GEOG215 Lecture Notes - Lecture 12: Town Privileges, Environmental Protection, Loess
15 Jun 2015
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Document Summary
The doubling of the population between 1949 and 2012 combined with rapid economic growth has led to. Moreover rapid unequal economic growth has led to environmental social unrest increasing. The loess plateau was covered with a mix of forests and grasslands when humans first settled there. Intensive use of lands led to a reduction o vegetation and serious erosion on the plateau several hundred years ago. During 1950s maos people"s communes cleared many huillsides. Cultural revolution and political unrest caused environmental degradation. Government payed attention to environmental issues after the cultural revolution. In 2008 environment became a major focus of government. 22 percent of worlds pop but only 8 percent of worlds water. 1/4 of global per head water resources. Water table fallen more than 1m per year, 60m. 64 percent of cultivated land has access to only 19 percent of water. 2/3 of cities are short on water. Beijing and surrounding areas have serious water shortages.
