20 lakes disappear every yr in China

Chinanews, Hefei, July 16 - According to Zhou Shengxian, the director of the State Environmental Protection Administration, lakes in China are fast degrading. It is said that some 20 natural lakes disappear every year, which only worsens China's water security.
Zhou said this at Lake Pollution Prevention and Control Meeting held in Hefei, Anhui Province on July 12, 2007.
China's excessive development of water resources has caused the problem. Besides, China used to claim a great many farmlands from lakes. In the past 50 years, more than 1,000 lakes have gone out of existence. Take Huibei as an example, where there used to be more than 1,000 lakes, but now there are only 300 left.
"We must take immediate action to save the lakes in China by giving them a chance of respite," said Zhou.