I've just returned from the Yangtze delta of China, where I was checking out the research site for our new research project. This is not my first time in the area; I was at the nearby Hangzou when I first visited in 1988. What was once a beautiful area is now the fastest growing area in China, if not the world, in terms of population and economic activity. Nothing in the UK prepares you for it; the cities are now huge, with tower blocks rising among the lower rise buildings like daffodils on a spring lawn. Ningbo, our host city, has a population of around 6 million, while Nanjing, where I landed, has around 10 million, falling by half at the spring holiday when people head back to their villages. The cities are linked by motorways and a terrific high speed train network, criss crossing the landscape at different heights so as not to take up valuable land. The railway stations serving the high speed line are new, set out of the city centres, and designed like airports, complete with departure and arrivals areas at different levels, full security, and lots and lots of space. But one thing does not change; the hospitality of our hosts. I was collected at the airport, delivered to the taxi back to the airport, and ferried around, wined and dined with grace and good humour.
The study site is being developed into a international Critical Zone Observatory on urbanisation. It's a small catchment at the edge of the city, which is the founding town of the coastal Ningbo region. It's surrounded by mountains, with a few streams threading through the narrow valleys. My preconception was that the area would be agricultural, with a few houses. Far from it; most of the valley floor is already urbanised, and the farming is essentially allotments. Once dedicated to rice, these terraces now grow vegetables and herbal medical plants. The landscape is already highly instrumented for water and soil, while the field experiments looking at rice growing will be placed just outside the main catchment.
Our study looks at the potential benefits and problems of moving from farming based on chemical fertilisers to one based on using organic wastes from the cities or from pig farms. At first I couldn't understand how this was relevant here, but the city mayor explained that the development plan for the region was to turn it into a centre for ecotourism serving the nearby cities, coming for the scenery, the heritage (there is a 9th century dam across the river, holding back the incoming tide coming up the 20 km or so from the coast), but mostly enjoying locally grown organic food. We had a sample at a large restaurant, and I would certainly go back.
I find it amazing that this area works at all, that all these millions of people can take security of food, water and energy for granted. Food especially, as so much is grown by small farmers. The Chinese government understands the need to develop closed loop systems where possible, using urban wastes back on the land; the key risks are problems from recycling pollutants including heavy metals and antibiotics, issues that our project will focus on. The project (and others just starting now) demonstrate the coming of age of Chinese science, and it's a privilege to be involved. Sometimes I worry that the speed of change can overwhelm what science can contribute to making our societies more sustainable. But that's just defeatist ...
The study site is being developed into a international Critical Zone Observatory on urbanisation. It's a small catchment at the edge of the city, which is the founding town of the coastal Ningbo region. It's surrounded by mountains, with a few streams threading through the narrow valleys. My preconception was that the area would be agricultural, with a few houses. Far from it; most of the valley floor is already urbanised, and the farming is essentially allotments. Once dedicated to rice, these terraces now grow vegetables and herbal medical plants. The landscape is already highly instrumented for water and soil, while the field experiments looking at rice growing will be placed just outside the main catchment.
Our study looks at the potential benefits and problems of moving from farming based on chemical fertilisers to one based on using organic wastes from the cities or from pig farms. At first I couldn't understand how this was relevant here, but the city mayor explained that the development plan for the region was to turn it into a centre for ecotourism serving the nearby cities, coming for the scenery, the heritage (there is a 9th century dam across the river, holding back the incoming tide coming up the 20 km or so from the coast), but mostly enjoying locally grown organic food. We had a sample at a large restaurant, and I would certainly go back.
I find it amazing that this area works at all, that all these millions of people can take security of food, water and energy for granted. Food especially, as so much is grown by small farmers. The Chinese government understands the need to develop closed loop systems where possible, using urban wastes back on the land; the key risks are problems from recycling pollutants including heavy metals and antibiotics, issues that our project will focus on. The project (and others just starting now) demonstrate the coming of age of Chinese science, and it's a privilege to be involved. Sometimes I worry that the speed of change can overwhelm what science can contribute to making our societies more sustainable. But that's just defeatist ...
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