Land Pollution In China: Causes And Effects

China's land pollution is a complex and challenging issue, threatening environmental sustainability, food safety, and public health. The country's rapid industrialization, population growth, and urbanization have led to widespread soil and water pollution, with far-reaching consequences. Industrial activities, agricultural practices, and desertification are key contributors to land degradation, endangering China's arable land and water resources, which are already scarce. The government has initiated various anti-pollution measures, including the 2019 national law to prevent soil pollution, demonstrating a growing recognition of the severity of the problem.

Industrial pollution

One of the major consequences of industrial activities in China is land contamination. Mining, for instance, has directly polluted land and caused indirect geological issues such as land subsidence, hills of gangue and fly ash, ground cracks, landslides, and a decline in groundwater tables. By 2012, mining activities had already occupied or destroyed 28,100 square kilometres of land in China. This has led to a severe deterioration of the original ecosystem, impacting essential ecosystem services like biomass production, biodiversity maintenance, carbon storage, and soil and water conservation.

Industrial emissions have also contributed significantly to air pollution in China, particularly in urban areas. The unreasonable development of industries has been identified as the primary cause of haze pollution in cities, with PM2.5 being the main pollutant. China's rapid urbanization and industrialization have exacerbated this problem, with 99% of 500 cities failing to meet the air quality standards set by the World Health Organization. The dense smog that blankets China's major cities poses a severe risk to public health, causing hundreds of thousands of premature deaths and respiratory illnesses annually.

Additionally, industrial pollution has contaminated water sources, rendering many waterways unfit for direct human use. Water scarcity, coupled with the long-term use of wastewater for irrigation, has resulted in serious agricultural land and food pollution, especially from heavy metals. This has compromised food safety and sustainable agriculture, with an estimated 6 million tonnes of food grain contaminated by heavy metals each year, leading to significant economic losses.

The Chinese government has recognized the severity of the situation and has taken steps to address it. In 2018, the Ministry of Science and Technology launched a four-year program, "Pollution and Treatment Technology for Contaminated Land," allocating 608 million Chinese yuan to address contaminated sites. The government has also implemented plans to reduce air pollution, such as decreasing coal consumption and shutting down polluting industries, which have shown some success in improving air quality.

Soil pollution

There are several factors contributing to soil pollution in China. Firstly, population growth has put immense pressure on the country's limited arable land and water resources. This has led to the long-term use of wastewater irrigation and chemical fertilisers to meet the water and production requirements for agriculture. As a result, agricultural land has been contaminated with heavy metals, pesticides, and other chemical pollutants.

Secondly, industrialisation and urbanisation have also played a significant role in soil pollution. Industrial discharges and emissions have contaminated land, particularly in abandoned sites in urban areas, raising concerns about the safety of human settlements and health. Additionally, the unreasonable development of industries and the impact of terrain on land resource allocation have contributed to air pollution, which indirectly affects soil quality.

Furthermore, the agricultural sector itself is a significant source of pollution. Chinese farms generate more pollution than factories, according to a government survey. Pesticides, fertiliser residues, and plastic waste, such as bags and packaging materials, often end up in landfills due to inadequate waste management infrastructure. This type of pollution, known as "white pollution," has become a unique issue in China and South Asia, impacting agricultural fields, landscapes, and waterways.

The Chinese government has taken steps towards addressing soil pollution, including implementing a soil pollution control law and adopting the "polluter pays" principle. However, enforcement challenges remain due to the difficulty of identifying the responsible parties and the complexity of remediating contaminated land.

Water pollution

China's unprecedented geoengineering projects, aimed at diverting water from the south to the north, are also contributing to the problem. These projects are endangering water resources downstream from Tibet and the Hindu-Kush mountains and impacting the economy and livelihoods of billions of people. Additionally, the consistent pursuit of economic growth at the expense of environmental health has led to dangerous levels of water pollution and poor soil health.

Industrial pollution and poor environmental regulations have also played a significant role in China's water pollution crisis. Multinational companies and factories discharge untreated wastewater into lakes and rivers due to weak enforcement of environmental regulations and local corruption. This has led to the contamination of water sources with toxic levels of arsenic, fluorine, sulfates, and other hazardous chemicals. The serious contamination of China's waterways has resulted in water that is largely unfit for direct human use, with about 300 million people in China lacking access to safe and clean drinking water.

Agricultural practices have also contributed to water pollution in China. The use of farm fertilizers and the discharge of agricultural waste have contaminated water sources. Additionally, deforestation, driven by the need for timber in the steel industry and agriculture, has reduced the ability of Chinese soils to retain water and control flooding.

Agricultural pollution

China's agricultural land is under threat from a variety of sources, with the country's food security rooted in its soil. The government's 2014 soil survey revealed that 19% of China's farmland was contaminated by metals such as lead, cadmium, and arsenic, as well as organic and inorganic chemical pollutants. This has resulted in about 6 million tonnes of food grain being contaminated by heavy metals every year, causing direct losses of 29 billion yuan (US$2.57 billion).

The agricultural sector is a significant source of waste in China. A large government survey found that Chinese farms generate more pollution than factories. Pesticides and fertilizer residues, packaging associated with bags and mulch film, are largely left untreated in landfills, often due to a lack of waste management infrastructure. This has resulted in what is known as "white pollution", which refers to the colour of white plastic shopping bags, Styrofoam containers, and other light-coloured materials that began turning up in visible volumes in agricultural fields, the landscape, and waterways in the mid-to-late 1990s.

Water scarcity and pollution, pesticide overuse, and chemical pollutants are considered to be the most important factors impacting food safety in China. Inadequate quantity and quality of surface water resources have led to the long-term use of wastewater irrigation to meet water requirements for agricultural production. This has caused serious agricultural land and food pollution, especially from heavy metals.

Agricultural land in Hunan, the largest rice-producing province in China, has been contaminated by industrial discharges of flue gas, wastewater, and waste residue, and metal mine tailings. Soil is further affected by the overuse of agrochemicals and poor farming practices, as well as acid rain caused by severe air pollution.

In addition, construction severely compacts the soil, reducing crop yield by more than 60%. More than 2.47 million hectares of farmland have been reclaimed under the Dynamic Balance of Total Farmland Area policy, which stipulates that when any arable land is converted to a non-farm use, new arable land of equal or greater area must be compensated for. However, this reclaimed farmland is not fully productive, with only 37% of it being used for agriculture.

Air pollution

China's rapid economic growth has been powered largely by coal, a cheap but highly polluting source of energy. This has resulted in intense levels of air pollution, with emissions from power stations and heavy industry being considerable contributors. The combustion of fossil fuels, particularly coal, releases fine particles into the air that can penetrate deep into the lungs and cardiovascular system, causing various diseases, including stroke, heart disease, lung cancer, and respiratory infections.

Vehicle emissions are another major culprit, especially in larger cities like Beijing and Shanghai, where the concentration of exhaust fumes is much higher. The total number of vehicles in China reached 360 million in 2020, and emissions from vehicles contribute to almost 70% of Beijing's polluted air.

The immense population growth in China since the 1980s has also resulted in increased soil pollution. Contaminated water used for irrigation and solid waste have affected China's cultivable land, threatening food safety and sustainable agriculture.

The social, economic, and political challenges posed by air pollution in China are significant. It is a leading cause of death in the country, with an estimated 1.24 million people dying from exposure to air pollution in 2017, according to a study in The Lancet. The Chinese government has recognised the severity of the issue and is taking measures to improve air quality, such as encouraging the transition from coal to natural gas and investing heavily in combating pollution. However, balancing economic growth with environmental and social welfare remains a challenge.

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