China’s State Forestry Administration told reporters on Monday that the country’s wetlands have shrunk by 9% since 2003, Reuters reported. Officials said wetlands sprawling across 340,000 square kilometers, an area the size of the Netherlands, have disappeared. Zhang Yongli, vice director of the forestry body said wetlands lost to infrastructure projects have increased tenfold since the government’s last survey in 2003. Water has emerged as a major issue in China. Its scarcity endangers economic growth and social stability, and China has set aside US$660 billion for projects to boost supply this decade.
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