Impact of human activities on water resources and ecological problems in the Tarim River Basin, China

There has been rapid growth in populations industry and agriculture in the upper reaches of the Tarim River Basin over the last 50 years and. through lack of co-ordination in the planning process, the lower reaches have become an ecological disaster. Increasing consumption of water has caused secondary salinization in approximately 38% of cultivated land. An increase in consumption from 73% to 95% of total water volume by the upper- and middle-reach areas has caused droughts in the lower-reach area. So the watercourse has dried up over a length of 320 km, as have the Taitema-nor and Lop-nor lakes. Groundwater depth within the lower reaches has dropped from 1similar to3 m to 8similar to11 in and has become salinized. Ecosystems in the lower-reach area have suffered serious damage with 68% of natural vegetation being lost. Bio-diversity has been seriously damaged. Desertification has been developing at the rate of 150 similar to200 km(2)/yr so that the "Green Corridor" between Kuluke desert and Taklamakan desert is shrinking continuously. Recommendations are given to reverse this decline. They include co-ordinated planning, renovation of the main stream and regulating abstraction, protecting water quality, and restoration of the "green corridor" through measures to increase flow by dredging or redefining the role of Daxihaizi Reservoir.