新疆平原沙漠区湖泊干缩现象的初步评价

PRELIMINARY EVALUATION ON THE SHRINKAGE AND DRIED-UP OF LAKES IN PLAJN AND DESERT AREAS IN XINJIANG PROVINCE

对新疆平原沙漠区湖泊干缩现象作了初步评价,指出这一现象是干旱、半干旱地区农业灌溉和国民经济发展到一定规模时所必然产生的现象,因而可以视为正常。同时指出,平原区湖泊之存亡既取决于自然条件,更取决于社会经济发展的需要。现存湖泊资源的开发与保护,既要立足于生态环境价值论,也要立足于经济价值论。

Most lakes in Xinjiang Province have been shrinking considerably since the 1950s, especially in plain and desert areas, and some have even dried up. The lake shrinkage took place on account of large-scale reclamation, and was an inevitable outcome of the economie development and the expansion of irrigation areas in arid and semi-arid lands. The reasons are as follows: (1) The population increase and economie development require the expansion of cultivated area. (2) The distribution of arable lands determines water resources utilization. (3) It is troublesome to balance the expansion of irrigation area and the maintenance of lake area simultaneously because of limited water resources and lake locations.That whether the eco-environment of the whole watershed is ameliorated and the regional productive power is improved should be regarded as the Standard to evaluate the effects of lakeshrinkage mentioned above. Many reservoirs have been built in the upstream area of lakes as the lakes shrinked or dried-up downstream. Large-scale irrigation and afforestation have alleviated the local climate, especially in oasis areas. The ratio of water resources utilization is greatly improved by constructing water projects. The oasis areas are expanded more rapidly than the losses of desertation as the productivity of oasis areas steadly grows. Human powers to prevent and mitigate natural disasters (such as flood and drought) have been strengthened in almost every watershed of Xinjiang Provce. The sustainable and stable growth of agriculture has promoted the economy and provided a favorable basis for further development. It is necessary and possible to protect the existing lakes in plain areas. The fate of them depends not only upon natural conditions and evolutions, but also upon the need of economie development. Consequently, the utilization and conservation of lake resources should take the eco-environmental factors as well as economie ones into consideration.