Video: What Will Happen If China's Largest Freshwater Lake Dries Up?
Poyang Lake, normally the largest freshwater lake in China, has been drying up, both because of a lack of rainfall and, more seriously, because of changes to the water flow created by the Three Gorges Dam and Reservoir, a little more than 300 miles upstream. This has led to changes in local climate conditions. In addition, human activities in and around the lake, such as sand mining, have been particularly detrimental to the water body's ecosystem. Fishermen in the area are finding it increasingly difficult to catch fish. The local bird population has decreased drastically. And during the dry season, the lake is especially parched.
"Poyang: Tale of a Lake," a new video from Asia Society's China Green project, takes a closer look at the causes and implications of Poyang Lake's environmental problems.