World Wildlife Fund

Yangtze River

Yangtze River, Hubei Province, China
© WWF-Canon/Claire Doole

Facts

• The Yangtze River, the third longest river in the world, flows 6,300 kilometers from the Tibetan Plateau through the Shanghai estuary into the East China Sea. Its basin holds 40 percent of China's freshwater.
• The Yangtze River Basin covers 1.8 million square kilometers. It is seven times the size of the United Kingdom, with 700 tributaries.
• The giant panda, Siberian crane and clouded leopard are among the many rare species in the region.

Conservation Issues

• Rapid population growth and clearing for timber and agriculture have shrunk the natural forest cover of the river basin from 30 percent in the 1950s to just 10 percent today. The lack of forest cover has aggravated flooding and resulting erosion has sent 680 million tons of soil into the river.
• Habitat loss due to development and land reclamation has harmed the populations of several species. Natural fisheries production has declined 75 percent.
• More then five hundred dams and dykes disrupt the Yangtze's natural flow and cut lakes off from the river system. Pollutants from China's rapidly expanding industrial sector have contaminated much of the river.

What the Partnership Will Do

• Engage in watershed management projects in two upper Yangtze tributaries, the Minjiang and Jialingjiang Rivers.
• Work with Coca-Cola bottling plants in the Yangtze basin to develop best management practices for water use and water stewardship.
• Promote best practices among industries and other water users throughout the basin.