Despite being landlocked, Yunnan has plenty of water, including the headwaters of the Yangtze, Mekong and Salween Rivers. It is also home to nine large lakes, with Kunming's Dianchi Lake (滇池) the biggest of the group.

Dianchi Lake is also famous for being heavily polluted – to the point where its water is unfit for industrial use. Yunnan's polluted lake club has recently added a new member – Yangzonghai Lake (阳宗海) – which the provincial government announced has heavy levels of arsenic in its waters. Yangzonghai is now officially considered unfit for drinking, swimming in or fishing in.

The arsenic discovery came during a snap inspection of enterprises operating in the Yangzonghai basin 45 kilometers east of Kunming, with eight companies found to be engaging in illegal polluting practices. Yunnan Chengjiang Jinye Industrial and Trade Co Ltd (云南澄江锦业工贸有限公司) has been named as the main polluter.

The company allegedly failed to build the legally required treatment facility for its wastewater, with years of accumulated arsenic seeping into the local water table. Yunnan Communist Party Secretary Bai Enpei (白恩培) and Yunnan Governor Qin Guangrong (秦光荣) have pledged to take "decisive action" to remedy the situation.

As recently as 2002, Yangzonghai had been noted for having water clean enough for drinking and swimming – a stark contrast to the environmental devastation of nearby Dianchi Lake. In February of this year, Kunming Communist Party Secretary Qiu He (仇和) visited Yangzonghai, warning local enterprises that the lake must not become a "second Dianchi".

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Little more than two months after the announcement that Tiger Leaping Gorge will not be dammed, plans for damming the Nu River (怒江) in western Yunnan near the border with Myanmar may become the focus of the next battle between Yunnan officials and environmentalists and scientists.

A plan to dam the upper reaches of the Nu, known as the Salween River after flowing out of Yunnan into Myanmar, was originally suspended in 2004 by Premier Wen Jiabao. Premier Wen's order to conduct an environmental impact study of damming the river was considered one of the first major victories for China's nascent environmental movement.

Yesterday in Beijing, during the annual meeting of the National People's Congress – China's Parliament – the Nu River came back into focus as Yunnan province's Communist Party chief and trained engineer Bai Enpei (白恩培) told reporters that the provincial government still intends to build dams and hydropower stations on the river, according to an International Herald Tribune report.

"We are actively pushing the development of hydropower plants, including on the Nu River," the IHT quoted Bai as saying. "But their construction must take into account those downstream. And the environment must be protected. The people must also benefit."

A section of the Nu River flowing parallel to the upper reaches of the Yangtze and Mekong rivers is included in the Three Parallel Rivers Protected Areas, which are inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List.

Bai also reportedly argued that impoverished local conditions along the Nu have led to environmental degradation, including rampant tree-cutting. He said that there was still work to do to convince Myanmar's ruling military junta that the dams would not be a problem for Myanmar, adding that he didn't think that would be a problem.

In a challenge to Chinese and international environmental groups – several of which have offices in Kunming – Bai said it was unfair to deny people living in the Nu River valley the chance at economic development.
"You cannot expect the people of the Nu River to keep wearing animal skins and bring in everyone to have a look in the name of ecotourism," the IHT quoted Bai as saying.

Image: www.calacademy.org

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