PS 27-126 - Ecology of industrial pollution in China

Abstract: Industrial development has brought China both opportunities and challenges since the reform and opening up in 1978. The economy has undergone rapid development, whilst industrial pollution has also posed serious threats to the ecosystems. (1) Spatial and temporal analysis showed that rapid industrialization has made eastern China under a more serious pollution stress. The most serious effects of industrial pollution were reflected in aquatic and soil ecosystem degradation, and damage can be observed from species, population, and community to ecosystem level. Soil pollution was most serious in the Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta and the old industrial base in Northeast China, where exhibit a relatively higher industrial added value. (2) Large number of contaminated sites were formed in China during the rapid urbanization and industrialization and were directly redeveloped and utilized without effective risk assessment and remediation. Public consciousness about contaminated sites rose from 2004 leading to greater efforts in ecological remediation, monitoring, and risk governance. (3) With the improvement of industrial facilities and the detection of emerging pollutants in the environment, the focus of environmental problems has shifted from single pollutant to multiple pollutants. Considerable efforts are still needed in expanding the extent and breadth of monitoring to explore where the greatest ecological risks lie and how to control them. Ecology of industrial pollution has become a popular discipline in China and will be further developed to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Future research on the ecology of industrial pollution should be focused on multi-media transfer and effects of mixed pollutants, mechanisms for clean energy and material flow, and integration of ecological risk with human health risk.