located where pearl river meets sea in Guangdong province. river opens out into a
vast inlet of sea forming a superb natural harbour — good for trade and industry as
imports/exports can move freely. Shenzhen is leading container port, not far from
Hong Kong.
growth of manufacturing industry drove rapid economic development…
developed as cheap flat land next to river and port facilities. workers moved in
from rural to provide cheap and enough supply of labour.
big TNCs (IBM, Walmart and Samsung). attracted as one of first areas to be opened
up to direct foreign investment after 1979.
increased economic development by increasing wealth of area. 1980, rice field with
GDP of $8b. 2001, factories and GDP $100b.
created many jobs; Honda employs 6000 in Guangzhou and zhongshan.
environmental impacts…
a lot of air pollution from factories and power stations so area covered by smog.
many power stations that burn coal, producing sulphur dioxide and nitrogen
oxides, causes acid rain.
power stations produce carbon dioxide that contributes to global warming.
water pollution from factory wastes and untreated sewage means poor water
quality. pearl river only suitable for farm irrigation not domestic.
wildlife habitats destroyed and polluted. wetlands in delta reclaimed to build
factories/houses. pearl river drains into south china sea and pollution does too.
Chinese white dolphin endangered. locally caught fish have high toxic heavy metal
levels.
Management strategies aimed at reducing impacts
PRD air quality management plans aims to reduce air pollution. reduce sulphur
dioxide from power stations by 40% to reduce smog and acid rain. switch from coal
to natural gas.
government spent $7b combatting water pollution. 30 new sewage works and
water treatment facilities will clean sewage and industrial wastes before get into
river
sustainable strategies as aim to solve environmental problems without stopping
industry from growing, maintaining economic growth. still live and work in PRD
with good QoL and rising SoL, jobs and clean environment still available in future.
success only will be seen in future. PRD is still heavily polluted like other areas in
China. government does appear to be determined to deal with these issues of
degradation.