Section 1 Major environmental problems in today's world

1. 1 global climate change

In the past century, the global average surface temperature rose by 0.3 to 0.6 degrees Celsius, and the global sea level rose by 10 to 25 centimeters. If the world energy consumption pattern does not change fundamentally, by the middle of 2 1 century, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will reach 560ppm, and the global average temperature may rise by 1.5 to 4 degrees Celsius.

1.2 ozone layer destruction and loss

Since the ozone hole appeared over Antarctica in 1985, the depletion of the ozone layer over the earth has been increasing.

1.3 acid rain pollution

Acid rain is mostly sulfuric acid and nitric acid, which mainly comes from the extensive use of fossil fuels by human beings, and a large amount of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are discharged into the atmosphere. . In northern Europe, due to the high natural acidity of soil, soil acidification is particularly serious, and acidification of some lakes leads to the extinction of fish. Acidification of water body will change aquatic ecology, while acidification of soil will impoverish soil and lead to degradation of terrestrial ecosystem.

1.4 land desertification

Desertification is the most serious environmental and socio-economic problem in the world today. The global desertification area has reached nearly 3.6 billion hectares, accounting for about 1/4 of the global land area, affecting the global population (about 900 million people) and more than 100 countries and regions. Every year, 6 million hectares of land in the world become desert, and another 2 1 10,000 hectares of land cannot grow grain because of degradation. Asia has the most concentrated population affected by desertification in the world, and the countries most affected by desertification are China, Afghanistan, Mongolia, Pakistan and India.

1.5 water resources crisis

Many parts of the world are facing a serious water crisis. According to international experience, per capita annual 1 1,000 cubic meters of reusable freshwater resources is a basic index, and countries below this index may suffer from long-term water shortage, which will hinder development and harm health. But at present, about 20 countries in the world have fallen below this index, mainly in West Asia and Africa, with a total population exceeding 1 100 million. On the other hand, water pollution caused by domestic wastewater, industrial wastewater, agricultural wastewater, solid waste leakage, air pollutants and so on has greatly reduced the available fresh water resources in the world. The report of the World Bank estimates that more than 654.38 billion people in the world have no access to safe drinking water due to water pollution and lack of water supply facilities.

1.6 Forest vegetation destruction

It is estimated that the forest area on the earth is about 3-6 billion hectares, accounting for 20%-40% of the land area, of which about half are tropical forests (including tropical rainforests and tropical monsoon forest) and the other half are mainly coniferous forests in the sub-cold zone. Large-scale destruction of forests has caused many environmental consequences, including: changes in rainfall distribution, increased carbon dioxide emissions, abnormal climate, soil erosion, frequent floods and decreased biodiversity.

1.7 biodiversity declined sharply.

Large-scale destruction of forests, grasslands, wetlands and other habitats;

Excessive hunting and utilization of wild species resources;

Large-scale development of urban areas and industrial areas;

1.8 Destruction and pollution of marine resources

In recent decades, the over-utilization of marine living resources and the increasingly serious pollution of the ocean by human beings may cause obvious degradation of marine productivity and marine environmental quality on a global scale. Due to overfishing, it has been extinct or endangered, and most of the wastes and pollutants produced by human activities have finally entered the ocean. Lead to changes in coastal habitats and destroy animal habitats and breeding grounds.

Section II Current Situation of Environmental Problems in China

Environmental problems are common problems in the international community, especially in China. In recent years, China's environmental problems have become increasingly prominent, which is not only a link of social development, but also a major practical issue related to the overall development.

2. 1 Environmental issues

Environmental problems have existed since ancient times and developed with the development of social productive forces. According to different historical periods, we can divide environmental problems into two types. One is environmental problems in the traditional sense, that is, environmental damage and resource waste caused by people's unreasonable development and utilization of natural resources, that is, soil erosion, land desertification, grassland degradation, reduction of aquatic biological resources, and droughts and floods caused by excessive reclamation of wasteland, overgrazing, looting and fishing. The other is the environmental problem in the modern sense. It refers to the serious environmental problems such as "three wastes" (waste gas, waste water and waste residue) pollution, noise pollution, radioactive pollution and pesticide pollution caused by the rapid development of industry and agriculture and urbanization after the industrial revolution. The breadth and depth of pollution have greatly exceeded a large number of "environmental hazards" (also known as environmental hazards, which refer to people's living environment and ecological environment)

2.2 China's current situation of environmental problems

Mankind faces three new global and wide-area environmental problems: first, global environmental pollution; Second, large-scale ecological destruction; The third is the sudden serious pollution incident. At present, the environmental problems in developed countries are mainly environmental pollution, while those in developing countries are mainly environmental damage. In China, there are two kinds of environmental problems, environmental damage and environmental pollution, both of which are very serious. According to statistics, China is one of the countries with the largest emissions of environmental pollutants in the world, and the damage to the natural ecological environment is also quite serious. At present, the area of soil erosion in China has expanded from1160,000 square kilometers in the early days of liberation to10.5 million square kilometers. (3) The economic losses caused by environmental pollution and destruction are extremely alarming. The serious environmental problems in our country have seriously hindered the healthy development of our national economy, which is bound to be extremely unfavorable to our future economic development.

2.3 Analysis of the causes of environmental problems in China

2.3. 1 economic factors

At present, China's economy is in a period of transition from traditional planned economy to market economy, and it is also a period of rapid economic growth. Judging from the economic development history of developed countries, this stage is the most serious period of ecological and environmental problems, so the ecological and environmental pressure faced by China in this period will be even heavier. The scale of resource development and utilization and pollutant discharge of various industries will also increase at a high speed. People only pay attention to the figures of economic growth, but often ignore the heavy price behind it: the predatory development of resources has caused great damage to the environment; In recent years, the eco-environmental problems in China have increased geometrically. Conflicts between economic interests and environmental protection. The pursuit of high profits in the development of market economy is the interest of a relatively few people, while environmental protection is the interest of most people. The two are opposite, but in recent years, the deterioration of rural environment in China is particularly obvious. Farmers in some township enterprises are willing to endure the damage of environmental pollution to the country, the collective and themselves in order to "get rid of poverty and become rich". In this regard, the state has to take compulsory measures to close the "fifteen small" enterprises. Law enforcement is extremely difficult.

2.3.2 Human and social factors

China has a large population and great pressure on environmental resources. There is a close causal relationship between environmental problems and population. Population problem and environmental problem are great challenges for the development of contemporary China. The population problem leads to the absolute shortage of resources in China, which often leads to the phenomenon of uncontrolled development of resources. This phenomenon is accompanied by amazing waste, which has caused great pressure on the implementation of China's sustainable economic development strategy. Public awareness of environmental protection is generally poor. Environmental problems are intertwined with other social problems such as poverty, often forming a vicious circle. The environmental problems in rich countries are mainly environmental pollution, while those in poor countries are mainly environmental damage related to natural resources. The former is easier to prevent and recover, while the latter is much more difficult to prevent and recover. China has similar environmental problems. In economically developed areas such as plains, coastal areas and big cities, environmental problems are mainly environmental pollution, which is now being alleviated through continuous governance. However, in the relatively poor areas in the west, the deterioration of the ecological environment caused by environmental damage is very serious, and there is a growing trend that environmental problems and poverty deepen simultaneously and form a vicious circle.

Section III Ecological Environment and Protection in Qinghai

3. 1 Importance of ecological environment and protection

Qinghai is the birthplace of the famous Yangtze River, Yellow River, international river and Lancang River, and is known as the "source of rivers" and "water tower of China". Due to the special geographical location of Qinghai, the ecological environment directly affects the ecology of the whole basin. Qinghai is one of the main water sources in China, and its regional water conservation function is remarkable, so it is a strategic place for national ecological environment construction. Protecting the ecological environment of Qinghai is not only of great significance to the sustainable economic and social development of the province, but also of great significance to the improvement of the ecological environment and sustainable economic and social development of Hexi Corridor in Gansu, Heihe River Basin in Inner Mongolia, Yellow River Basin and Yangtze River Basin.

3. 1. 1 Status:

The ecological environment in Qinghai is very fragile. The province covers an area of 722,300 square kilometers, accounting for about one tenth of the country's total area, ranking fourth in the country. In the vast area of Qinghai Plateau, glaciers, Gobi, deserts, rocky mountains and snow-capped mountains account for one third. The forest coverage in the province is uneven, mainly concentrated in Datong River, Huangshui River, Longwu River, Makehe River, Duoke River and Zhaqu River in the upper reaches of the Yellow River and the Yangtze River. These areas are on the edge of the forest. Due to the vast territory and sparse population, the vegetation landscape in the plateau area is complex and diverse, which breeds a large number of natural resources and has the advantage of rich resources.

forest resources

There are 4410.5 million hectares of woodland, 239,300 hectares of sparse woodland, shrub10.72 million hectares, and the forest coverage rate is 3.4%, of which the tree coverage rate is 0.4%, far below the national average/kloc-0 1.3.92%.

B. Wetland resources

Qinghai Province is an important province with the largest number of rivers and abundant wetland resources in China. The water quantity of Yangtze River, Yellow River and Lancang River from Qinghai Province accounts for 49.2%, 25% and 15% of their respective basins. There are many lakes in China, of which 439 are more than 0.5 square kilometers, with a total area of 13700 square kilometers, accounting for 15% of the total area of lakes in China.

Wild animal resources

Our province is rich in wildlife resources, with more than 400 species of terrestrial vertebrates, including 290 species of birds, 0/00 species of mammals and 50 species of fish. There are 74 species of national key protected animals, among which Tibetan antelope, wild yak, wild donkey, snow leopard, white-lipped deer and black-necked crane are listed as "three haves" (that is, animals with beneficial and important economic and scientific research value), and 7 species of Nostoc flagelliforme and Saussurea involucrata are listed as national key protected wild plants.

Grassland resources

Grassland is an important natural resource in Qinghai, with a total area of 40.3955 million hectares, accounting for 55.93% of the total land area. Affected by natural and man-made factors, most grasslands in Qinghai Province have been degraded to varying degrees. At present, the area of grassland rodent damage accounts for 25.2% of the available grassland area in the province. Due to harsh environmental conditions and special geographical location, grassland ecosystem is extremely fragile. Protecting and constructing grassland resources and ecological environment in Qinghai Province is not only of great significance to the sustainable development of the province's economy and society, but also of great significance to maintaining the ecological balance of the whole Yangtze River and Yellow River water system and promoting the healthy economic and social development of the middle and lower reaches.

Ecological soil erosion has intensified.

Up to now, the land area eroded by wind, water and freeze-thaw in Qinghai has reached nearly 400,000 square kilometers, accounting for 55.38% of the total land area in the province. The harm caused by soil erosion is enormous: first, it destroys land resources, and second, it destroys land productivity.

The area of ecologically desertified land is constantly expanding.

The area of desertified land in the whole province has reached 1064, with an average annual increase of 2. 14%. The desertification area in Qinghai Province will increase, and it is still very serious.

G. Reducing ecological water resources

There is a large area of drought and water shortage in Qinghai every year, and the blue sea water resources are decreasing, and the water shortage problem is outstanding.

The fourth quarter, the main reasons for the deterioration of the ecological environment and existing problems.

4. 1 Main reasons

According to relevant research data, the reasons for the deterioration of ecological environment and natural grassland vegetation in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau can be attributed to global climate change, the intensification of plateau ecological warming and drying trend, the unreasonable development of human resources, the intensification of grassland resources development and the simultaneous influence of ecological environment problems.

One of the reasons is that human activities accelerate and promote the degradation of the ecological environment. In the early production and development of animal husbandry, influenced by the wrong idea of blindly pursuing the number of livestock, the phenomenon of overgrazing in natural grassland is very serious.

The second reason: human production and living activities directly destroy vegetation and grassland ecological environment, leading to regional ecological environment degradation and problems.

The third reason: in some areas, the awareness of ecological environment protection is not strong, and development, protection, construction and maintenance are emphasized.