Home / Environment / News Tools: Save | Print | E-mail | Most Read | Comment
China Reports Alarming Rate of Coastline Retreat
Adjust font size:

China has seen its coastline retreat at an alarming rate in recent years, with some sections moving back dozens of meters, according to the State Oceanic Administration.

 

Results from monitoring over the past three years showed that 15 kilometers of the sandy coast in northeast China's Liaoning Province was seriously eroded and was retreating at an annual speed of 0.7 meters.

 

The biggest retreat in this section was two meters, which had destroyed off-shore highways and threatened nearby farmland, forest belts and buildings, said the report.

 

Another 35.6 kilometers of coastline along east China's Shandong Province retreated at an annual width of 4.4 meters from August 2003 to August of last year, with the eroded coast 6.8 kilometers longer than the beginning of 2003 and speed of retreat three meters faster.

 

Jiangsu Province also witnessed 19.75 kilometers of its shore line move back 16.8 meters on average each year from April 2003 to May 2006, with hundreds of hectares of salt pans and many fish and shrimp ponds washed away.

 

The weak geological nature, rising sea levels and frequent storm tides have all quickened the process of coastal erosion, the report said.

 

But human activities, including sand mining along beaches and of sea beds, construction projects on the coast and upstream interception of mud and sand, were all major causes, it concluded.

 

(Xinhua News Agency January 16, 2007)

Tools: Save | Print | E-mail | Most Read
Comment
Pet Name
Anonymous

China Archives
Related >>
- Shandong's Coastlines Better Protected
- Liaoning to Further Open up Coastline
- Afforestation Project to Safeguard Coastline
Most Viewed >>
Air Quality 
Cities Major Pollutant Air Quality Level
Beijing particulate matter II
Shanghai particulate matter III1
Guangzhou sulfur dioxide II
Chongqing particulate matter III2
Xi'an particulate matter III1
Most Read
- White paper on energy
- Endangered monkeys grow in number
- Yangtze River's Three Gorges 2 mln years in the making
- The authorities sets sights on polluted soil
- China, US benefit from clean energy
NGO Events Calendar Tips
- Hand in hand to protect endangered animals and plants
- Changchun, Mini-marathon Aimed at Protecting Siberian Tiger
- Water Walk by Nature University
- Green Earth Documentary Salon
- Prof. Maria E. Fernandez to Give a Lecture on Climate Change
More
Archives
UN meets on climate change
The UN Climate Change Conference brought together representatives of over 180 countries and observers from various organizations.
Panda Facts
A record 28 panda cubs born via artificial insemination have survived in 2006.
South China Karst
Rich and unique karst landforms located in south China display exceptional natural beauty.
Saving the Tibetan Antelopes
The rare animals survive in the harsh natural environment of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.
More
Laws & Regulations
- Forestry Law of the People's Republic of China
- Meteorology Law of the People's Republic of China
- Fire Control Law of the People's Republic of China
- Law on Protecting Against and Mitigating Earthquake Disasters
- Law of the People's Republic of China on Conserving Energy
More
Links:
State Environmental Protection Administration
Ministry of Water Resources
Ministry of Land and Resources
China Environmental Industry Network
Chengdu Giant Panda Research Base