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Environmental Crisis in Rapidly Developing Ningxia, Inner Mongolia, and Shaanxi

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Environmental Crisis in Rapidly Developing Ningxia, Inner Mongolia, and Shaanxi ENVIRONMENTAL CRISIS IN RAPIDLY DEVELOPING NINGXIA, INNER MONGOLIA, AND SHAANXI Yu Chen Located in ecologically vulnerable deserts, the cities of Ordos and Wuhai in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region; Yulin in Shaanxi Province; and Shizuishan in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region have become areas of fast economic growth. However, extensive urban construction, large-scale resource exploitation, and construc- tion of enterprises that consume a large amount of energy and cause serious pollution, have brought severe environmental problems. This has resulted in intensified ecological degradation, desertification, pol- lution, water waste, and water shortage. Consequently, environmental protection and sustainable development in these regions have become pressing issues that call for immediate attention and solutions. In recent years, the economic growth rates of Ordos (鄂尔多斯) and Wuhai (乌海) in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region; Yulin (榆林) in Shaanxi Province; and Shizuishan (石嘴山) in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, were all far above China’s average. The average annual GDP growth rate of Ordos was 27%, leading in both Inner Mongolia and China; hence, the term the “Ordos Phenome- non” has been coined. As for Yulin, its GDP grew at a rate of 24% in 2008 and ranked first in Shaanxi Province for seven consecutive years. Undoubtedly, the economic take-off at the junction area of Ningxia, Inner Mongolia, and Shaanxi has attracted a great deal of attention. However, little has been mentioned of the ecological and environ- mental problems resulting from the economic growth stimulated by resource development in these severely arid desert areas. It is tremendously important for this economic “Golden Triangle” in North China, which is made up of the Ordos Plateau (鄂尔多斯 高原), the Mu Us Desert (毛乌素沙漠), and the Alxa Desert (阿拉善 沙漠), to consider how to promote sustainable economic and social development. The region has limited resources and must take its envi- ronmental capacity fully into account. 152 yu chen I. The Impact of Resource Development on the Environment A journey south from the city of Baotou (包头), across Ordos, Yulin, and then northwest to the counties of Jingbian (靖边) and Dingbian (定边) on the edge of Mu Us Desert, then up to Uxen Banner (乌审 旗), Otog Banner (鄂托克旗), and Otog Front Banner (鄂托克前旗), and finally to the city of Wuhai, presents a desolate view of silent wil- derness dotted with nothing but shrubs and needlegrass. Thundering down this road through the Gobi Desert are armies of heavyweight vehicles fully loaded with coal, petroleum, natural gas, and mechanical tools. The vast wilderness is turning into a huge energy base. Abun- dant resources such as fossil fuels and iron ore in the junction of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and Shaanxi Province are being tapped and loaded onto the economic express of China. However, the large-scale resource devel- opment and exploitation have caused severe damage to the already vulnerable ecological environment of these areas under the influence of the arid steppe climate. On February 18, 2009, the Department of Land and Resources of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region announced that confirmed coal reserves in this region had reached 701.6 billion tons, which was more than twice that of the whole nation (326.1 billion tons), accord- ing to the 2008 China Statistical Yearbook.1 The city of Yulin in Shaanxi Province is incredibly rich in resources such as coal, oil, natural gas, and halite. The possible geological reserves of coal are 270 billion tons, of which 140 billion are proven. The reserves of oil and natural gas are also substantial, not to men- tion the projected 6 trillion tons of halite, which represent 26% of the national reserve. Furthermore, the mineral resources in Yulin account for 95% of those in the entire province of Shaanxi. However, the development of energy resources such as coal and oil in the cold and arid desert imposes a great demand on water. Strip mining, which is the major method adopted to extract coal in Ordos and Yulin because of the closeness of the ore to the land’s surface, has destroyed vegetation on a large scale. Consequently, the ecological system has suffered immensely. 1 Liu Jun, “Inner Mongolia Becomes Top Coal Province with a Storage of over 700 Million Tons,” Science and Technology Daily, February 19, 2009..
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