ThisAprilFool’sDay,noonewasjokingaroundintheErhaiLakepreservationdistrict.OnApril1,2017,visitorXingxingDiandenghadtorescheduleaplannedthree-daytriptoDali,YunnanProvinceduringtheQingmingFestivalholidaywhenhenoticedhishotelreservationpaymenthadbeenrefunded.Whathappened?
OnMarch31,2017,themunicipalgovernmentofDalishutdownallrestaurantsandinnswithinthecoreareaoftheecopreservationdistrictaroundErhaiLakeuntilanearbysewageinterceptionprojectiscompleted.Thecoreareaisdenselypopulatedwithover1,800restaurantsandinnsthatofferenchantinglakeviewstovisitors.Theprojectshutdowneverysingleoneofthepopular“lake-viewhouses.”
GrowingPains
DalihaslongbeenfamedforitssnowcappedmountainsandthetendermoonlightonErhaiLake.Everyyear,itdrawssteadystreamsofvisitorsfromhomeandabroad.Inrecentyears,however,Dali’stourismcapacityhasbeenoverwhelmedduetothedevelopmentandconstructionofthetownofHaidong.Shuanglang,asmalltownofBaipeoplebythelake,received2millionvisitsin2014.In2016,thevolumeexceeded3.2million.Withintheonesquare-kilometerareaatthecoreofthetown’stouristzone,therearemorethan580restaurantsandinns.Signswithremindersaboutenvironmentalprotection,putupbythelocalgovernment,canbeseeneverywhereinDali,YunnanProvince.VCG
April8,2017:ManyinnsinDalihavepostedsignslikethis,statingthattheirbusinessissuspended.VCG
Theconstructionofaninnhastobehalted.VCGHeavierpollutionhasaccompaniedtheincreaseinvisitors.DespiteShuanglang’sfocusonagricultureoverindustry,theareaaroundErhaiLakehasbeenlistedforpoorwaterqualityduetosubpartreatmentofsewagefromtheinnsbeforeitisdumpeddirectlyintothelake.
TourismhasalsoimpactedneighboringislandssuchasJinsuo(GoldenShuttle).Forgenerations,thelocalfishermeninhabitingJinsuoIslandhavesurvivedbyfishing,butnowmoreandmorelocalsareturningtotourism,sellingsouvenirs,runningrestaurantsandinnsorservingastourguides.
Theheavyflowoftourists—morethan2,000daily—hasresultedinplentifulconcerns.“Drinkingwatertopsthelist,”stressesvillagerYangXu.AsthewaterqualityinErhaiLakedeteriorates,localaccesstocleandrinkingwaterislost,andtheyareforcedtoexploreothermethodstogetwater,suchasfilteringitfromkarstcaves.“Aquaticfoodismostpopularwithtourists,”Yangadds.“Justacoupleofyearsago,duringfishingseasoninApril,wecouldcatchupto5,000kilogramsoffishamonth.Now,however,thepopulationofsnailandshellfishhasshrunkduetothedeterioratingwaterqualityofthelake.Manyfishermennowgoelsewheretobuyfish.”
Andtoprovidebetterviews,theinnshavebecometaller,someeclipsingthelimitssetbythegovernment.Toincreasetheirspace,manyinnsbeganoccupyingpublicroads.Someevenextendeddecksoverthelake.
OverloadedEcosystem
ErhaiLakeispreciselywhatattractstourists,butit’salsotheprimesourceofdrinkingwaterforDaliresidents.Asestimatedbythelocalenvironmentalprotectiondepartment,thepopulationbearingcapacityoftheareaaroundthelakeis200,000to500,000atthemost.Today,however,some860,000peoplelivearoundit,excludingthetemporarypopulation.Thelakewelcomes10millionvisitsannually,farbeyondthecarryingcapacityofthelocalenvironment.
Thetourismboomhasalsohighlightedtheirrationallayoutofvillagesandtownshipsalongthecoastline,includingShuang-langandHaidong,aswellastheflawsintheunderdevelopedinfrastructure.
“Pollutiondischargepipesweredesignedtoserveonlypermanentlocalresidents,”notesanengineer.“TheoldsystemintheHaidongareacanbarelyhandletheheavyflowofsewagetoday,andhouseholdwastevolumefarexceedstheintendedcapacity.”Thedenseconstructionofinnsandrapidincreaseintouristflowhaveledtoasteepriseindischarge,someofwhichisdumpeddirectlyintothelakeorseepsupfromthegroundduetothenarrow,agingpipes.
Accordingtothe13thFive-YearPlanforEnvironmentalProtectionofErhaiLake,in2014,pollutionfromranching,farmingandrurallifeaccountedforabout70percentofthetotalpollutionintheregion.ZhangBo,directoroftheDepartmentofWaterEnvironmentManagementoftheMinistryofEnvironmentalProtection,spokeatarecentpressconferenceontheissue.“ManyvisitorsfromoutsideErhailive,eatandconsumethere,whichhasexpandedthescaleofotheragriculturalsectors,”heexplained.“Thesesectorsstillneedtoconsumeanddischarge.Everyplacelikethisneedstokeepacloseeyeonitsenvironmentalcarryingcapacity.”
RenovationNeeded
Despitebeingatopvacationdestination,Erhaihastemporarilyshutdownallofthe1,800-plusinnsandrestaurantsinitscorearea,demonstratingtheincredibleresolveofthelocalgovernmenttohoneenvironmentalprotection.
ComprehensiveregulationstoprotecttheenvironmentofErhaiwillbeintroduced,includingmeasurestotreatsewageandtrash,decreasenon-pointsourcepollution,restorewaterquality,accelerateprojectstointerceptandtreatsewage,strengthenlawenforcement,superviseactivitiesinthelakeregion,andencourageeveryonetoprotectErhaiLake.
“ThesewageinterceptionprojectatErhaiLake,fundedbyaninvestmentofover1.3billionyuan,isnowunderconstruction,”explainsZhangYong,deputysecretaryoftheDaliMunicipalCPCCommittee.“Theprojectwillbenefit10townsandvillagesbythelakebyimprovingsewagetreatmentcapacity.”Thetotalpopulationofinnsandrestaurantsinthecoreareaofthelakewillbestrictlycontrolled,andonlyenvironmentally-friendlystructuresandpublicinfrastructuralfacilitieswillbeallowedtobebuilt.
Daliisevensettingupamonitoringnetworkforthelake.TheErhaiRegionProtectionAdministrationisinvitingbidsforaprojecttoprovideearlywarningmonitoringatErhai,includingfluvialcrosssections,awaterqualitymonitoringsystemandanalysisofmajorpollutionsources.
Thesemovesarefocusedprimarilyontheinns,followedbyothersourcesofpollutionsuchasagriculture.Morethan20,000digestiontankswillbebuilttodealwiththeproblems.InthetownshipofWase,11publicofficialsmadedealsin15daystoacquirelandfrommorethan200farminghouseholdstocreatenearly30hectaresoflandfortheseprojects.
Renovationwork,however,isachallenge.“Thesituationisstillprecarious,despitethesuccesseswehavehad,”remarksasupervisorfromthelocalenvironmentalprotectiondepartment.“Thewatervolumeisstillinsufficient,andtheharnessingsystemhasyettobeperfected.”
“Themeasureswearetakingarenecessaryeventhoughwewon’tseetheeffectsinstantly,”assertsWangXinze,vicepresidentofYunnan(Dali)ResearchInstituteunderShanghaiJiaotongUniversity.“Itwouldtakeawhiletorestorewhathasbeenlostevenifwereplacedallthepollutedwaterinthelakewithbottledwater.”