Areas of Sino-Indian Cooperation in Agriculture: Problems and Prospects

VIII
Continuous slide in the arable area is just one side of the story to the present and futire scenario of agricultural resource crunch in China. Wang Xuegen, a researcher with Chinese Academy of Sciences has brought tot he fore the problem of wetlands in Qinghai Tibet plateau. It relates to capability of the soil to retain water and adjusting the water volume of the river. Wang says there is shrinkage of 10 per cent in the last four decades. He notes, "Though rainfall in the region is on increase, the water flow in the rivers had not increased due to faster evaporation caused by higher evaporation.
Notwithstanding, glaciers in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region has receded by 20 per cent in the corresponding period. Snow line has shrank by 60 meters. 300 cities in China face acute water shortage. Untreated sewage and industrial waste has polluted around 70 per cent of the water bodies.
The governemnt is circumspect about the development. While it can do precious little to stop the the shrinkage of the snow line in the immediate future until there is while range of change in the energy consumption pattern, it has earmarked US$2.1 billion to protect and restore endangered wetlands. Only time will tell the effecacy of the governmental response.