China’s Disappearing Wetlands
Pulitzer Center photojournalist Sean Gallagher talks to the Asia Society about his reporting projects on China's environmental problems and his experience as a freelance journalist in China.
"When the demand of the people goes up, the quality of the environment will go down", says Jiang Yong, an ecologist studying Dongting Lake.
Due to China's very rapid economic growth in the last few decades, and the impact of climate change, large parts of China's wetlands are vanishing or have already disappeared.
This year, photographer Sean Gallagher travelled across China, documenting the impact of the country’s vanishing wetlands. In a series of images, he introduces a striking story of decline.
An estimated 120 Chinese alligators are thought to be left in the wild because of wetlands reclamation since the 1950s.
Mangroves are vital for protecting coastlines, harboring wildlife and have a nutrient base on par with rainforests. A worldwide decrease of 50 percent signals their survival is at risk.
John MacKinnon of the EU-China Biodiversity Program discusses China's wetlands.
Only 120 Chinese alligators are now estimated to be left in the wild, as a result of wetlands reclamation since the 1950's.
The juxtaposition of an ancient irrigation system with a recently built dam exposes greater dangers and harsher environmental impacts caused by modern systems of controlling water.
The surface level of China's largest saltwater lake sits 13 meters lower than it did a century ago.
The surface level of China's largest saltwater lake sits 13 meters lower than it did a century ago.
Since the end of World War II, 50 percent of the worlds mangroves have been destroyed. In Zhanjiang, China, students learn to protect them.
Recent flooding at Dongting Lake means little in the wake of 70 years of drought which have caused the lake's volume to decrease by 50 percent.
China's endangered alligator species sees a resurgence through captive breeding, begging the question of whether the population's natural habitat remains large enough to sustain its growth.
Habitat degradation pushes the Yangtze alligator dangerously close to extinction.
China's Xixi wetlands provide a popular tourist destination as well as a reminder that we are all downstream.
When I first started to research the idea of reporting on wetlands in China, the initial thing that I noticed was that there were some rather shocking statistics associated with the issue.
Gateways
Grantee
Sean Gallagher is a British photographer and videographer, based in China. Graduating in Zoology from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne in England, he subsequently changed career direction into...