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The Chinese regime's drive for rapid industrialization has come at a cost to the country's natural resources. Water protection authorities say more than 33-billion tons of waste have been discharged into the country's largest river every year. While measures have been taken to address water pollution, environmentalists say more still needs to be done.
Environmentalists are calling on Chinese authorities to protect the Yangtze River. It comes after a water protection bureau revealed this month that a massive amount of sewage is discharged into the river every year.
Since 2006, more than 30-billion tons of sewage flows into the Yangtze River annually. In 2010, that amount increased to 33.9-billion tons, according to the Yangtze River Water Resources Protection Bureau.
The bulk of the waste comes from factories along the river's middle and lower reaches. Environmentalist Yang Xin says authorities need to step up waste management to protect this major water resource.
[Yang Xin, Environmentalist]:
"The Yangtze River supports 400-million people, and nearly half the country's economy. Each year more waste is discharged into the river. We've continuously said that the river needs to be better protected, including improved oversight of waste management, to lower the amount of discharge."
Chinese authorities say they've been closing down factories with poor waste management systems along the Yangtze River. But geologist Gao Junfeng with the Chinese Academy of Sciences says that may not be enough.
