Natural resources of China. China

Natural resources are important integral part natural environment. This includes land and water resources, climatic and biological resources, minerals. China has quite rich natural resources. First of all, the vastness of the territory of China has rich land resources that have many types. Of these, arable land is 1224 thousand square meters. km, about 10% of the entire territory of the country. Arable land is mainly located in the flat areas in the Northeast, in Northern China, in the basin of the lower and middle reaches of the Yangtze, in the Sichuan depression and the Pearl River Delta. Agriculture flourishes in these areas, rich crops of wheat, corn, rice and various industrial crops are grown. Forests spread over an area of ​​1750 thousand square meters. km and make up 18.2% of the entire territory of China. They mainly grow: 1) on the mountains of Greater and Lesser Khingan and Changbaishan, which are located in the Northeast of China and are the largest natural forest area in the country, Korean cedar, larch, and various species of broad-leaved trees mainly prevail here; 2) the mountains of Hengduan, to which the provinces of Sichuan, Yunnan and Tibet adjoin, are the second largest forest region in China, rough spruce and fir mainly grow here; 3) on the island of Hainan and in Xishuangbanna in the province of Yunnan, jungles unique to China have been preserved. The steppes spread over an area of ​​4 million square meters. km and account for 41.6% of the entire territory of China. For the most part, they are located on the Inner-Mongolian plateau, the Loess plateau, in the north and south of the Tienshan mountains in Xinjiang and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. They are a livestock base that supplies the country with livestock, meat, dairy products, wool and other livestock products. In addition, there are many lakes occupying 67.5 thousand square meters. km, they are a natural treasury that supplies the country with fish, shrimp and other marine products. Water resources. China receives an average of 6 trillion km of precipitation annually. cube m, the total flow of rivers in China is more than 2.7 trillion. cube m, the total volume of water resources - 2.8 trillion. cube m. In terms of water resources, China is in sixth place in the world, behind only Brazil, Russia, Canada, the United States and Indonesia. Theoretically, the water resources of China's rivers are fraught with 676 million kilowatts. The potential capacity of hydroelectric power units is 378 million kilowatts and brings China to the first place in the world. However, water resources are unevenly distributed over the regions, more in the south, less in the north, more in the east, less in the west. China is rich in minerals. Reserves of 158 species have already been explored, of which, in terms of reserves, China is more than 20 species, of which, in terms of reserves, more than 20, China is in the forefront of the world. In terms of reserves of tungsten, antimony, titanium, vanadium, zinc, rare earths, magnesite, iron sulfide, fluorite, barite, lime and graphite, China ranks first in the world in 12 types of minerals, in terms of reserves of tin, mercury, asbestos , talc, coal and molybdenum, only 6 types - second and third places; for nickel, lead, iron, manganese and platinum, only 5 types - the fourth place in the world. In terms of reserves of 45 major minerals, China ranks third in the world and is one of the few countries with rich deposits of ores and mostly complete species. The flora and fauna of China is rich and diverse, which is one of the countries in the world with fairly rich resources in this area. plants high class there are 32.8 thousand species, animals - 104 thousand species, of which there are many rare species, for example, panda, golden monkey, Yangtzejiang alligator, white dolphin, metasequoia, tung. All these species of animals and plants cannot be found in other countries, there are very few of them, therefore they are called “living fossils”. In order to preserve these rare species of animals and plants, as well as for the purpose of ecological balance, China has created a number of natural reserves, 14 of them are included in the UN network of natural reserves "Man and the Biosphere". China has extensive marine areas. Sea shallows covers an area of ​​133 thousand square meters. km, of which 26 thousand square meters. km, you can breed aquatic products. The area of ​​the salt basin is 4.3 thousand square meters. km. Marine resources are also rich. There are over 2,600 species of fish alone in the sea waters of China. More than 50 species are mainly of economic value. Marine fishing and the cultivation of marine products have a certain scale. Oil, natural gas, iron, copper, apatite, beryl - more than 20 types of minerals - have been found in the sea areas of China. Development has already begun on some of them, for example, offshore oil fields in the Bohai Bay and Beibuwan Bay. As for ocean energy resources, reserves of 540 million kilowatts are assumed here. They are also partly being developed, for example, tides are used in energy generation. The total amount of various resources of China is relatively huge, but due to the large population, their number per capita is quite scanty, for example, land, water, ores. In addition, various resources are distributed unevenly across regions. For example, coal. The country has more than 760 billion tons of coal, of which over 70% of its reserves are in the provinces of Shanxi, Shaanxi and Inner Mongolia, while the 9 southern provinces that need coal account for 1.4%. Most of the already explored oil reserves are in the North-East, North-West and northern coastal regions. 70% stock natural gas in the provinces of Sichuan and Shaanxi. Water resources are also extremely unevenly distributed. In the region of the strip from the Qinling Mountains in the east to the Huai River in the south, arable land in China accounts for 36.3%, and water reserves account for 82.3% of the country's total reserves; to the north of this strip, arable land makes up 63.7%, and precipitation falls only 17.7% of the total precipitation in the country; in Northwest China, water resources are even less, its territory is one-third of the entire area of ​​the country, and water resources are only one-twentieth. And water resources are unevenly distributed, 70% are concentrated in the South-West. In this area, China has strengthened scientific research and general planning, and is already taking concrete measures. On the one hand, it is building new railway lines and branches, improving such a situation as “coal transfer from north to south”, on the other hand, it is building large interregional facilities that “transfer water from south to north”, that is, it brings the waters of the Yangtze to the Yellow River , thereby solving the problem of a serious shortage of water in the Northwest and parts of the North of China.

Mineral resources of China

China has deposits of almost 150 world-famous minerals. Geological surveys have confirmed the reserves of 136 types of minerals, of which more than 20 are considered valuable.

Energy Minerals. Deposits of energy minerals - coal, oil, natural gas, as well as oil shale and radioactive elements, uranium and thorium - are proven. Coal is the main source of energy in China; coal reserves account for almost 1/3 of the world's deposits. By the end of 1985, coal reserves reached 769.18 billion tons, and its production amounted to 800 million tons per year (2nd place in the world). Coal can be found in many areas, but most of all - in the north (Northeast, North and Northwest China). Shanxi Province, where coal reserves account for 30% of the country's total, is known as the "home of coal." Another important source of energy in China is oil. Since the 50s. more than 300 oil and gas deposits and 1,400 oil and gas bearing structures were discovered; the main oil fields are in Daqing, Dagang, Shengli, Jizhong (Central Hebei), Liaohe, Jiangsu, Zhongyuan (Central Plain) and Karamai. Oil exploration in offshore areas in recent years has made it possible to discover 6 large gas fields, the most important of which is the East China Sea basin.

Black metals . Proved reserves include metals such as iron, manganese, chromium, vanadium and titanium. All of them, with the exception of titanium, are in sufficient quantity, although high-grade iron and manganese ore are few. Iron reserves are estimated at 49.6 billion tons, of which 2/3 are sedimentary metamorphic ore and igneous ore; half of the stock is located in Anshan, Liaoning Province. Vanadium-titanium magnetite is available in Panzhihua, Sichuan Province. Reserves of manganese, mostly of sedimentary and accumulative types, are estimated at about 400 million tons and are found mainly in Guangxi, Hunan, Guizhou, Hubei and Sichuan.

Rare and precious metals. Confirmed reserves of copper, aluminum, lead, zinc, nickel, cobalt, tungsten, tin, molybdenum, mercury, antimony, bismuth, gold, silver and 6 metals belonging to the platinum group. In terms of proven reserves of tungsten, antimony, zinc, tin, molybdenum, lead and mercury, China occupies one of the first places in the world. Copper ore is found almost everywhere, but its largest amount lies in the valley of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, in the provinces of Sichuan and Yunnan, the largest copper mine is located in Dexing, Jiangxi Province. Lead and zinc, which are often associated with silver, are found mainly in the Nanling Mountains, western Yunnan, southern Shaanxi, Lanshan and the northern tip of the Qaidam Basin, bauxite deposits - mainly in central Shanxi, Gongxian County, Henan Province, Zibo, Shandong Province, Xiuwen Guizhou Province and Pingguo Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. China has the richest reserves of tungsten ores, more than any other country; they make up more than half of the world's deposits. Tungsten ore reserves, concentrated in the south of Jiangxi, the north of Guangdong and the east of Hunan, account for more than half of the country's total reserves. Tin occurs mainly in Yunnan, Guangdong, Guangxi and Hunan; the largest mine is located in Gejiu (Yunnan) - "the tin capital of the world." The tin mines are part of the famous tin belt around Pacific Ocean. China ranks first in the world in antimony reserves. Antimony deposits are located mainly in Hunan, Guangxi, Guizhou and Yunnan; the largest mine is the Xikuangshan mine in Xinhua (Hunan). Mercury is concentrated at the Sichuan-Guizhou-Hunan border. 3/4 of all the country's reserves are mercury deposits in the northeastern part of Guizhou, which is therefore called the "mercury province". Gold, mostly mountainous, is found mainly in the Shandong Peninsula, western Hunan, northern Heilongjiang, eastern Jilin, central Inner Mongolia, and northern Xinjiang.

Rare metals, rare earth metals and minerals with dispersed elements. China is proud to have rich reserves of 8 rare metals, 10 rare earth metals and 10 minerals with dispersed elements. Its rare earth reserves are much larger than anywhere else in the world, and the impure rare earth reserves at the iron mine in Bayan Obo (Inner Mongolia) are the largest in the world.

Non-metallic ores. The subsoil of China contains 73 non-metallic minerals with proven reserves, including 9 minerals used as auxiliary raw materials in metallurgy, and 23 minerals used as raw materials for the chemical industry. The most important of these are phosphorus, sulfur, magnesium, asbestos, graphite, mica, gypsum and kaolin, as well as precious stones, jade and ornamental stones.

Geographical names are mainly given in accordance with the map of China at a scale of 1:6000000 (Omsk: Roskartografiya, 2002). In the absence of any name there, the following sources were consistently used (Atlas of the World, 1999; Geographical Encyclopedic Dictionary, 1988; Soviet Encyclopedic Dictionary, 1987). To describe natural resources, it is advisable to give general information about the natural conditions and physical and geographical features of the country at the beginning. Table 1 characterizes natural conditions.

Table 1. Natural conditions of China

Territory
Territory area (million km 2)
Marine area (million km 2)
Average sea depth (m)
Maximum sea depth (m)
Coastline length (km)
Length of mainland coastline (km)
Length of island coastline (km)
Number of islands
The area of ​​the islands (million km 2) *
Heat distribution (annual sum of average daily temperatures above 0 0 С)
Northern Heilongjiang and the Tibetan Plateau
Songliao Plain
Great China Plain
River basin The Yangtze and the area south of it
Southern Nanling Mountains
Rainfall (mm)
Mountainous areas of the central part of Taiwan
Coastal territories of South China
River valley Yangtze
Northern and northeastern territories of China
Northwestern interior
Tarim, Turfan and Tsaidam basins
Percentage of climatic zones of the total area
Humid (wet) zone (dry
Semi-humid zone (dryness 1.0 - 1.5)
Semi-arid zone (dryness 1.5-2.0)
Arid zone (dryness>2.0)

* Excluding Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau

Table 2 provides an idea of ​​the distribution of various landforms in the country.

Table 2. Distribution of various landforms in China

In general, China is a mountainous country: mountains, plateaus and uplands occupy more than two-thirds of the territory. China has 7 out of 12 peaks with a height of over 8000 m. Crossing in different directions, mountain ranges form many mountain systems, forming the basis of China's topography. The most important mountain systems are the Himalayas, the Kunlun Mountains, Tienshan, Qinling, Greater Khingan, Taihang, Qilianshan and Hengduanshan.

The Himalayan mountains are located along China's border with Nepal and India and are over 2,400 km long. It is the highest and largest mountain range in the world. Its average height is about 6000 m above sea level, here is the highest peak of the Earth Chomolungma (8848 m). The Kunlun Mountains stretch from west to east from the Pamirs to the Sino-Tibetan Mountains for 2700 km in a strip from 150 km in the west to 600 km in the east. The highest height is 7723 m (Ulugmuztag). The Tienshan Mountains stretch through the central part of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, within China, their length is 1300 km, maximum height 7450 m. The Qinling Mountains are located in the north of the central part of China (the provinces of Ganxiu, Shaanxi and Henan). They are the watershed between the basins of the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers. The average height is from 2000 to 3000 m, the highest point (Taibashan) is 3767 m. The Greater Khingan Mountains are located in the northeast of China and are the border between Central and East Asia. Within China, their length is about 1000 km, the average height is 1500 m, the main peak (Huangganliang) has a height of 2029 m. The Taihang Mountains stretch for 400 km along the eastern edge of the Loess Plateau from north to south, their average height is from 1500 to 2000 m , the main peak (Xiaoutaishan) has a height of 2882 m. The Qilianshan Mountains are located along the eastern edge of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. They have an average height of about 4000 m, and the main peak (Qilianshan) rises to 5547 m. The Hengduanshan mountains are located at the junction of Sichuan and Yunnan provinces and the Tibet Autonomous Region in the southeast of the Tibetan Plateau. The altitude range is from 2000 to 6000 m, the main peak (Yulongshan) has a height of 5996 m.

The Tibetan Plateau is located in southwestern China. This is the largest highland of the country (an area of ​​2.5 million km 2) and the highest highlands of the world (average height 4500 m), it is the source of the main Chinese rivers. The Inner Mongolia Plateau is the second largest in the country, its height is from 1000 to 2000 m, the Gobi Desert is located within it. The loess plateau is located in the central part of the river basin. Huanghe. It has an area of ​​580 thousand km 2 and prevailing heights of 1200-1500 m. The Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau occupies the eastern part of Yunnan Province and almost the entire province of Guizhou. Its height is from 1000 to 2000 m.

The Tarim Basin is located in Western China. It is bounded by the Tianshan, Kunlun and Beishan mountains. With an area of ​​​​530 thousand km 2, it is the largest drainless depression Central Asia. The prevailing heights are 800-1300 m, within its limits is the Takla-Makan desert. The Dzungarian depression is located between the Altai mountains and the ridge. Tienshan is the second largest basin in China, its predominant height is 500-1000 m. The Tsaidam depression, with a height of 2700-3000 m, is the highest depression in the country. It is located in the northeast of the Tibetan Plateau, framed by the Kunlun and Qilianshan mountain ranges. The Sichuan depression is located mainly along the left bank of the middle reaches of the river. Yangtze. Its area is about 200 thousand km 2, and the average height is 400-800 m. The Turpan depression is located at the eastern end of the Tienshan Mountains in the central part of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. This is the lowest located basin, having a minimum elevation of 154 m below sea level.

The Songliao Plain (Manchurian Plain) is located between the Greater and Lesser Khingan and Changbaishan mountains. Having, it is the largest Chinese plain. Its area is 300 thousand km 2, and the average height is about 200 m above sea level. The Liaohe, Songhua and Nenjiang rivers flow through it. The Great Plain of China is bounded by the Taihang Mountains to the west, the sea coast to the east, the Yanshan Mountains to the north, and the Huai River to the south. The Huanghe, Huaihe and Haihe rivers flow through it. Its area is 310 thousand km 2, and the average height is less than 50 m. The plain of the middle and lower reaches of the river. The Yangtze stretches east from the Wushan Mountains to the coast of the East China Sea. The plain is formed by alluvial deposits of the river. Yangtze and its numerous tributaries, the average height is less than 5 m. The plain of the river delta. Pearl is located in Guangdong, near Guangzhou. Its area is 11 thousand km 2. The Hetao Plain is located along the banks of the river. Huang He in the autonomous regions of Inner Mongolia and Ningxia Hui. Its average height is about 1000 m.

Land resources

The data on the structure of China's land resources are highly contradictory. Only the total area of ​​the territory (9.6 million km 2, i.e. 960 million hectares) is not in doubt. The figures for individual categories of the land fund, depending on the source of information, vary significantly, while the differences sometimes reach 30-40%. There are two main reasons for these inconsistencies:

1) different dates for obtaining information on certain types of land resources, which, due to high dynamics, leads to rapid data obsolescence (the main reasons for this are the processes of planting forests, desertification, building, plowing, filling reservoirs, etc.);

2) the absence of clear criteria for classifying a territory as one or another category of the land fund, while the main problems are associated with the forest-steppe, semi-deserts and mountainous regions. Quite roughly, the structure of land resources in China can be represented as follows: arable land - 13%, forests - 14%, steppes - 33%, open water spaces - 2%, built-up area - 3%, deserts and deserted lands - 17%. The remaining 18% is in glaciers, highlands and other wastelands. Let's take a closer look at these land categories.

According to the report of the Ministry of Land and Natural Resources of the PRC for 2002, the area of ​​arable land in the country is 125.9 million hectares. This corresponds to 13.1% of the territory of the state. China's arable land accounts for 7% of the world's land and provides food for 22% of the world's population (Zhang, 1992). In recent years, there has been a clear trend towards a reduction in the area of ​​arable land. In 2002 alone, it decreased by 1.32% (1.68 million hectares). The main reason for the reduction of arable land is their return to forest plantations. For this purpose, 1.4 million hectares were used in 2002. Other reasons for the reduction in the area of ​​arable land were the allotment for the construction of buildings, roads, etc. (196.5 thousand hectares) and its destruction as a result of natural disasters (56.4 thousand hectares). This is usually due to the overlapping of the fertile layer with coarse clastic deposits due to landslides, mudflows, landslides, screes, etc.

The forests of China are considered in detail in Section 3.2.1. As for the steppes, the information on them is the most contradictory. According to various estimates, their area ranges from 280 to 400 million hectares. More reliable is the figure of the modern area of ​​the steppes of 315-320 million hectares. The steppes stretch in a strip 3000 km long across the whole of China from the northeast to the southwest. In general, there is a tendency to reduce their area. The main factor in this is desertification, which will be discussed below. The part of China occupied by water bodies is discussed in Section 3.3. The built-up area, which is 3% of the territory of the PRC, as a whole tends to increase.

Deserts and deserted lands, according to various estimates, occupy 165 (Shi Yuanchun, 2002) - 260 million hectares (Fighting..., 2001). The first figure seems to be much more reliable. Of the total area of ​​such lands, deserts themselves account for about 43%, the rest are lands that have become unusable due to a number of reasons. The remaining 18% of the country's territory falls on land that is practically unsuitable for cultivation, development and other uses. Basically, these are high-mountainous regions. China is largely a mountainous country and over a quarter of its area (25.86%) is located at an altitude of more than 3000 m above sea level. The use of land is also hampered by glaciers, which are distributed mainly in the mountainous regions of the western part of China, starting from the Mongolian Altai in the extreme northwest and ending with the Himalayas in the southwest. In general, the scale of glaciation is small (57 thousand km 2). Most of the glaciers are valley and cirque (Samburova, Medvedeva, 1991).

Soils are the most important characteristic of land resources. Due to the huge diversity of China's natural conditions, its soil cover is represented by a wide range of soils - from brown forest and podzolic soils in the northeast to red soils in the south, as well as gray-brown desert soils in the northwest, developing in extremely arid conditions. The complexity of the soil cover structure is due to three factors (Samburova and Medvedeva, 1991):
1) latitudinal zonality on the plains;
2) different composition of latitudinal soil zones in the western and eastern regions;
3) altitudinal zonality in the mountains.

The soils of Northeast China are mainly represented by brown forest, dark meadow soils and varieties of swamp soils. Arable land, concentrated on vast alluvial plains and terraces, is mainly represented by dark meadow soils. Their high fertility is due to the high content organic matter(10-12%) and a number of favorable properties for crop production.

Soils of arable lands of the alluvial plains of the Yellow River, Haihe and Huaihe are represented mainly by light meadow soils. Under natural conditions, the content of organic matter in them is low (2-3%), however, due to the long-term application of fertilizers (river and lake silt, compost, legumes), soil fertility is quite high. This is also facilitated by the proximity of the groundwater level, which leads to additional soil moisture and enrichment with nutrients.

The main soils in the river basin. The Yangtze and South China are red soils. They are characterized by low humus content and high erosion. To restore fertility and replenish the reserves of nutrients, legumes are cultivated here for green manure.

More than a third of the total area of ​​arable land falls on the so-called rice soils, which were formed as a result of the transformation of various soils during the cultivation of rice. About 45% of all grain crops are harvested on rice soils (Samburova and Medvedeva, 1991). As a result of prolonged flooding, which lasts from 7 to 9 months, depending on the rice variety, natural soil processes on such lands are completely transformed.

On the Loess plateau, located in the area of ​​​​the bend of the river. Huang He in the northern part of the country, natural soils are practically absent. This is explained by the antiquity of the agricultural culture (4-5 millennia), as a result of which a peculiar cultural layer was formed on them due to the long-term application of a large amount of fertilizers such as compost.

The following processes can be identified that negatively affect the quality of China's land resources:
1) water erosion;

Water erosion affects 179 million hectares, i.e., about 18.6% of the country's territory (Ponomarenko, 2001). It is most widely distributed in the upper and middle reaches of the river. Yangtze, the basins of the Huanghe, Haihe, Huaihe, Xijiang (Pearl), Songhua, Liaohe rivers and in the Taihu Lake basin. The Loess Plateau stands out sharply in intensity of the process. It occupies an area of ​​580 thousand km 2, the thickness of loess deposits varies from 20 to 200 m. On average, there are 6-7 km of ravines per 1 km 2 of the surface, and in some areas (basins of the Jinghe, Lohe rivers) - 8-9 km (Samburova, Medvedeva, 1991). Annually the length of the ravines increases by 1-3 m, while 150-200, and in some cases up to 300 tons of soil are removed from each hectare. As a result, the Yellow Sea annually carries 1.6 billion tons of sediment into the Yellow Sea, its delta advances by 5 km / year, in terms of the content of solid particles (more than 40% of the total weight during floods), this river ranks first in the world (Countries ..., 1982). In total, more than 5 billion tons of soil are washed away from China on average per year.

Water erosion causes great damage to the economy of the country. The main negative factors are:
1) dismemberment of land as a result of gully formation, which leads to the complication of the work of agricultural machinery and traffic, the opening of underground utilities, the difficulty in choosing the routes of linear structures, etc.;
2) removal of nutrients and microelements from the soil, causing a decrease in crop yields;
3) deposition of products of ravine removal and planar washout, resulting in the burial of valuable lands, siltation of reservoirs and irrigation canals, difficulty in traffic, etc.

2) wind erosion;
The area subject to wind erosion is 188 million hectares, i.e. 19.5% of the territory of China. To the greatest extent, it is typical for the deserts and adjacent areas in the northwestern part of China, for the steppes of Inner Mongolia and some plains. Of the Chinese provinces, wind erosion is most widespread in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, where more than 37% of the territory is eroded. The main negative factors of wind erosion:
1) soil transfer as a result of dust storms, which leads to a decrease in productivity due to the destruction of seedlings and the arable layer, filling up canals, rivers, lakes and reducing their fish productivity, deterioration of recreational conditions, equipment failure, etc.;
2) the progressive movement of dunes, causing the death of cultivated lands, falling asleep settlements and irrigation canals, complicating the construction and operation of roads, etc.;
3) sand blowing and blowing away by the wind, as a result of which the pipelines are exposed, leading to damage to the insulation and damage to the pipes, exposure of the bases of power transmission line supports with their subsequent fall, etc.

3) an increase in the aridity of the climate;
This problem is global in nature. The current trend towards an increase in the average annual air temperature contributes to a change in natural conditions. In arid regions, there is a decrease in precipitation, resulting in an increase in the area of ​​deserts. The problem of desertification is complex. 45 reasons for this phenomenon have been identified (Babaev, 1997). It is believed that the main contribution to the process is made by the irrational use of water, land, vegetation, minerals by humans, and only 10-15% fall to the share of natural processes. According to various sources, the annual increase in the area of ​​deserts in China ranges from 1560 km2 (Fullen, Mitchell, 1994) to 2460 km2 (Reversing ..., 2001), and the direct economic damage from it is 54 billion yuan (6.52 billion US dollars).

4) unreasonable human activity (overgrazing, plowing of steppes, storage of solid waste, etc.);

The main anthropogenic factors affecting the quality of land resources in China are excessive deforestation, extensive plowing of steppes, overgrazing, waste pollution, mining, etc. Deforestation is discussed in section 3.2.1. The massive plowing of steppe and virgin lands for grain crops took place in 1960-70, which resulted in a large-scale process of deserts encroachment on the steppes. A number of semi-desert regions, which previously had not so low biological productivity, have turned into standard deserts in twenty years, completely devoid of vegetation. Among such deserts, the most famous is the Muua Desert in Northern China (Biryulin, 1994).

For many agricultural areas there is an acute problem of overgrazing, i.e., excessive concentration of livestock per unit area, when the number and species composition exceed the fodder productivity of the pasture. As animals eat certain types of grass, this leads to the spread of those types of plants that they neglect (usually weeds). The reduction of vegetation cover contributes to increased soil erosion. There is a deterioration of the soil structure, compaction of the surface, which causes a decrease in its filtration capacity (Environmental Assessment ..., 1994).

The problem is complicated by the fact that the vast majority of the steppe territories belong to areas inhabited by national minorities, whose standard of living is significantly lower than the average Chinese. The main occupation of the local population is cattle breeding. To improve the living standards of local residents, the authorities are forced to legalize more intensive grazing, which in turn leads to accelerated soil degradation and massive desertification (Biryulin, 1994).

Waste pollution makes a certain contribution to the decline in the quality of land resources. Currently, only about 7 million hectares are polluted with industrial waste, and more than 2.5 million hectares are seriously damaged due to the use of untreated urban sewage (Ponomarenko, 2001).

Seriously affects the quality of land resources and mining. The main factors of influence: the alienation of the territory and the decrease in soil fertility. When mining 1 million tons of coal, from 3 to 43 hectares are disturbed, iron ore - from 14 to 640 hectares, manganese ore - from 76 to 600 hectares, ores for the production of mineral fertilizers from 22 to 97 hectares, limestone from 60 to 120 hectares, phosphorites – from 22 to 77 ha (Tomakov, Kovalenko, 1984; Pevzner, Kostovetsky, 1990). China ranks first in the world in the production of coal, tin and tungsten, second in molybdenum, third in phosphates, and fifth in oil production. All this causes the withdrawal of large areas of land. Now in China, 6 million hectares have been allocated for the needs of the mining industry, including 1.6 million hectares used for quarries, dumps, tailings, etc. An additional 20 thousand hectares are allocated annually for these purposes. The decrease in soil fertility is due to the accumulation of dust from dumps and quarries, physical properties soils during reclamation work, etc.

5) soil salinization;

Soil salinization can occur as a result of both natural and anthropogenic processes. Natural salinization of soils is possible due to the transfer of salts dissolved in groundwater from aquifers to the surface. Water evaporates, and salt remains on the surface of the soil and a salinization zone appears. In addition, the necessary conditions for this are the presence of a depression on the ground, sufficient soil permeability, and a long and stable nature of the process.

Anthropogenic soil salinization is primarily due to the irrigation of crops with water with an increased salt concentration (more than 1 g/l). Due to soil salinization in China, about 7 million hectares have already been taken out of agricultural circulation.

6) natural disasters;

The main natural disasters affecting land resources are landslides, landslides and mudflows. Their impact is expressed mainly in the filling of land with detrital material. As a result of these processes, only 56.4 thousand hectares were taken out of agricultural circulation in China in 2002.

7) epidemics of certain diseases. Let's look at these processes in more detail..

Some land plots are limited in their use due to local epidemics. The most typical diseases are schistosomiasis and malaria. On the territory of South China there are natural foci of these diseases, which limits the use of such territories.

Measures to improve the current situation include the following:
1) development of environmental legislation
Currently, environmental protection is officially proclaimed the fundamental political course of the country. The normative acts regulating relations in the field of land resources include a number of articles of the Law of the People's Republic of China on Environmental Protection of 1989, a set of laws on land and the Law on the steppes. In the latest law, adopted in June 1985, environmental requirements prevail over economic ones (prohibition of damage to vegetation, strict liability for violation of soil fertility, control over grazing intensity, and even a ban on further development of uncultivated lands). In general, now in the KDR there is a tendency towards the greening of economic activity in general and in relation to land resources in particular.

2) afforestation

Back in 1981, the National People's Congress adopted a resolution on the comprehensive deployment of nationwide compulsory forest plantations. Over the past 22 years, 39.84 billion seedlings have been planted. Forest plantations are widely combined with a variety of public events (planting jubilee seedlings and jubilee groves, creating green culture gardens, etc.). This trend has continued in recent years. In 2002 alone, 1.4 million hectares of arable land were returned to forest plantations. The maximum impact is given to the most unfavorable areas in terms of the state of forest resources. For example, in Qinghai province, where forest coverage is only 3.1% (the last place in the country) for 1999-2002. on average, more than 75 thousand hectares were planted per year. In this regard, the year for the Autonomous Region of Inner Mongolia turned out to be a record one. 54.78 million trees were planted on an area of ​​697,000 hectares in the areas of the nationwide action of compulsory forest planting. The problem of low survival of seedlings is quite acute. To this end, comprehensive research is being carried out in China. For example, the planting of 2 million specimens of pink willow, saxaul and joster along a 522-kilometer highway through the Takla Makan desert was preceded by decades of experimentation with more than fifty combinations of tree species.

3) turf restoration

Much attention is also paid to solving the problem of erosion in the steppe regions. On April 17, 2003, the People's Government of Qinghai Province announced the implementation of a project to re-grass the livestock lands within the next five years. In this province on the Tibetan Plateau are the sources of the three main rivers of China: the Yangtze, the Yellow River and the Mekong. According to the plan, cattle grazing will be prohibited in the steppes on an area of ​​more than 1 million hectares, and 27,629 local residents will be resettled. The cost of the project is about 38 million dollars.

4) combating soil salinization

The main method of combating the salinization of irrigated lands is to regulate the water and salt regimes, which is achieved by constructing drainage, carrying out major flushing and preventing secondary salinization during the operation period. To do this, it is necessary to reduce filtration losses, streamline the irrigation regime and create a flush irrigation regime against the background of drainage.

The main emphasis in China is on reducing seepage losses, which, in addition to combating salinity, leads to significant water savings. The main ways here are the transition to the construction of canals with a concrete bottom, the widespread use of plastic pipes, the introduction of sprinkling and drip irrigation, which are discussed in detail in Section 3.4.

5) waste disposal

This way of struggle is also given serious attention in China. For example, in the province of Guangdong in 2003-2010. It is planned to invest 21.7 billion yuan (more than 2.6 billion dollars) in the fight against solid waste. According to the plan, 80 pollution prevention facilities will be set up in this province. household waste, 12 inter-district industrial solid waste disposal centers, 11 hazardous waste disposal sites, 12 medical waste disposal centers and 8 electrical appliance recycling projects.

Terrestrial biological resources

In terms of the wealth of bioresources, China ranks third in the world (after Malaysia and Brazil), although their supply per person is not very large due to the large population. Data on faunistic and floristic species diversity are rather contradictory. So, the number of species higher plants in different sources varies from 30 to 32.8 thousand, and the numbers of vertebrate species from 4400 to 6347 (Wang Zuvang, Jiang Zhigang, 1998; Xu et al., 1999). In general, 10% of higher plants and 14% of vertebrates are found in China from the world number of species. Their diversity characterizes the table. 3.

Table 3. Number of plant and animal species in China and the world

	Number of species	Number of species	Percentage of world quantity
bacteria
Seaweed
ferns
Angiosperms
Insects
reptiles
mammals

In addition to huge resources, the reason for the richness of species lies in the great landscape diversity: 599 types of terrestrial ecosystems are recognized in China (Xu et al., 1999).

plant resources

Almost all plant species that are common in the northern hemisphere grow in China. Of more than 30 thousand species of higher plants, about 3 thousand have economic importance. These include 440 kinds of fibrous plants, 370 kinds of oil and aromatic plants, 260 kinds of high protein and amino acid plants, 150 kinds of starch plants, 300 kinds of valuable wood trees, 500 kinds of plants with insecticidal effect, 1000 kinds of medicinal plants, as well as a number of resin, rubber and tannin producing species.

The vegetation of China can be subdivided into steppe, savannah, desert, swamp, forest, etc., which, in turn, is subdivided into a huge number of formations (according to dominant species, hydrothermal conditions, etc.). Thus, steppe vegetation is divided into 45 formations, desert - 52, swamp - 19, tundra - 17 formations.

Forest vegetation is extremely diverse. A total of 212 formations are distinguished: 19 mangrove (tropical swamp) forest formations, 36 bamboo forest formations, 44 taiga types, 5 types of warm temperate coniferous forests, 27 types of tropical and subtropical coniferous forests, 42 types of broadleaf forests, 24 types of tropical rainforests and etc. The largest area is occupied by subtropical forests, in which metasequoia and ginkgo, trees that have become extinct in other countries, have been preserved.

Currently, China ranks fifth in the world in terms of forest area, however, only 0.11 ha per capita, which is seven times less than the world average (Ecological problems ..., 1995). There are three forest-growing zones on the territory of the country: 1) moderate; 2) subtropical; 3) tropical. The temperate zone is subdivided into cold-temperate and warm-temperate subzones. The main forest tracts of the first subzone are concentrated in Northeast China, where the forest area is 36 million hectares, the timber reserve is 2.8 billion m3, and the forest cover ranges from 11 to 32% (Bocharnikov, 1998). Insignificant areas of forests are also found in Northwest China and the Tienshan Mountains, where the forest cover ranges from 0.5 to 3.4%. The forest cover of individual provinces of the temperate-warm subzone is also different: the minimum is 2.5% (Henan), the average is 4-6% (Habei, Shandong, Shanxi) and the maximum is 14% (Shanxi). The forests of the subtropical zone are concentrated on 20% of the country's territory and account for approximately 30% of the total forest area. These are mainly forests located in the basin of the lower and middle reaches of the river. Yangtze. Tropical forests account for approximately 10% of the total forest area (Bukshtynov et al., 1981). If natural forests prevail in the temperate and subtropical zones, then in the tropical zone these are mainly artificial plantations scattered in separate fragments over the territory of ten southern provinces (Sun Xiufang, 2000).

The reduction of forest area began in China 7-8 thousand years ago in connection with the use of slash-and-burn agriculture technology. The steady decline in the forest cover of the territory continued until the end of the 1970s, when it amounted to only 12%. However, then the trend changed and for the last two decades there has been an increase in the area covered by forests. According to the National Forest Inventory conducted in 1994-99, the area of ​​forests was 133.7 million hectares, which corresponds to 13.9% of the country's territory (Sun Xiufang, 2000).

These figures would have been significantly higher if it were not for the fire in the Greater Khingan that occurred in May-June 1987 and caused significant damage to the country's forest resources. At that time, 1.33 million hectares of forest were destroyed and 30.6 million m 3 of coniferous wood, mainly Khingan pine, were lost. The amount of burnt timber exceeded the total volume of timber harvesting in this area for 23 years (Biryulin, 1994) and corresponded to about half of the annual volume of timber harvesting in the country.

The positive dynamics in the field of forest resources is explained by the strict state policy aimed at their protection. Now, in terms of the total annual consumption of industrial wood (122.2 million m 3), China ranks second in the world after the United States, and demand for it continues to grow. Under these conditions, the country's government has taken a number of serious measures to further improve the situation:

Increasing the volume of forest plantations

Although primitive forestry began to develop as early as 1.0-1.5 thousand years ago in the form of plantations around grain fields and orchards (Hsiung et al., 1995), the most massive forest plantations were carried out during the 1980s and 1990s. , significant financial and technical assistance was provided by the World Bank. Landings were made both for the purpose of obtaining commercial timber, and for environmental reasons. If the first goal has not yet been achieved due to insufficient ripeness of plantations, then forest plantations for solving environmental problems have already proven their effectiveness. The most famous examples here are the work on the creation of the “Great Green Wall”, a man-made forest strip 7,000 km long to protect 33 million hectares of steppe pastures from wind erosion and sand drifts (Biryulin, 1994) and the planting of forests in the river basin. Huang He to reduce the intensity of water erosion of soils on the Loess Plateau (Dixon et al., 1994). By 2030, the PRC government plans to increase the forest area from the current 13.9% to 18% through forest plantations (Sun Xiufang, 2000).

Prohibitions and restrictions on logging

Since April 1998, China has been implementing the Natural Forest Protection Program, which prohibits or restricts logging in the upper reaches of the river. Yangtze, in the upper and middle reaches of the river. Huanghe and in the North-East of the country, including the territory of the Heilongjiang province bordering Primorye. 65 logging enterprises were closed, logging fell by 10 million cubic meters per year, and $2.3 million was allocated to the forest protection program (Lu Wenming, 2000). The motive for this step was the devastating floods that occurred in Northeast and South China in the summer of 1997.

Stimulation of wood import from foreign countries

Today, China is the only developing country in the world, which is also one of the main importers of timber. To reduce the burden on its forest resources, the PRC government has taken a number of decisions aimed at liberalizing timber trade with neighboring countries, in particular, import tariffs have been reduced, and it has ceased to be mandatory to obtain a permit to import timber. Russia was added to the traditionally largest suppliers of Malaysia and Indonesia in the mid-1990s. Between 1995 and 1999 timber imports from Russia increased from 358 thousand m3 to 4.3 million m3, that is, 11 times, and the share of Russian supplies in roundwood imports amounted to 42.5%. At the same time, there is an increase in the import of pulp and paper; in 1999 alone, it increased by more than 50%.

Reduced wood consumption

China is trying to limit its demand for wood, replacing wood with other materials when possible. A typical example is the ban on the production and manufacture of disposable wooden chopsticks. About 45 billion disposable sticks were produced annually in the country, which corresponded to the death of about 25 million trees. The ban on the production of sticks also helped to reduce environmental pollution during their production, transportation and sale.

Strengthening the fight against forest pests

A serious problem in China is the significant damage to forest resources caused by the impact of more than 200 species of pests. It is believed that its annual value is about 100 billion yuan (12 billion dollars), and the area of ​​​​forests suffering from them is 6.7 million hectares. Since 1999, the government has allocated more than 700 million yuan to set up 1,082 quarantine stations throughout the country. On February 13, 2003, the State Forestry Administration of the People's Republic of China announced the establishment of a Forest Pest Detection Center to prevent their entry from outside. This center is located in the Chinese Academy of Forestry Sciences. Among its main tasks are the collection and publication of information on the distribution of forest pests, their impact on forestry, quality control of forestry biological products, etc.

The flora of China is also rich in various non-arboreal species. For example, the world flora of halophytes (plants resistant to high salt concentrations) has 1560 species belonging to 550 genera and 117 families. Of these, 430 species belonging to 198 genera and 66 families grow in China, which is 27.6%, 36% and 56.4%, respectively (Zhao Kefu et al., 2002).

Animal resources

Unlike northern regions Eurasia in the Quaternary period, China was not covered by an ice sheet, which allowed the preservation of such ancient species as the giant panda, Chinese river dolphin, crested deer, black-necked crane, etc. This circumstance also determines the abundance of endemics - species found only in China. Table 1 gives an idea of ​​this. 4.

Table 4. Endemic species of vertebrates in China (Wang Zuvang, Jiang Zhigang, 1998)

Let's consider these groups in more detail. We will pay special attention to the following categories of animals: 1) economically valuable species; 2) ecologically valuable species, for example, key species in ecosystems; 3) species valuable for science and carrying social functions. Of the mammals, the musk deer and the bear can be included in the first category. Their economic value is determined mainly by their use in traditional Chinese medicine. For example, one kilogram of the musk gland of a male musk deer costs up to 50 thousand dollars, that is, 5 times more expensive than gold. It is used to prepare about 400 pharmaceuticals for the treatment of a wide range of diseases: from cardiovascular diseases to diseases nervous system. About 10% of the total amount of musk deer jet was also used by the perfume industry (mainly French). Data on the total number of musk deer in China are extremely contradictory and range from 100 thousand to 600 thousand. The first figure seems to be much closer to the truth.

The economic value of bears is mainly due to the use of their bile in medicine and certain parts of the body in cooking. Some specimens of bile are valued at up to 3,000 US dollars. Bear paws are considered a delicacy. In some restaurants in South Korea, the price of one bowl of their soup reaches a thousand dollars. Due to the difference in prices, a significant part of the derivatives is exported to South Korea. The natural population of bears in China has been severely undermined. According to some data, it has 46530 Himalayan bears, according to others - there are less than 20 thousand of them left. In China, their keeping on farms is common, now there are more than 7 thousand bears there. The main purpose of bear farms is to obtain bile. As a rule, animals are crowded there, which leads to diseases and high mortality. Until 1980, such farms produced about 500 kg of bile per year, but by 1996 production had reached 7,000 kg.

Antelopes can be attributed to the second category. There are six species of them on the territory of the country (Jiang Jigan, Li Dikian, 1998): saiga, Tibetan antelope, goitered gazelle, Mongolian gazelle, Tibetan gazelle and Przewalski's gazelle. Previously, these animals were widespread and were the most important hunting and commercial species, but overhunting has led to a sharp reduction in their numbers. In the 1980s, all types of antelope began to be protected by law. The most successful was the protection of Tibetan antelopes. At present, their number in Tibet has reached 90 thousand, in addition, there are 25 thousand in Qinghai province and 15 thousand in Xinjiang. Accelerated population growth has been observed since the second half of the 1990s as a result of a determined fight against poaching. In the mid-1990s, about 4 thousand antelopes were illegally exterminated annually, at present this figure has decreased by 90%.

The main part of the Tibetan antelope population is concentrated in the Qiangtang Nature Reserve in the northern part of Tibet, which is the largest continental reserve in the world. This reserve is connected to the Kukushili Reserve in Qinghai Province and the Altyn-Tag Reserve in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Their total area is 600 thousand km2. White-lipped deer, which is endemic to China, is also one of the most important species for ecosystems. According to various sources, its number is now 50-150 thousand individuals.

The third category, first of all, should include the big panda (bamboo bear), which is a symbol of China. This mammal of the raccoon family weighs 75-160 kg, feeds exclusively on bamboo and lives in the mountain forests of the provinces of Gansu, Shaanxi and Sichuan at altitudes of 2700-3900 m. only 5.9 thousand km 2 are permanently located. They are called "living fossils" due to the great antiquity of the existence of the species. To save the animals, the state "Giant Panda Rescue Plan" was developed, aimed at a comprehensive solution to the problem. The implementation of this plan was extremely tough. For example, a group of peasants engaged in catching giant pandas for leather dressing was sentenced to death by the People's Court of the city of Manyang, Sichuan Province (Biryulin, 1994).

China is characterized by a wide variety of bird species. According to the latest data, there are now 1253 species of birds belonging to 21 orders and 83 families, which corresponds to 13.6% of the total number of species in the world fauna. For some groups of birds, this figure is much higher. For example, out of 15 species of cranes, eight live in China; more than half. Out of 166 species of wild ducks, China has 46 species (28%). A distinctive feature of the country's avifauna is a large number of endemics: 8.1% of all bird species live only in China (Lei et al., 2003). The species diversity of reptiles and amphibians in the Chinese fauna is much less, however, the percentage of endemics is also quite high: 7 and 11%, respectively. Characteristics of fish will be given in section 3.3, devoted to the biological resources of marine and fresh waters.

The species diversity of invertebrates is quite large. The total number of species is estimated at about 200 thousand (Wang Zuvang, Jiang Zhigang, 1998). For example, the fauna of Chinese butterflies is represented by 12 families, 368 genera, 1223 species and 1853 subspecies, which is one tenth of the world's fauna (Decheng Yuan, 1998). Endemism is also quite characteristic here: out of 104 species of sailboats, 15 live only in China.

Following the traditional Chinese concept of "living off the mountains if you live in the mountains, live off the water if you live by the water" and the pursuit of maximum profit have led to a serious degradation of wildlife resources. This was also facilitated by the weakness of environmental legislation, as well as the negative impact of traditional Chinese medicine. More than 5,700 species of plants and animals are used for these purposes in the country (Roeder, 2000). The peculiarities of the local food culture also affect. As a result, currently endangered species, according to various estimates, make up 15-20% of the total fauna of China, which is higher than the world average.

Threatened species of wild animals of international importance include 62 mammal species, 43 bird species, 3 amphibian species, 6 reptile species, 10 fish species, 2 insect species and 4 invertebrate species (including marine). A similar list of wild plants contains 149 species; including 6 fungi, 17 gymnosperms and 126 angiosperms. Nearly extinct species include Malayan tapirs, David's deer, Chinese leopards, and Chinese parrots (Biryulin, 1994).

The seriousness of the problem of degradation of biological resources is well understood in China.
To solve it, the following measures are taken:
1) creation of reserves

The organization of nature reserves is considered the best way protection of wild fauna and flora. The development of nature reserves in China can be divided into three stages (Wang Zuwang, Jiang Zhigang, 1998):
1) the initial stage of slow development (1956-1978): the first nature reserve was founded in Guangdong province in 1956, by 1978 there were about thirty of them;
2) the stage of rapid development (1978-1993): their number increased to 600, they spread throughout the country, occupying an area of ​​over 600 thousand km 2; especially rapid growth in the area of ​​nature reserves occurred in 1988-1993, since back in 1987 there were 478 of them with a total area of ​​220 thousand km 2;
3) the stage of stable development, consolidation and improvement (since 1994): the increase in the number of reserves has slowed down, more attention has been paid to improving their activities and training of employees. Currently, China's reserves occupy 7% of the country's territory, which exceeds the world average.

2) organization of artificial breeding centers

There are more than 40 zoos in the main cities of the country, including 28 large ones. In addition, there are numerous centers for breeding wild animals and plants in China. Such centers, better known as safari parks, are becoming increasingly popular and visited by tourists. In general, the effectiveness of such organizations is not too great. The maintenance of animals leaves much to be desired, they reproduce poorly. Many zoos are in financial crisis and unable to cover their own costs.

3) control over trade in wild animals and plants
The weakness of such control is one of the main reasons for the degradation of China's fauna. The price of a snow leopard skin on the black market reaches $20,000. China exports 130,000 marmot skins annually. Studies have shown that in December 1993 alone, 65 live ferret badgers were exported from China to Hong Kong for restaurants. These figures are just the tip of the iceberg, the actual volumes of trade are many times higher. In 1995, the Ministry of Forests of China held a symposium on the control of the Asian wildlife trade, attended by delegates from more than 20 countries. The final document of the symposium "Beijing Decree" paid special attention to international cooperation in the field of protection of wild animals and plant resources, as well as the control of illegal trade.

4) improvement of environmental legislation;

In recent years, China has issued a series of laws and regulations for the protection of wild animals and plants. Nevertheless, the main environmental document in this area is the "Law on the Protection of Wild Animals", adopted back in 1989. It was the first purely environmental law aimed not at the primitively understood resource conservation, but at preserving the natural ecological balance. It is the only law in China's environmental law system that provides severe punishment, up to the death penalty, for its violation.

5) improving the efficiency of resource use;

The use of bioresources in China is still at a low level. Medicines derived from animals are of low quality, a significant part of biologically active substances is lost during production due to imperfect technology (Wang Zuwang, Jiang Zhigang, 1998). A necessary condition is the creation of a breeding base for economically important animals, the establishment of effective chemical components of animals used in medicine, the use of modern technologies.

6) optimization of state resource management, promotion of knowledge etc. Let's consider them in more detail.

Optimization of public resource management and promotion of environmental knowledge.

Here, the primary task is to strengthen administrative control over the use of biological resources (logging, hunting, trade in wild animals and plants, etc.). Work is also needed to study bioresources and conduct environmental monitoring, primarily in the most important regions (the Tibetan Plateau, Mount Shenlongjia, etc.). It is also important to popularize knowledge in the field of the relationship between man and the environment among the population by means of the press, radio and television, as well as in schools.

Aquatic biological resources

China's aquatic biological resources are as rich as those on land. To a large extent, this is due to the large area of ​​the water area, as discussed in Section 3.4. Numerous irrigation canals and wetlands should also be added to the natural water area, with a total area of ​​14 million hectares, of which 5.884 million hectares are wetlands of international importance. The total area of ​​open inland water surface is about 17.47 million hectares.

A large water area, a huge variety of landscape and climatic conditions, a long evolution contributed to the emergence of high diversity. For example, China's freshwater fish fauna has more than 1,000 species belonging to 268 genera and 52 families. Among them, about 70% belong to cyprinids, and 84% belong to cyprinids (He Shunping, Chen Yiyu, 1998). The freshwater fauna is characterized by a large number of endemic and valuable species.

The country is also characterized by a wide variety of coastal and marine ecosystems: coastal shallows, estuaries, coral reefs, extensive intertidal zones with mangroves, more than 160 bays, numerous islands (about 5 thousand) and ocean ecosystems. Chinese sea waters fall into three climatic zones: warm temperate, subtropical, and tropical, and are affected by many ocean currents (mainland coastal current, warm Kuroshio Current, etc.). More than 1,500 large and medium-sized rivers flowing into coastal waters also contribute to ecosystem diversity.

China's marine bioresources are extremely rich in both quantitative and qualitative terms. In total, there are 20,278 species of marine organisms, which exceeds 25% of the world's species diversity. This includes 1694 species of marine fish (175 species of cartilaginous and 1519 species of bone fish), 685 species of crabs, 90 species of shrimp, 84 species of cephalopods. Many types of organisms are suitable for medical use. The database of marine biological resources potentially suitable for medical use, which began to be created by the State Oceanic Administration in 1999, now contains more than 900 species of fish, algae, microorganisms and other life forms.

The maximum biodiversity is typical for the South China Sea, due to its large size and location in the tropical zone. It is believed that this sea in terms of biodiversity ranks first in the world. In its shallow part, 3 main types of ecosystems are distinguished: coral reefs, mangroves and kelp beds. In the South China Sea, 45 of the 51 extant mangrove species, most of the known coral genera, and 20 of the 50 extant algae species have been found (Morton and Blackmore, 2001). The South China Sea has an extremely rich ichthyofauna. The list of fish species of this sea includes 3365 species (Randall and Lim, 2000), although it is obvious that here to independent species assigned a large number of subspecies.

China is making full use of the favorable situation with the wealth of aquatic biological resources. So the total catch of fish (marine and freshwater) in 2000 amounted to 17.0 million tons, which corresponds to 20% of the world.
In the following places:
2) Peru - 10.7 million tons;
3) Japan - 5.0;
4) USA - 4.7;
5) Chile - 4.3;
6) Indonesia - 4.1;
7) Russia - 4.0;
8) India - 3.6;
9) Thailand - 2.9;
10) Norway - 2.7 million tons.

The main marine commercial species are mackerel, king mackerel, Pacific and Chinese herring, sea eel, mullet, crucian carp, saber fish, pamp (sea bream), flounder.
The situation with fisheries in inland waters is even more favorable, here China accounts for 25.4% of world production, and the countries in the top ten are as follows:
1) China - 2233 thousand tons;
2) India - 797;
3) Bangladesh - 670;
4) Uganda - 356;
5) Indonesia - 329;
6) Russia - 292;
7) Tanzania - 280;
8) Egypt - 253;
9) Cambodia - 246;
10) Kenya - 210 thousand tons.

The maximum catches fall on various types of carp, grass carp, smallmouth smelt, perch. The largest fish catch occurs in reservoirs, followed by lakes and rivers, but in terms of specific bioproductivity, the situation is opposite.
For example, in 1995 the average annual catch (kg/ha) was: rivers - 1140; lakes - 628; reservoirs - 443 (Wu, 1998). The provinces of Hubei, Jiangsu, Anhui, Jiangxi and Hunan contribute the most to freshwater fish catches, with 413,872, 300,073, 298,672, 258,098 and 155,272 tons, respectively.

Table 5. Leading countries in world aquaculture in 1998 . (Tacon, Forster, 2001)

	Production1,		Growth 2 1984-98, %/year	Growth 3 1997-98, %	Total cost, thousand dollars	Cost USD/kg
Philippines
Indonesia
South Korea
Bangladesh
Sev. Korea

1 Includes freshwater aquaculture and mariculture (fish, crustaceans, mollusks, aquatic animals and algae);

2 Annual weight gain during 1984-1998

3 Difference in production by weight between 1997 and 1998

Table 1 gives an idea of ​​the structure of Chinese aquaculture. 6.

Table 6 Status of Chinese aquaculture in 1998 . (Tacon, Forster, 2001)

	Products, t	Change (97-98 years),%
Fish (total)
Freshwater fish (total)
white carp
White amur
bighead carp
Golden carp
White Amur bream
mud carp
black carp
Nile tilapia
Japanese eel
Other freshwater fish
sea ​​fish
Shellfish (total)
Chinese river crab
Giant river shrimp
sea ​​crabs
Shrimps
Other crustaceans
shellfish
sea ​​mussels
seaside scallop
Bivalve mollusks (ruditapes, sea stalk, etc.)
Other marine molluscs
Three-clawed turtle
aquatic plants
Japanese kelp
red algae
Total production

In recent years, growth rates in Chinese aquaculture have significantly exceeded the world average. So, already in 2000, the total production amounted to 32444 thousand tons, which corresponded to 71% of the world production volume and 49.8% of the total value. The share of China in the production of algae has especially increased. In the same 2000, the country produced 7.9 million tons ($4.0 billion) out of 10.1 million tons ($5.6 billion) in the world.

Successes in fisheries and aquaculture have largely contributed to solving the food problem. In 2000, per capita production of fish and fishery products was 25 kg/year, while the world average was only 13.2 kg/year. Naturally, such production requires large areas. In 1999, 1.1 million hectares were occupied for the needs of the national mariculture, including 71 thousand hectares for fish production, 238 thousand hectares for the cultivation of crustaceans, 711 thousand hectares for shellfish and 55 thousand hectares for algae. In freshwater aquaculture, special fish ponds are the basis of production, which in 1999 covered an area of ​​about 2.1 million hectares. They are characterized by very high bioproductivity. In 1994, the average production was 3416 kg/ha (Wu, 1998).

Success in fisheries and especially in aquaculture is largely based on scientific research. In the period 1994-1999. 2035 articles were published in China (about 5% of the world total), about 95% of them were articles in 143 journals published in the country (Arunachalam, Balaji, 2001). There are more than 210 provincial and city-level institutes in China, including the Chinese Academy of Fisheries and its three subordinate institutes in accordance with regional seas, five research institutes dealing with relevant river basins. Educational services 29 colleges and universities represent fisheries, the largest of which are Shanghai Fisheries University, Dalian Fisheries College and Qingdao Maritime University.

However, the situation with aquatic biological resources can by no means be called cloudless. Among the factors that adversely affect them are pollution of inland and coastal waters, changes in the hydrological regime due to the construction of dams and dikes, overfishing, insufficiently thought-out introduction of new species, destruction aquatic ecosystems due to the immoderate breeding of herbivorous carps ("overgrazing"), etc. As a result, many hydrobionts are in a threatened state, and some are no longer found in nature. For example, among freshwater fish, 92 species (10% of freshwater fauna) are endangered. Among them are 52 species of carp, 11 species of catfish, 5 species of sturgeon, 6 species of salmon and 18 other species. According to the degree of threat, these species can be divided into 4 categories (He Shupnin, Chen Yiyu, 1998): extinct (4 species), rare (23), endangered (28), potentially threatened (37 species).
Many other aquatic species are also endangered. Among them, the most famous dolphin r. Yangtze. Its significance for China is emphasized by the fact that this animal is often called the "giant panda of the Yangtze River". This freshwater dolphin reaches a length of 2.5 m and weighs 135-230 kg. Previously, he lived on a 1400-kilometer section of the main channel in the lower and middle reaches of the river. Yangtze, and during the flood migrated to numerous tributaries and lakes associated with it. However, the situation has deteriorated sharply in recent years.
During the traditional weekly inspections of their habitats, conducted by the Wuhan Institute of Hydrobiology in 1997-1999, the number of meetings with them was constantly decreasing. So, in 1997 they were met 11 times (total 17 individuals), 1998 - 5 times (7 animals), 1999 (2 times - 4 dolphins). Calculations of their numbers gave the following results: 1980 - 400, 1991 - 300, 1993 - 150-240, 1995 - less than 100, 2000 - several dozen (Reeves et al., 2000).

There are many reasons for the decline in the number of these dolphins. In the 1990s about 40% of their mortality was due to illegal electric fishing (Zhang et al., 2003). The second important cause of death was explosions carried out to maintain the depths necessary for navigation in the fairway. Other factors that influenced their numbers were water pollution, noise, collisions with ships, including propeller damage, and falling into fishing nets. Completion of construction and operation of the Three Gorges HPP in the upper reaches of the river. The Yangtze will apparently lead to the final extinction of this species and will also negatively affect the state of such rare species as the Chinese sturgeon, finless porpoise and Chinese alligator (Damming …, 1990; Fang, 1996). The only way to save dolphins, according to X. Zhang et al. (2003), is to capture the remaining individuals and move them to a specially organized reserve.

It should be noted that the organization of nature reserves in China pays great attention. In 1988, a state council was established to establish and manage marine reserves. The first marine reserve was established in the early 1990s. Currently, there are about 25 coastal and marine nature reserves in the country with a total area of ​​650 thousand hectares. For example, the Sanya Nature Reserve in Hainan Province is organized to protect 110 species of various corals, 60 species of bottom algae and the richest marine fauna. It is represented by more than 300 species of fish and 300 species of invertebrates (220 mollusks, 70 crustaceans, 10 echinoderms). The area of ​​the reserve is 5568 hectares.

In China, there are quite a lot of inland water areas that have the status of protected areas. One of them, Lake Dalai-Nur, located in the steppes of Inner Mongolia, at the end of 2002 was officially listed by UNESCO in the register of world reserves "Man and the Biosphere". This lake is one of the five largest freshwater lakes in the country. It measures 80x40 km and is home to over 30 species of fish, as well as a large number of water birds.

Water resources

China's total river runoff resources are 2800 km 3 /year. This corresponds to 6.6% of the world's river flow and 19.3% of the total Asian river flow. According to this criterion, the country ranks 5th in the world after Brazil, Russia, Canada and the United States. There are more than 1500 rivers in the country with a catchment area of ​​more than 1000 km2 each. Most of the rivers flow east or south and belong to the Pacific drainage basin, which occupies 56.8% of the entire country.
The largest rivers of this basin are the Yangtze, Huang He, Amur, Zhujiang (Xijiang, Pearl), flowing in the eastern part of China.
More than a third of the country's area belongs to the basins of internal flow, covering the Tibetan Plateau and a significant part of Northern China and Xinjiang. Here the largest river is the Tarim. The rivers of the Indian Ocean basin drain the south of the Tibetan and the west of the Yunnan-Guizhou highlands. Only 50 thousand km 2 belong to the basin of the Arctic Ocean.
The largest river in this basin is the Irtysh, whose headwaters are located in China.

Information on important rivers is given in Table. 7.

Table 7. Characteristics of the largest rivers in China

Name	Drainage area, km 2		annual stock,
Songhuajiang (Sungari)
(Pearl, Xijiang)

China has many lakes. Among them, there are 2848 natural lakes with an area of ​​more than 1 km 2 each, including 130 lakes with a water area of ​​more than 100 km 2.
Most of the lakes are located in the basin of the middle and lower reaches of the river. Yangtze and the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.
The characteristics of the largest lakes in the country are given in Table. eight.

Table 8. Characteristics of the largest lakes in China

Name	Area, km 2	Maximum depth, m	Height above sea level, m		Salinity
Qinghai (Kukunor)				prov. Qinghai
				prov. Jiangxi
dongtinghu				prov. Hunan
Dalai Nur (Hulunchi)				Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region
hongzehu				prov. Jiangxi
Nam-Tso (Tengri-Nur)				Tibet Autonomous Region
weishanhu				prov. Shandong
				prov. Yunnan

A brief description of the seas washing the Chinese coast is given in Table. nine.

Table 9. Brief description of the seas washing the coast of China

In fairness, it must be said that the area of ​​the Chinese seas proper (within a 12-mile zone) is 348.09 thousand km 2, and the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe exclusive economic zone (200 miles from the coast) is 3.2 million km 2, while the length of the coastal line exceeds 30 thousand km.

Despite abundant water resources, there is only 2220 m 3 of fresh water per capita per year, which is only a quarter of the world average and corresponds to 109th place out of 149 countries. It is assumed that by 2030, when the population of China will increase to 1.6 billion people, the per capita water supply will decrease to 1760 m 3 /year (China …, 2001).
The situation is aggravated by the large uneven distribution of surface and underground runoff in different areas, as can be judged from the proposed table.

Table 10. Distribution of renewable water resources by regions in China (in cubic km and percentage of total reserves)

river system		Average annual surface runoff		The groundwater
	Northeast
	haihe-luanhe
	Southeastern
	Southwestern
	Endorheic regions
	Total resource

The disproportion in the distribution of water resources is also reflected in the fact that the Huang He, Huaihe and Haihe river basins, as well as the endorheic northwestern regions, which occupy half the country's area, where 45% of cultivated agricultural land is located and 36% of the Chinese population live, account for only 12% of water resources. The average per capita provision of water resources in the arid northern and northwestern regions is three times lower than in the south.

The situation is aggravated by the extreme unevenness of precipitation throughout the year. For example, in the river basin Half of the annual precipitation of 400 mm in the Yellow River falls during the rainy season from July to September (Leung, 1996).

The increasing pollution of surface and ground waters also contributes to the water crisis. In 1997, the total volume of wastewater was 41.6 billion m3, of which 22.7 billion m3 were industrial waters and 18.9 billion m3 were municipal wastewater (Water…, 1999).
The volume of wastewater increases by 1.8 billion m 3 annually. 80% of wastewater is discharged into rivers without any treatment.
At least 500 million people drink water that does not meet standards (Biryulin, 1994). In accordance with the level of pollution (from high to low), the largest lakes in China are located as follows: Dianchi, Chaohu (western part), Xihu, Hongze, Taihu, Dongtihu, Jingbohu, Bagrashkul (Bostan), Xingkaihu, Erhai. As for coastal waters, the most polluted is the East China Sea, followed by the Bohai Strait, the Yellow and South China Seas (Water …, 1999).

Changes to a large extent also affected underground sources. 50% of underground water in cities is polluted and cannot be used for drinking. Salt water is increasingly found underground in arid coastal regions. Due to pumping out, the volume of which exceeds the replenishment, there is a constant decrease in the level. For example, in Beijing, the groundwater level is decreasing by 1.5–2 m/year (Water …, 1999). A similar situation is observed in the North China Plain, where over the past 5 years the level has fallen on average by 1.5 m. Often, irrigation systems have to pump water from a depth of 400 meters.

The current unfavorable situation is largely due to the expansion of crops that require abundant irrigation (rice, corn, wheat), the low water reuse ratio in Chinese industry (now it does not exceed 30%, while in developed countries this value is 75%).

The structure of water consumption is currently as follows: 66% of all water is spent for irrigation needs, while 39.7% of sown areas are irrigated (20 years ago 82% of water was used for this purpose), 23% goes to the needs of industry (at the beginning of the reforms it was 10.3%), 7% is consumed by the rural population and about 4% of all water supplies are used by urban residents. In the near future, it is not difficult to assume a significant increase in water consumption by the population. With further economic development China, like any other country, will be captured by the "hygienic revolution", as a result of which an increasing number of people will use washing machines, kitchen sinks, flush toilets and bathrooms.

Starting from the time of the formation of the PRC in 1949, China's water (more precisely, freshwater) resources were in charge of either the Ministry of Hydroreclamation or the Ministry of Hydroreclamation and Energy, the structure of which changed many times. The main tasks of these ministries included the implementation of a unified management of water resources, monitoring of the country's river channels, lakes and reservoirs, bank protection, organization of work to combat floods, droughts and soil erosion, as well as irrigation and drainage construction. In general, the management of water resources in the country was fragmented and, for example, the issues of urban water supply were the responsibility of urban planning departments (Yao HUAJUN, 2002). Currently, the Ministry of Water Resources is in charge of these issues.
China is well aware of the importance of the problem of water supply and is making serious efforts to solve it. A thorough survey of all water resources of the country is scheduled for the near future. Previously, such surveys were carried out in the 1940s, 1950s and 1997-1998. The forthcoming survey is planned for three years and promises to be the most comprehensive and reliable.

The following ways to solve the problem can be distinguished:
1) improving the efficiency of the use of water resources;
2) protection of water resources from pollution;
3) spatial redistribution of surface runoff;
4) redistribution of surface runoff over time. Let's take a closer look at these paths.

Improving the efficiency of water use

Since agriculture continues to be the main consumer of water, the main efforts are planned to be made in this direction. The main method of supplying water to the fields is surface irrigation (flood irrigation or furrow irrigation), when water is distributed by gravity. This method is rather inefficient due to significant water losses due to its leakage into the ground. It is believed that now water losses from canals due to evaporation and leaks reach 60% (Heilig et al., 2000), and the loss of grain yield due to this is 2.5 million tons annually (Water ..., 1999). To reduce the amount of seepage water, it is planned to switch to the construction of canals with a concrete bottom and the widespread use of plastic pipes.

Increasing the efficiency of water use will be facilitated by the widespread introduction of such methods as sprinkling (spraying water under pressure over the surface of the irrigated area) and drip irrigation (supplying water in small portions through holes in pipes located on the surface or at shallow depths). These methods of water supply are much more efficient. The efficiency of water use during sprinkling is 0.7-0.8, and when drip irrigation 0.9 (Shiklomanov, Markova, 1987), but they are more expensive. To stimulate their implementation, the Chinese authorities have developed a number of measures. The government compensates part of the costs for the purchase of hydraulic equipment.

For 50 years, irrigation water has been free, and now it is planned to introduce a fee for its use. Peasants oppose the introduction of this program, arguing that in the 1950s and 1960s, the government attracted huge masses of peasants on a voluntary-compulsory basis for the construction of irrigation canals without payment for their labor.

In 1999, the Ministry of Agriculture of the People's Republic of China launched a special program to conserve water in arid rural areas. The program envisages the creation of new crops with high yields and low water consumption (here the emphasis is on biotechnology), the introduction of new moisture-saving methods of tillage, as well as the terracing of fields for more economical use of melt and rainwater runoff. A large number of specialist agronomists are sent to the villages to train the peasants in the competent and economical use of water. It is planned to increase in the structure of crops more profitable and less moisture-loving fruits and vegetables by reducing the share of relatively cheap grains. An increase in the sown areas of sorghum and cotton is planned, with a decrease in the cultivation of corn and rice. In the northern regions of China, the practice of getting two crops a year is already being abandoned, leaving only one crop due to lack of water. The change in the structure of agriculture will also affect China's foreign trade. It is expected that the export of fruits and vegetables will increase, but at the same time there will be a need to import wheat, corn and soybeans (Selyukh, 2001).

Another measure is the more efficient use of water in industry, where there are also significant reserves. For example, for the production of one ton of steel in China, from 23 to 56 m 3 of water is spent, while in the USA, Japan and Germany, its consumption does not exceed 6 m 3. Similarly, the production of 1 ton of paper costs about 450 m 3 of water, while in developed countries it is about 200 m 3 . The main ways are the widespread introduction of recycling water supply with bringing the coefficient of water reuse to the level of developed countries, a decrease in the country's economy specific gravity the most water-intensive industries (thermal power, petrochemistry and pulp and paper industry).

Protection of water resources from pollution

In many cases, existing water resources cannot be

used due to their unsatisfactory condition. At present, 90% of the country's rivers and reservoirs are heavily polluted. Of the 32 Chinese metropolitan areas, thirty are experiencing problems with water supply. An illustrative example is Shanghai. One of the rivers that feed the city, the Suzhouhe, was completely written off as a source of water supply due to severe pollution; in the second (Huangpujiang), water of acceptable quality can be taken only in the upper reaches (Biryulin, 1994).

The Ministry of Water Resources is currently introducing special licenses for the use of water, new rules for drilling wells are being developed, special permits are now required for pumping water from underground sources, discharges of pollutants into water bodies are strictly regulated, other measures of administrative and financial impact on organizations and individuals are being developed, polluting water resources. Implementation of all 46 articles of the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Prevention of Pollution of the Water Environment, adopted back in 1985, has become much more strictly controlled.

Spatial redistribution of surface runoff

A characteristic feature of China is the extremely uneven

availability of water resources in various parts of the country. In the river basin The Yangtze river flow per 1 ha of land is ten times greater than in the basins of the Huanghe and Huaihe rivers, and 26 times greater than in the basins of the Haihe and Luanhe rivers (Shiklomanov, Markova, 1987). Naturally, this circumstance has long suggested the idea, if not of eliminating, then at least of mitigating such a disproportion. The first large-scale experiment of this kind was the Great Canal, built back in the 12th-13th centuries, having a length of 1794 km and supplying water from the mouth of the Yangtze near the city of Hangzhou to Beijing. Already in our time, a number of other projects have been implemented: the transfer of part of the flow of the river. Luanhe (1.1 km 3) kg. Tianjin, transfer of part of the river flow. Huanghe to the capital of Hubei Province, Wuhan, etc.

However, all these transfers cannot be compared with the South-North project, the start of which was announced on November 25, 2002. It is believed that Mao Zedong first suggested it in 1952. The cost of the project is estimated at 59 billion dollars, its implementation is designed for 48 years. It is planned to begin drainage in the lower reaches of the river. Yangtze near Yangzhou, partly using the Hangzhou-Beijing Grand Canal, cross four large lakes (Hongze, Loma, Nanxi and Dongping), then go through the tunnel under the Yellow River, go to the Grand Canal in the area of ​​Dunge and, finally, split into three arms, cross the eastern part of the North China Plain. The main technical difficulty is the need to overcome a significant height of the terrain (the area receiving water is located 40 m higher than the water intake site). To raise large volumes of water to such a height, the construction of 10 powerful pumping stations, consuming about 5 billion kWh of electricity per year. The length of the canal will be about 1300 km, and overall volume transfer will be 44.8 km 3 /year (14.8 km 3 /year - eastern, 13 km 3 /year - central and 17 km 3 /year - western branch, respectively). It is expected that the eastern canal will be built by 2005 (its cost is $7 billion), the central one by 2010 and the western one by 2050.

The main environmental problems due to the implementation of the project will be an increase in the range of penetration of sea waters up to 120 km due to a decrease in runoff at the mouth section of the river. Yangtze, which will lead to a deterioration in the conditions of water supply in Shanghai, an increase in eutrophication processes in the crossed lakes due to an excess of phosphorus and nitrogen in the transferred water, it is assumed that the mineralization of water will increase from 200 mg/liter at the water intake site to 500 mg/liter at the end section. There was also some concern about the possibility of northward transport of schistosomiasis pathogens. This disease is widespread in the southern regions of China. However, based on the fact that the larvae of schistosome helminths die at temperatures below -2 o C, their distribution north of the river. The Huang He is recognized as unlikely (Shiklomanov, Markova, 1987).

Redistribution of surface runoff in time

A serious problem is the large unevenness of river flow throughout the year. Only 27% of the runoff can be used for economic needs, the rest of it falls on floods (Shiklomanov, Markova, 1987). This circumstance determines the urgent need to smooth out water flow by cutting the peaks of large floods and increasing the volume of water during the dry period. Such a redistribution of river runoff in time is achieved by the creation of reservoirs. The practice of their construction exists in China since ancient times. In terms of the total number of reservoirs, China ranks first in the world, although in terms of their total volume it is only in fifth place, behind the United States, Russia, Canada and Brazil (Avakyan et al., 1987). Since the early 1950s, China has built over 85,000 small reservoirs with a total capacity of 479.7 km3 and 2,953 large and medium-sized dams with a reservoir capacity of 417 km3. In China, almost all medium and small rivers are regulated by 347,000 km long dams and 31,000 hydraulic gates. It should be noted that dams and dikes are often in an unsatisfactory technical condition. According to the China Daily on March 23, 1999, nearly 33,000 small and medium-sized dams are in need of repair, requiring a capital investment of $3.6 billion (Heilig et al., 2001).

In recent years, China has been implementing a number of projects aimed, in particular, at long-term and seasonal flow regulation. Among the most significant objects should be attributed the world's largest hydroelectric power station "Three Gorges", built since 1994 in the middle reaches of the river. Yangtze. The reservoir with a volume of 39.4 km 3 will regulate the flow of the river, reduce the likelihood of floods, and improve water supply to industrial and agricultural enterprises over a large area. The construction of the HPP is scheduled to be completed by 2011. Since September 1991, work has been underway to implement a multi-purpose hydrotechnical project in the middle reaches of the river. Huang He (130 km downstream of Sanmenxia). The creation of a reservoir with a volume of 1.65 km 3 will make it possible to irrigate more than a million hectares of arid lands.

All the described measures to solve the problem of water resources require huge costs. The rapid economic growth experienced by China in recent years makes it possible to carry out such spending. In addition, the ever-increasing volume of investment in the Chinese economy by foreign countries and international organizations makes the implementation of the outlined grandiose plans even more real. National spending on water resources management in 2002 was $5 billion, an increase of 16% over the previous year, the highest in the world.

Mineral raw materials and energy resources

China is extremely rich in mineral resources; in terms of their total reserves, it ranks third in the world. Of the approximately two hundred types of existing mineral resources, its bowels contain 156 types on an industrial scale, including 9 energy, 54 metals, 90 non-metals, 3 other liquid and gaseous minerals. In recent years, China has invested heavily in prospecting and exploration of deposits. So, in 2001, 22.7 billion yuan (2.7 billion dollars) were spent for these purposes. The gross value of products produced by the Chinese mining industry in 2001 amounted to 479 billion yuan (58 billion dollars).

According to the nature of use, mineral resources can be subdivided as follows (Mirzekhanova, 2003):
1) fuel and energy (oil, gas, coal, shale, uranium ores, etc.);
2) ores of ferrous metals (iron, manganese, chromium);
3) non-ferrous metal ores (zinc, aluminum, cobalt, nickel, tin, tungsten, etc.);
4) precious metal ores (gold, platinum, silver);
5) mining and chemical raw materials (phosphorites, apatites, sulfur, salts, bromine, etc.);
6) precious and ornamental stones (diamond, garnet, corundum, etc.);
7) non-metallic industrial raw materials (mica, graphite, quartz, asbestos, etc.);
8) non-metallic building materials (marble, clay, granite, etc.);
9) hydromineral raw materials (underground fresh and mineralized waters).
Let us consider the state of affairs with these categories of mineral resources in more detail.

1. Fuel and energy resources

The most favorable situation is with coal. The explored reserves of hard coal in China amount to just over 1 trillion tons (the second largest in the world after the United States), while they are constantly replenished. So in 2001, reserves of 1.64 billion tons were additionally confirmed. Approximately half of the coal is located in Shaanxi and Inner Mongolia. There are also large reserves in the provinces of Anhui, Guizhou, Shanxi and in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. The country ranks first in the world in coal production. Of the total amount of 1.35 billion tons mined in 1997 (Rodionova, Bunakova, 1999), about half is accounted for by 60 thousand small coal mines and cuts of local importance, the other half by large state mines.

Although China was the first country to discover the possibility of using oil, the development of the modern oil industry did not begin until the 1950s. Until 1949, only two small deposits were developed in the country, which annually produced 120 thousand tons of crude oil. At present, in terms of proven oil reserves (4.0 billion tons), China is in 9th place in the world (Mirzekhanova, 2003), and in terms of production (162 million tons in 2000) - fifth. The largest deposits are Daqing in Heilongjiang province (40% of total production), Shengli in Hebei province (23%) and Liaohe in Liaoning province (8%).

Oil-bearing basins are also widespread in the central and western regions of China, but they have not yet been developed due to poor transport accessibility. The most promising here are the Tarim Basin (four fields with total proven reserves of 270 million tons), the Dzhungar Basin (three fields with proven reserves of 320 million tons) and the Tulufan-Khami Basin (two fields with proven reserves of 200 million tons). It is worth mentioning more than forty offshore oil-bearing basins containing about 1.2 billion tons. The most promising here are the Bohai Strait in the Yellow Sea, the estuary of the river. Pearl and South China Sea. The process and exploration of deposits are carried out at an impressive pace, and in 2001 alone, the increase in reserves amounted to 727 million tons.

Gas fields are quite closely related to oil fields. In terms of explored reserves of natural gas, China is not yet among the leading countries, however, such a prospect is not excluded in the future. Recently discovered deposits in Western China have the following reserves: in the Tarim depression - 110 billion m 3 , in the Dzhungar basin - 52 billion m 3 , in the Turfan and Khami basins - 25 billion m 3 . Reserves of natural gas in the South China Sea in the coastal waters of about. Hainan is estimated by Chinese experts at a huge value of 13 trillion tons, but these deposits have not yet been explored, moreover, Vietnam claims some of them. Nevertheless, the increase in reserves is proceeding at a rapid pace, and only in 2001 it amounted to 430 billion m3. So far, natural gas production has been mainly carried out in the Sichuan Basin, however, the development of other fields is not far off. In 2000, 30.5 billion m 3 of gas were produced (Russian Statistical Yearbook, 2002).

Of the other types of fuel and energy resources, radioactive minerals and oil shale deserve attention. The former are represented in China mainly by uranium and thorium. By reserves uranium ores(0.5 thousand tons) the country ranks 6th in the world. As for oil shale, more than 180 deposits with total reserves of 400 billion tons are known in the country. Their extraction is mainly carried out in the south and northeast of China.

2. Ferrous metal ores

Best of all, the situation is with iron ores. Their reserves are estimated at almost 50 billion tons, which is about 19% of the world's reserves. China is a clear leader in their production. So in 1996, 249.5 million tons were produced, while in Brazil (second place) only 170 million tons (Mirzekhanova, 2003). The main deposits are the Anshan Basin in Liaoning Province, the Panzhihua Basin in Sichuan Province, and deposits in the eastern part of Hebei Province.

3. Ores of non-ferrous metals

Of the non-ferrous metals, tungsten, tin, tantalum, zinc, molybdenum, lead and mercury are the most successful. In all these positions, China is among the leaders. Tungsten is a component of superhard wear-resistant tool alloys, mainly in the form of carbide, and is used in incandescent electric lamps. The main ore minerals are wolframite and scheelite. China holds 42% of the world's tungsten reserves (mainly in the form of wolframite).

China is the world leader in the production of tin (61 thousand tons in 1995). Along with Australia, it is the leading producer of lead, each accounting for 16% of lead ore production. Together with Chile, China shares the second place in the extraction of molybdenum (18 thousand tons), which is used mainly for alloying steels, the USA is the leader here (59 thousand tons). The largest molybdenum deposits (Sandaozhuang and Jinduicheng) are found in the provinces of Henan and Shaanxi (Mao et al, 2002b). China ranks fifth in the world in terms of reserves of tantalum, which is used in electronics and to create superhard alloys for metal-cutting tools.

4. Precious metal ores

Of the noble metals, the most favorable situation is with gold. Over the past years, China has consistently held the fifth place in the world in the production of this metal, and there is a prospect of improving this indicator, since the gap behind Brazil is very small. More than 70% of Chinese gold resources are concentrated in the marginal parts of the North China Platform and adjacent orogenic belts (Mao et al., 2002a). Among the richest are the following gold-bearing regions: 1) the Jiadong Peninsula along the eastern margin of the platform; 2) gold-bearing provinces in the Daqinshan, Yanliao and Changbaishan mountains along the northern outskirts; 3) Xiao Qinling-Xiong "Ershan along the south-central margin of the platform; 4) Qinling Mountains along the southwestern margin of the platform. In each of these areas, there are several dozen deposits. For example, in the Xiao Qinling-Xiong" Ershan, located in in the eastern part of Henan province and the western part of Shaanxi province, more than a hundred deposits and ore occurrences have been discovered, ten of them have reserves of more than 20 tons each, and the total reserves exceed 400 tons. The gold grade ranges from 5.1 to 20.3 g / t (Mao et al., 2002a). Significant gold reserves (about 300 tons) are also concentrated in the Qilin Mountains (Mao et al, 2002b). The largest deposits here are Baguamiao (80 tons), Shuangwan and Dongbeizhai (more than 60 tons each) and Dashui (46 tons). There are also gold deposits in other parts of China. So, in 1995, the Hanshan field was discovered in the northern part of the Gansu province. Currently, its reserves are estimated at 60 tons (Mao et al, 2000).

5. Rare earth metals

The rare earth metals include lanthanums and lanthanides (a family of 14 chemically similar elements - from cerium to lutetium). This category also includes yttrium and scandium - metals that are most often found in nature along with lanthanides and are close to them in chemical properties. Rare-earth metals are used in the form of mixtures and individually as alloying additives in steels and alloys, for the manufacture of magnetic materials, special glasses. In recent years, there has been a growing demand for certain rare earth elements, as well as for yttrium, which is used as a phosphor for color television. The main ore minerals of rare earths are monazite and bastnäsite. The most well-known mineral of yttrium is xenotime. The world's largest bastnasite deposit Bayan-Obo with complex rare earth and iron ores is located in Inner Mongolia. In general, about 45% of the world's reserves of rare earth elements (43 million tons) are concentrated in China.

6. Mining and chemical raw materials

Of all types of mining chemical raw materials, antimony is the best. It is mainly used for the manufacture of flame retardants - compounds (mainly in the form of Sb 2 O 3 oxide) that reduce the combustibility of wood, fabrics and other materials. Antimony is also used in the chemical industry, in semiconductors, in the manufacture of ceramics and glass, and as a lead hardener in car batteries. The main ore mineral is antimonite. China has 52% of the world's antimony reserves, estimated at 6 million tons.

China ranks second in the world in the production of table salt, accounting for 14%. Its source is numerous salt lakes and sea water. Almost all salt lakes are located in the internal drainless regions of the country, such as the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Inner Mongolia and the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The largest is Qinghai Lake, the second largest is Nam-Tso Lake, located on the eastern edge of the river basin. Tarim and is the world's highest mountain salt lake. In turn, the lowest lying salt lake in the country is Aydinkel in the Turfan depression, which is located at around 154 m below sea level. Maximum amount salt lakes are concentrated on the North Tibetan Plateau (more than 420) and in the Tsaidam depression (about a hundred lakes with a total area of ​​8500 km2 and total reserves of about 100 billion tons). The main production from salt lakes comes from the Jilantai and Yabulai lakes in Inner Mongolia and Xichi in the Yuncheng region, Shanxi province. In obtaining salt from sea water, China is also a recognized leader. The area of ​​salt evaporators is 430 thousand hectares. In 1997, China produced over 29 million tons of salt. The main chemical products derived from it are potassium and magnesium chlorides, bromides and ammonium compounds. For bromides and calcium chloride alone, the annual production is more than 50 thousand tons for each item. The situation with phosphates is also very favorable. In 1995, China accounted for 15% of their production (third place in the world after the USA and Morocco).

7. Precious and ornamental stones

Of this category of minerals, jade reserves are the largest. The main jade placers of China are located in the valleys of the Yarkand, Khotan, Keriya and Karamuran rivers on the northern slopes of the Kunlun ridge. These deposits (together with the primary ones) are located within a strip stretching in the sublatitudinal direction for 600 km with a width of 100 km.

The situation with other types of mineral resources (non-metallic industrial raw materials, non-metallic building materials and hydro-mineral raw materials) is also quite favorable. Although China is not among the world leaders here, nevertheless, it provides for its needs.

Separately, it is worth mentioning the energy resources of China. Those of them that are associated with fuel and energy mineral resources have been discussed earlier. Here we are talking about renewable energy sources, which include wind, wave, tidal, solar, geothermal, bioenergy, hydropower and other energy resources.

The country ranks first in the world in terms of hydropower resources (680 million kW), which is explained by two circumstances:
1) a significant amount of surface runoff (2800 km 3 / year, which is almost equal to the runoff of all of Europe);
2) the sources of most large rivers are located in the high Tibetan Plateau and their upper reaches are characterized by waterfalls.

China is very well endowed with solar resources. About two-thirds of its territory receives a total annual insolation exceeding 1.64 kWh/m 2 , while the duration of sunshine in these areas exceeds 2200 hours per year (Li et al., 1997). The reserves of wind energy are also quite large. The wind potential of the country is 3,200 gigawatts, of which about 253 gigawatts are suitable for technical use. At the end of 1995, there were about 140,000 small wind generators operating in China, ranging from 50 watts to 5 kilowatts, with a total installed capacity of 17 megawatts.

China is the world leader in the production of biogas from agricultural waste. There are significant reserves of geothermal energy concentrated in Tibet and Yunnan province. The first geothermal power plant with a capacity of 7 thousand kW was built in Tibet back in 1977. China has huge reserves of tidal energy, the installed capacity of which is estimated at 13.28 trillion kilowatts, and the potential annual production is 62436 billion kWh.
A tidal power plant in Zhejiang with a capacity of 3,000 kW was built in 1985. The osmotic energy reserves, based on the difference in salinity, are estimated at 125 million kW.

Recreational Resources of China

Recreational resources can be subdivided as follows (Geoecological fundamentals ..., 1991):
1) natural (hydrological, climatic, forest, landscape, geological, hydrogeological, specially protected natural complexes);
2) balneological (mineral waters, therapeutic mud, etc.); Other well-known waterfalls include Diaoshuilou (its two branches flow from Jinbohu Lake, have a height of 20-25 m and a width of 40-45 m), Luntan Feipu near the city of Taishan, Detian waterfall near the border with Vietnam (width 200 m, fall height 70 m), Shatundepu on the river. Heishuihe, which has seven cascades, and others.

In many cases, certain types of natural recreational resources are important not by themselves, but by their combination. For example, hydrological resources are closely related to climatic ones. The most important factors for all types of beach and swimming activities and the most attractive characteristics of seaside resorts are the duration of sunshine along with the daily maximum temperature (Smith, 1978). From this point of view, Hainan Island, which is a recognized center of marine recreation, stands out.

The most famous tourism and recreation area on this island is the Sanya area. Even in winter, the water temperature is 18-22 0 C, there is a wide range of marine entertainment - water parks, diving, diving boards, boats, etc. For the development of underwater tourism, a special submarine is operated here, capable of diving with 40 passengers on depth of 50 m. For one hour, tourists explore the coral reefs with their rich life. It should be noted that, in general, the Chinese coast is very favorable for the development of sea tourism. There are more than 1,500 sites with some form of recreational value, and 196 Chinese coastal cities are actively involved in the development of maritime tourism.

For ski resorts, it is also important to combine hydrological (abundance of snow) and climatic (length of period from negative temperatures) resources. At first glance, the territory of China, due to its rather southern location, is not very suitable for the development of this type of tourism. Back in 1994, the ski industry in the country practically did not exist. Only 200 Chinese had skiing skills. However, in recent years the country has experienced a real ski boom. Now the number of ski resorts exceeds a hundred, of which about ten meet Western standards in terms of their capabilities and equipment. At most resorts, so far only one slope is operated, which, moreover, are not long enough and steep. However, there are opportunities for their modernization. Now options are being worked out for the development of skiing and tobogganing on a grassy slope in the summer months.

The acknowledged leader among the country's ski resorts is the resort of Yabuli, located 195 km from Harbin (within the city of Shanzhi) and covering an area of ​​23 km2. It is equipped with 9 lifts, has 11 ski slopes (length up to 3080 m, width 40 m, average slope 22.60), as well as the longest toboggan run in the world. In addition, a ski jump, special areas for slalom and freestyle lovers have been built. Snow here lasts from November to April, its maximum thickness reaches 1 m. In 1996, the III Asian Winter Games were held in Yabuli, in which 494 athletes from 16 countries participated. China has already nominated Heilongjiang Province as a candidate for hosting the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Table 1 gives an idea of ​​the leading ski resorts in China. 12.

Table 12. Brief information on the leading ski resorts in China

A significant recreational resource is the rich fauna of China. In recent years, hunting tourism has developed greatly. In 1985, a Chinese American, Liu Guole, put forward a proposal to organize research on hunting resources in China. At the same time, the State Council of the People's Republic of China approved the creation of the Taoshan hunting ground for foreigners in Heilongjiang province, in which hunting for roe deer, red deer and wild boar was allowed. At present, there are 24 hunting grounds for foreigners in China, covering a total area of ​​6527 km2. They are mainly located in Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan, Heilongjiang and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Foreign hunting tourism can be divided into two categories. The first includes hunting for large animals, and quite often for their rare species. Hunting them is quite difficult and the prices are quite high.
For example, for shooting one golden takin (a mammal of the bovid family, having a body length of up to 220 cm and a height at the withers of up to 130 cm, and listed in the International Red Book), you have to pay 12 thousand dollars. Prices for the extraction of other animals: mountain goat - 4900, Indian sambar (deer weighing up to 300 kg) - 3900, deer - 3500, blue sheep - 2500, goitered gazelle, Tibetan gazelle and Chinese muntzhak - 1200 each, wild boar - 800 dollars. It should be noted that this is only the price of the trophy itself. In addition, the cost of the permit includes payment for meals, accommodation, travel and other services, which during the hunting tour (8-12 days) is up to 3-5 thousand dollars. Since American Cline Burger killed a blue sheep for $10,600 in October 1997, more than 700 large wild animals have been shot by foreign hunters. The second category includes hunting for geese, ducks and other waterfowl. It is especially popular among the citizens of South Korea and Japan. The average price of one killed bird is $17.

Biological recreational resources include national parks, the number of which in China is constantly growing. For example, on January 23, 1996, such a park was opened near Harbin. It contains 30 Amur tigers. People watch them from the comfort of special tourist buses, while the animals enjoy complete freedom of movement. During this time, the park was visited by more than 350 thousand people.

Geological recreational resources are also of some importance. For example, China is one of the countries with a wide development of karst processes and, accordingly, a large distribution of karst landforms. The country has many caves that attract tourists. In the south and southwest of eastern China is the world's largest area of ​​karst landforms. Along with the usual ones, there are also specific forms, such as "shilin" (stone forest). Extremely picturesque high remnants were formed as a result of a combination of an intensive karst process with the activity of the river waters of the Yangtze and Zhujiang basins (Samburova, Medvedeva, 1991). The most widely known is the "stone forest" 85 km from Kunming, which has an area of ​​several square kilometers.

2. Balneological recreational resources

China also has significant balneological resources. In particular, the country has a large number of deposits of thermal mineral waters. Their reserves are especially large in the Tianjin region, located in the northern part of the Great Plain of China. Thermal water reservoirs are mainly confined to carbonate rocks of the Upper Paleozoic and Middle Proterozoic, the water temperature exceeds 900 C. The total thickness of the sedimentary rock layer containing mineral waters exceeds 1000 m. There are 13 aquifers of sandstone in total, closer to the surface the water temperature decreases and amounts 25-700 C. All aquifers contain high quality mineral water suitable for medical use (Liao et al., 2000).

3. Architectural and historical recreational resources

As for architectural and historical recreational resources, China is extremely rich in this regard. The country is an example of one of the most ancient civilizations, the monuments of which have been preserved in many places. In different historical eras, Beijing, Xi'an, Nanjing, Luoyang, Kaifeng, Hangzhou and Anyang were the capitals. However, since architectural and historical recreational resources do not belong to natural resources proper, they are not considered here.

It is assumed that in 2003 the country's income from foreign tourism will amount to 21.5 billion dollars, and from domestic 425 billion yuan, which will total 72 billion dollars. and will exceed 2002 revenues by 8.5%. In the coming years, China intends to pay increased attention to the development of the US and FRG tourist markets and to attract tourists from India. From October 17 to 24, 2003, the 15th session of the World Tourism Organization was held in China, in which about 70 ministers from the countries participating in this organization, as well as over 1,000 of its representatives, took part. By 2020, China plans to become the first country in the world in terms of the number of incoming tourists and reach the 4th place in outbound tourism.

The issue of ensuring the future economic growth of the PRC with minerals has attracted serious attention both in China and abroad for quite a long time. It should be noted that the predictive assessments of a number of Chinese experts are of an alarmist nature and, wittingly or unwittingly, contribute to the formation of ideas about China's readiness to join in some kind of planetary war for access to untapped mineral resources. Thus, the forecast made in the early 1990s was widely known, according to which by 2000 domestic production should be below the country's needs for about half of the 45 most important types of minerals, and after 2020 - for their absolute majority. The real alarm was made by the report of the group of experts “Fossil Resources and Economic Development of China”, presented to the State Council of the PRC in December 2002, predicting for the period up to 2020 a huge deficit and a high degree of reliance on imports of the country for oil, gas, copper and aluminum. In particular, China's oil needs for 2020 predicted in the range from 550 to 640 million tons, while up to 500 million tons were supposed to be imported. Although the alarmism of the authors of the report was considered excessive, it clearly served as one of the reasons for the detailed study by the country's leadership of the problem of China's resource supply and the formation of an accentuated politicians in this area.

In a concentrated form, this policy was formulated in the White Paper "China Minerals Policy" (December 2003), in the study of the Chinese Academy of Engineering "China Strategy for the Sustainable Development of Oil and Gas Resources" (presented to the Premier of the PRC State Council on June 25, 2004) , in the "Mid- and Long-Term Energy Saving Program" developed by the State Committee for Reform and Development (November 2004). China is focused on meeting the modernization requirements, at least until 2020, relying mainly on the development of its own mineral reserves, including by attracting foreign investment and technology.

People's Republic of China by area- 9.6 million sq. kilometers - is in third place in the world after Russian Federation and Canada. At the same time, a significant part of the territory of China is occupied by mountains, high plateaus, deserts and other inconveniences. According to surveys of the national territory, mountains account for about a third of the territory of China (3.2 million square kilometers), mountain plateaus - 26% (2.5 million square kilometers), hilly lands - about 10% (0.95 million sq. km). The most convenient for life and economic activities, the plains and basins occupy, respectively, 12% (1.15 million sq. km) and about 19% (1.8 million sq. km) of the country's territory. At an altitude of up to 500 m above sea level, 25% of the territory of the PRC is located, from 500 to 1000 m - 17% and from 1000 to 2000 m - 25.1%. In general, the features of China's physical geography predetermine an increased concentration of the population in a relatively small area, represented mainly by the seaside and a number of inland provinces (Henan, Sichuan, Chongqing) with a low population density in vast high-mountainous and desert regions (Tibet, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region).

The potential for economic use of the territory also directly depends on the amount of precipitation and average annual temperatures. In China stand out four types of climate zones: humid (humid), which occupies 32% of the country's territory (mainly the southeastern, southern and southwestern provinces); semi-humid (15%), semi-arid (22%) and arid (lease) - 31% of the territory. The northern regions of China (Inner Mongolia, Beijing, Hebei) are seriously suffering from progressive desertification.

land fund structure The PRC looks like this (see Table 1).

Table 1

Land Fund of the People's Republic of China

Compiled from: Zhongguo tongji nianjian 2004 (China Statistical Yearbook 2004). Beijing 2004: 5-6.

The size arable land in China fluctuates somewhat from year to year. In particular, not always legal withdrawal of arable land for urban and industrial construction takes place. In addition, in the western regions of the country there is a special program for returning part of the arable land to its natural state. In general, the area of ​​arable land in China by the end of 2003 decreased to 123.4 million hectares. China has less than 10% of the world's arable land for a 22% share of the world's population.

The average per capita area of ​​arable land in the PRC is now only 0.095 hectares, or only 46.4% of the world average. In addition, 60% of arable land is located in areas with water shortages or severely affected by salinization, soil erosion and desertification.

The situation is somewhat improved by the possibility of obtaining repeated harvests during the year in part of the country's territory - the total sown area under agricultural crops in 2003 amounted to 152.4 million hectares. On the whole, however, the limited arable land makes particularly high demands on the intensity of crop production in the PRC, which has its limits. In the future, the lack of arable land may have a certain inhibitory effect on China's economic growth.

According to the 1996 agricultural census, the total area of ​​land used in agriculture and forestry, amounted to 640.5 million hectares. In addition to arable land, this includes forests (including forest plantations) - 227.6 million hectares; pastures - 266.1 million hectares, orchards - 10.0 million hectares, fish farms - 6.8 million hectares.

China's good provision with pastures allows it to have one of the world's largest herds of small ruminants (sheep, goats). At the same time, despite a consistent large-scale afforestation program, the average per capita forest cover in China is only 13.9% of the global average (according to other sources, 17%). China has practically stopped cutting its own forests and is one of the world's largest importers of roundwood and timber products.

Water reserves China (understood as the annual volume of river flow) are estimated at 2.8 trillion m 3 . In per capita terms, this is about 2,200 cubic meters per person, or ¼ of the world average. Additional problems are created by the uneven distribution of water resources across the country. Its northern part, which has concentrated 64% of the area of ​​arable land, accounts for only 19% of the volume of water resources. In the second half of the 1990s, China's annual direct economic loss from water shortages was estimated at 200 billion yuan ($24 billion).

The level of fresh water pollution is very high. The volume of wastewater discharges in 2003 reached 68 billion tons (three times more than in 1980), of which 66% was from industry and 34% from domestic wastewater. A third of industrial and two thirds of domestic wastewater enters rivers without prior treatment.

The question of the degree of water shortage threatening China in the future remains debatable. In the late 1990s, it was this factor that was considered as perhaps the main constraint on economic growth in the country after 2010. At the same time, the absence of a significant increase in water consumption in the period 1998-2001. (by years, respectively, 547 billion m 3 , 559, 550 and 551 billion m 3 ), a set of water-saving measures (not least - a significant increase in water fees in many cities of China) and, most importantly, the start of construction at the end of 2002 of the first , in 2003 - the second of three planned hydraulic systems for the transfer of water from the river basin. The Yangtze to the northern arid regions has clearly softened pessimism about the prospects for China's water supply at this stage. There is no doubt, however, that the PRC urgently needs a consistent, large-scale effort to treat wastewater and to instill an appropriate environmental mindset in its population.

China has large hydropower resources - 676 ​​million kW, of which 379 million kW can be practically used.

In recent years, China has noticeably stepped up the use of coastal resources seas. The gross value of production based on the use of marine and ocean resources in 2000 exceeded 413 billion yuan (about $50 billion), of which more than 50% came from aquatic products and about 10% from oil and gas production. The share of the added value of the "marine economy" in China's GDP was 2.6%.

The trouble-free development of the maritime economy complicates the existence of disputes regarding the state ownership of a number of sections of the seas washing China. So, the subject of disputes are the sea area of ​​73 thousand square meters. km in the Yellow Sea, 210 thousand square meters. km in the East China Sea and a significant part of the territory in the South China Sea.

China has a relatively complete set mineral. To date, deposits of 171 types have been discovered in the country and reserves of 158 types of minerals have been determined. China is one of the world leaders in the reserves of rare earth elements, coal, tungsten, tin, molybdenum, antimony, titanium, gypsum, magnesite, barite, fluorite, talc and graphite. For such types of minerals as iron ore, manganese, aluminum, copper, phosphorus, poor deposits prevail. The country experiences a rather acute shortage in diamonds, platinum, chromite, and potassium salt. The volume of proved reserves of the main types of minerals in China for 2003 is presented in Table 2.

table 2

China's main mineral reserves as of 2003.

The end of the table.

Source: Zhongguo tongji nianjian (Statistical Yearbook of China 2004). Beijing 2004: 9.

The PRC is the third country in the world in terms of total mineral reserves, which in mid-2004 were estimated at $16.56 trillion. However, in terms of their per capita volume - 15.1 thousand dollars. - China ranks only 53rd. According to modern estimates, the average recoverable coal reserves per person are about 90 tons, or half the world average. For oil, these figures are 2.6 tons and 12.5%, and for natural gas - 1074 m 3 and 4.5%.

At the same time, one cannot but take into account the rather poor geological knowledge of China and the real prospect of discovering new large deposits of various types of minerals. An example of this kind is the discovery in Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia of large natural gas deposits, which made it possible to build the East-West (Urumqi-Shanghai) gas pipeline.

As of 2002, there were 489 large mines, 1,025 medium mines, and over 145,000 small mines (including sand and clay quarries) in China, employing about 9 million people. China is a major producer of coal, steel, ten main types of non-ferrous metals, cement (according to these positions, it ranks first in the world), phosphorus ore (2nd), pyrite, and oil (5th).

The volume of foreign trade in energy carriers and mining products in 2002 amounted to 111 billion dollars. - 18% of the country's foreign trade turnover. China is a net importer of crude oil, iron ore, manganese ore, copper concentrate and potash fertilizers. The following are exported in significant quantities: lead, zinc, tungsten, tin, antimony, rare earth elements, fluorspar, barium, talc, graphite.

Exit in 2003-2004 on an economic growth trajectory of more than 9% per year led to an abrupt increase in China's demand for imported mineral resources. The volume of their import in 2003 exceeded 102 billion dollars. . The import of oil, which increased from 91.1 million tons in 2003 to 122.7 million tons in 2004, and iron ore, respectively, from 148 million tons to 208 million tons, is growing especially fast.

Officials in China state that dependence on imports of fossil resources adversely affects the security and interests of the progressive development of the state. According to Meng Xianlai, head of the State Administration of Geological Exploration of the People's Republic of China, "the scarcity of fossil resources has already become one of the key factors hindering the process of the country's economic and social development."

Relief and minerals

China is one of the most mineral-rich countries in the world. It is mined here: coal, oil, magnesium and iron ores, tungsten, copper, graphite and tin. Within the Sinai Shield, the country's largest deposits of coal (which in its origin dates back to the Jurassic period), oil (mainly of the Mesozoic and Meso-Cenozoic period) are concentrated. Deposits of non-ferrous and rare metals, the largest of which is the tungsten deposit, which ranks first in size in the world, are located within the South China massif, antimony, tin, mercury, molybdenum, manganese, lead, zinc, copper and etc. And in the Tien Shan, Mongolian Altai, Kunlun, Khingan there are deposits of gold and other precious metals.

Agro-climatic resources

One of the main factors affecting the climatic features of China is, first of all, the country's position within three zones: temperate, subtropical and tropical. In addition, the large size of the mainland and inland regions, as well as the coastal position of the eastern and southern regions, has a significant impact.

The average January temperature ranges from -4 and below in the North (and in the North of Greater Khingan to -30) and up to +18 in the South. In summer, the temperature regime is more diverse: the average July temperature in the North is +20, and in the South +28.

The annual precipitation decreases as one moves from the Southeast (2000 mm in the Southeast, mainland China, 2600 mm on Hainan Island) to the Northwest (up to 5 mm or less in the Tarim Plain in places).

According to the temperature regime in China, the southern and northern parts are distinguished. The first - with a temperate and warm climate even in winter, and the second - with cold winters and a sharp temperature contrast between summer and winter. According to the annual amount of precipitation, the eastern, relatively humid, and western arid zones are distinguished.

Land resources

In many ways, the climatic and relief features of the country have led to a wide variety of soils in China. The western part is characterized by desert-steppe complexes. Outside the Tibetan part, chestnut and brown soils of dry steppes predominate, as well as dry-brown deserts, with significant areas of stony or solonchak areas. A characteristic feature of this part of China is the predominance of gray soils, mountain chestnut and mountain meadow soils. In the Tibetan Plateau, the soils of high-altitude deserts are more common.

For the eastern part of China, soils associated with forest associations are typical, and the most common soils in this territory are: soddy-podzolic, brown forest soils in the mountains, and meadow dark-colored soils on the plains of the Northeast. Zheltozems, krasnozems and laterites, mainly in mountain varieties, are common in the south of the country.

In many respects, the peculiarities of the formation of China's soil resources were influenced by the centuries-old cultivation of the country's most ancient agricultural crop, rice, which led to changes in soils and the formation of essentially special varieties, such as "marshy rice" in the South and "Eastern carbonate" in Loess plateau.

Water resources

The features of the relief were reflected, first of all, in the distribution of the country's water resources. The most humid are the Southern and Eastern parts, which have a dense and highly branched system. The largest rivers in China - the Yangtze and the Yellow River - flow in these areas. They also include: Amur, Sungari, Yalohe, Xijiang, Tsagno. the rivers of eastern China are for the most part full of water and navigable, and their regime is characterized by uneven seasonal flow - minimum flows in winter and maximum in summer. Floods are not uncommon on the plains, caused by rapid spring and summer snowmelt.

The western, arid part of China is poor in rivers. Basically, they are shallow, navigation on them is poorly developed. Most of the rivers in this area do not have a runoff to the sea, and their flow is episodic. The largest rivers in this region are Tarim, Black Irtysh, Ili, Edzin-Gol. The largest rivers in the country, carrying their waters to the ocean, are blocked in the Tibetan Plateau.

China is rich not only in rivers, but also in lakes. There are two main types:

tectonic and water erosion. The former are located in the Central Asian part of the country, and the latter in the Yangtze River system. In the western part of China, the largest lakes are: Lop Nor, Kununor, Ebi-Nur. Lakes are especially numerous in the Tibetan Plateau. Most of the flat lakes, as well as rivers, are shallow, many are without drainage and are saline. In the eastern part of China, the largest ones are Dongtinghu, Poyanghu, Taihu, located in the Yangtze River basin; Hongzuohu and Gaoihu - in the Yellow River basin. During high water, many of these lakes become the country's natural reservoirs.

Flora and fauna

The special geographical position of China, due to which it is located in three zones at once: temperate, subtropical and tropical, influenced not only the formation of climatic conditions, relief and soil resources, but, above all, the diversity and richness of the country's flora and fauna. It is no coincidence that the flora and fauna of China has more than 30 thousand species of various plants. It is also characteristic that out of 5 thousand tree and shrub species, about 50 are found only in China. There are also numerous relics of ancient flora. In terms of the diversity of forest species, China ranks first in the world. Here grow such valuable technical species as poppy and tallow trees, tung, camellia oleifera and sumac.

The country distinguishes two main parts according to the nature of the vegetation cover: eastern and western. In the eastern part, forest types of vegetation are more common; to the north of the Qinling Range, summer-green broad-leaved forests of various types extend. In the central part of eastern China there are large plains, the forests are almost reduced here, and the lands are plowed up.

In the Northeast, taiga-type forests are widespread. Here you can find pines, birches, daurce larch, spruce, oak, maple, cedar, cedar, hornbeam, walnut and even Amur velvet.

In the south and southeast of China, evergreen subtropical forests stretch, in which you can find cypress, amphora laurel, lacquer and tallow trees, as well as the relic queeninghami tree. Tropical forests in their original form are preserved only on the island of Hainan.

One of the features of the flora of China is the contrast between the forest and desert, mostly saline and completely devoid of vegetation areas of the western part. The number of animal species is not large here either, although the animal world of China is rich and diverse. It has about 1,800 species of land animals only. The most common and numerous are deer, elk, leopards, brown bears, wild boars, monkeys, porcupines, gibbons, armadillos and even Indian elephants. The South-Eastern territory of the country is richest in animal species.