CONSERVATION THREATS
hina's huge and growing population puts a lot of pressure
on the country's natural resources. Per capita availability of
agricultural land, water, forest, and other resources is well
below the world average. The ever increasing demand for land for
agricultural activities, besides urban and industrial expansion,
road building, and dam construction, leaves the remaining uncultivated
areas of wilderness at risk. Pollution, poaching, and logging
continue to take a heavy toll on China's fastdiminishing
wildlife and natural forests.
Meanwhile China's relatively backward industry threatens the country's
development. It makes inefficient use of resources, fails to effectively
control pollution, and largely ignores the human costs of environmental
degradation. Already, industrial wastes have polluted about 150,000km2
of agricultural land or 10 per cent of the total farmland across
China. A further 150,000km2 have been polluted, to
some extent, by agricultural chemicals. China also has the dubious
distinction of having five of the world's 10 most air polluted
cities.
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