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Comprehensive plan to fight climate change

(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-10-30 15:22

II. Impact of Climate Change on China

China is one of the countries most susceptible to the adverse effects of climate change, mainly in the fields of agriculture, livestock breeding, forestry, natural ecosystems, water resources, and coastal zones.

Impact on Agriculture and Livestock Breeding

Climate change has already produced visible adverse effects on China's agriculture and livestock-raising sectors, manifested by increased instability in agricultural production, severe damages to crops and livestock breeding caused by drought and high temperatures in some parts of the country, aggravated spring freeze injury to early-budding crops due to climate warming, decline in the output and quality of grasslands, and augmented losses caused by meteorological disasters.

The impact of future climate change on agriculture and livestock breeding will still be mainly adverse.

Impact on Forestry and Other Natural Ecosystems

The impact of climate change on China's forestry and other natural ecosystems are mainly manifested in the following aspects: the northward shift of the northern boundaries of eastern subtropical and temperature zones and early phenophase; upward shift of the lower boundaries of forest belts in some areas; elevation of lower line of highland permafrost and decreased area of permafrost; rising frequency of animal and plant diseases and insect pests with marked changes in the distribution of regions; reduced area and overall shrinking trend of glaciers in northwestern China; and threat to the oasis ecosystem posed by accelerated melting of glaciers and snow cover.

Future climate change will further increase the fragility of ecosystems.

Impact on Water Resources

Climate change has already caused changes in the distribution of water resources all over China. It is predicted that future climate change will have a great impact on the temporal and spatial distribution of water resources. In particular, accelerated melting of glaciers in western China owing to climate warming will further lessen the area of glaciers and glacier ice reserves, thus having significant impacts on rivers and runoffs with sources in glacier melt water.

Impact on Coastal Zones

The past 30 years have witnessed in China an accelerating trend of sea level rise, which has caused seawater intrusion, soil salinization and coastal erosion, damaged the typical marine ecosystems of coastal wetlands, mangrove swamps and coral reefs, and diminished the service functions and bio-diversity of coastal zones.

It is predicted that the sea level in the coastal zones of China will continue to rise. Sea level rise will undermine the capacity of public drainage facilities in coastal cities, and impair the functions of harbors.

Impact on Society, Economy and Other Fields

Climate change will also produce far-reaching impacts on society, economy and other fields, and cause huge losses to the national economy. In addition, there will be increased chances of disease occurrence and spread, ensuing dangers to human health, rising possibilities of geological and meteorological disasters and consequent threats to the security of major projects.

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