe that the cause is the frenetic pace of industrialization the country has experienced.

The Chinese authority have released a report of its first and only national census of waterways and rivers.  

The data in the report point to a startling conclusion: that in the past 60 years more than 100 square kilometers of waterways have vanished into thin air.  

The study which was a massive endeavor undertaken by more than 800.000 surveyors, said there were no more than 22,909 waterways in China that had catchment areas of at least 100 square kilometers.  That's half its original estimate of more than 50,000.

The loss of water and the soil erosion it engenders are very dangerous and if the pace of economic development is not slowed or preventive measures taken, China could virtually run dry.  

Recent news have already highlighted the severe pollution of some of China's most important waterways.  From dead pigs and ducks, to pollution that is causing the creation of 'cancer villages', there is a general concern about what the future of China's water supply will be if there is not a very strong re-direction of current environmental practices.  

Some experts contend that the picture might not be so bleak, and that the initial estimates might be too high to reflect the true pace of loss.  And they also cite climate change as a contributing factor.  

Incredibly enough, even though the water supply is shrinking, wide areas of China are increasingly prone to flooding.  Flooding is nothing new in China: their history reflects a long trend of deadly flooding and rains.  But some point to the fact that there are not sufficient safeguards from rivers overflowing, and that the people in general are not protected from the devastating floods.  

But experts say that the trend is unmistakable:  400 out of 600 major cities in China will experience water shortages and deadly pollution.  In the north the soil is drying up due to the fact that there has been overpumping of underground aquifers.     

Such a destructive pace is not sustainable, and plans must be made to face the double onslaught of climate change and industrialization.

Source: The Times UK 3.30.13