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DAM-L LS: Talk on China Water Crisis - Jan. 17 in SF (fwd)

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subject: LS: Talk on China Water Crisis - Jan. 17 in SF
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**please circulate**

International Rivers Network and Earth Island Institute
invite you to a reception and talk with

MA JUN
author of China Water Crisis

Wed., Jan. 17, 7:30 - 9:30 pm

3 2 2 0
3220 Sacramento Street, third floor
(between Lyon St. and Presidio Blvd.) San Francisco

The rivers in China, and the hundreds of millions who depend on them, are 
in trouble. In his book, China Water Crisis, Ma Jun traces 4,000 years of 
the history of China's watersheds, and their mis/management.  Armed with 
scientific data and compelling stories, Ma reveals the causes and character 
of the looming ecological disaster. His book has been quoted in The 
Economist and many western media.

Ma Jun, a native of China, has a degree in journalism and English.  He has 
worked for the South China Morning Post for many years and is based in 
Beijing.  This is his first visit to the United States.

For more information about the event, or plans to translate China Water 
Crisis into English, please contact Mary Houghteling at International 
Rivers Network, 510-848-1155 x308 or <mhoughteling@irn.org>.

Transportation alternatives: SF Muni 1-California, 43-Masonic, and 
3-Jackson lines.

Parking options: Limited indoor parking is available in 3220's garage for 
early arrivals. Street parking is usually available within a few blocks.

China Water Crisis: Background Information

Published in Chinese by the China Environmental Science Publication House 
in December 1999, China Water Crisis is the most up-to-date and 
comprehensive source of information on the crisis confronting water 
resources in the People's Republic of China. China Water Crisis covers a 
range of topics from the inadequate flow of the Yellow River in the north, 
to the impact of deforestation and excessive dam construction along the 
Yangtze River.  It also explores the serious drought in the southeast in 
the rapidly growing cities of Shenzhen and Canton, and the impacts of 
pollutants on the high plateau of Tibet. These and other topics are covered 
in depth without resorting to alarmist conclusions as the author paints a 
picture of a nation, which over the course of the next 20 to 50 years, will 
see a dramatic deterioration in its clean water resources if major steps 
are not taken soon to alter development plans.

China Water Crisis will be an important tool in the fight to save China's 
freshwater supplies.  Of greatest concern to Ma Jun is the condition of 
China's three major rivers: the Yellow, the Yangtze, and the 
Pearl.  Massive reductions in water flow stemming from a variety of largely 
man-made problems threaten the very existence of these rivers (one of 
which, the Yellow, has already become seasonal). The same is true for 
smaller, but no less vital rivers.  For example, the Talimu River in 
Xinjiang Province is experiencing periodic halts in its flow because of 
excessive reservoir construction linked to large-scale agricultural 
projects and excessive use of underground water for oil production.  In 
addition, there are major problems stemming from defects in many of China's 
large-scale reservoirs, especially in the northeast along the Songhua 
River, where shoddy construction and inadequate maintenance threaten major 
collapses.

-------------------------
Mary Houghteling, Development Director, International Rivers Network (IRN)
1847 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, CA 94703 USA
T: 510-848-1155, x308  /  F: 510-848-1008
E: mhoughteling@irn.org  /  W: http://www.irn.org

John A. Knox, Executive Director, Earth Island Institute (EII)
300 Broadway, Suite 28  /  San Francisco, CA 94133  USA
T: (work): 415-788-3666, x108  /  F: (work): 415-788-7324.
T: (home): 415-282-1071   /  F: (home): 520-438-4172.
E: johnknox@earthisland.org  /  W: http://www.earthisland.org 

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