CHANGSHA, The first annual 
health report on the Yangtze River indicates that the billions of tons of waste 
that continue to be dumped into China's longest waterway are taking a serious 
toll its aquatic life. 
 
 
 
 
 
   Industrial sewage from a textile 
 dyeing factory is drained from a pipe into the Yangtze River in Yichang, 
 in central China's Hubei province in this March 22, 2007 picture. China's 
 economy could face problems unless the country shifts to a more 
 sustainable and environmentally friendly growth pattern, said Ma Kai, head 
 of the National Development and Reform Commission. Picture taken March 22, 
 2007. [Reuters]
   | 
The 2007 annual report on Yangtze River protection and development shows that 
more than 600 kilometers of the river are in critical condition. The report says 
almost 30 percent of its major tributaries, including the Minjiang, Tuojiang, 
Xiangjiang and Huangpu rivers, are seriously polluted. 
The report says the river's annual harvest of aquatic products dropped from 
427,000 tons in the 1950s to about 100,000 tons in the 1990s. 
A separate study by the Yangtze River Water Resources Commission shows cities 
along the river discharge at least 14.2 billion tons of polluted water every 
year, 42 percent of China's total. 
Pollution, damming and too many boats have caused a dramatic decline in 
Yangtze aquatic life. While rare species such as the white-flag dolphin are 
thought to be on the verge of extinction, even common species such as carp are 
gasping for survival, the report said. 
"The impact of human activities on the Yangtze water ecology is largely 
irreversible," said Yang Guishan, a researcher of the Nanjing Institute of 
Geography and Limnology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences and one of the 
chief editors of the report. "It's a pressing job to regulate such activities in 
all the Yangtze drainage areas and promote harmonious development of man and 
nature." 
The report, complied by Yang's institute, the Yangtze River Water Resources 
Commission and the WWF, also warned of the higher flood risks. 
The Yangtze accounts for about 35 percent of China's total fresh water 
resources but it's also responsible for 70 to 75 percent of the country's 
floods, the report said. 
"Flood control remains an arduous task along the Yangtze, given the rising 
temperature and frequent occurrences of extreme weather over the last 50 years," 
said Yang. 
Although the Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest water storage facility, 
has reduced flood risks in the middle reaches, the risk of flooding remains high 
in the lower reaches, he said. 
The report also assessed the Three Gorges Dam project, showing its huge 
reservoir is seriously polluted by pesticides, fertilizers and sewage from 
passenger boats. 
 China allocated 4 billion yuan (US$513 million) in 2002 to offset 
the impact of the dam on the ecology, the local environment and the local 
people, said Prof. Weng Lida, former head of the Yangtze River Water Resources 
Commission, adding that more cash is coming. 
"We have to take into consideration the proper settlement of the people who 
have been displaced, environmental protection, heavy silting and the prevention 
of geological disasters," said Weng who cautioned that "faster is not always 
better." 
The water level in the Three Gorges reservoir reached a landmark 156 meters 
last October, but some provinces want the level to go higher so more electricity 
can be produced, Weng said. 
"Higher water levels will worsen pollution and silting. We have to seek more 
sustained development," he said.