The Yangtze River Ecosystem
The Yangtze River runs from the Tibetan plateau east through the heartland of China to its confluence with the East China Sea near Shanghai. It is approximately 6,300km long making it the 3rd longest river in the world. Upwards of 350 million people live in the Yangtze River basin. As the population in the river basin expands and China develops there are enormous pressures on this increasingly valuable freshwater resource. The Yangtze River is one of the most highly utilised rivers in the world.
 Over 350 million people depend on the Yangtze as a freshwater resource  The Bund Shanghai: Yangtze tributary Huangpu River |
The river is used heavily for shipping and is accessible by ocean going vessels up to 1000 km from the ocean. It has been estimated by the Yangtze River Water Resources Committee that 23.4 billion tons of sewage and industrial waste were dumped into the Yangtze in 2000.
This pollution is likely to have disastrous effects on both humans and wildlife that depend on the river for their survival. The river is dammed close to Zichang and is diked along much of its length to prevent flooding of riverside villages. Diking restricts floodwaters from access to floodplain areas a process which is critical for maintaining fertility of these heavily cultivated soils and is crucial for reproduction of many riverine fishes.
The river is exploited by at least 50,000 fishermen who sometimes use destructive fishing techniques that kill fry, juvenile and adult fish leaving no individuals to replenish the stock. China has imposed a full commercial fishing ban in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze during spring and summer months to encourage recovery of depleted fish stocks.
The critical situation of the baiji is also reflected in the fate of other charismatic megafauna in the Yangtze River. The Chinese alligator (Alligator sinensis) is reduced to less than 100 individuals. The smooth-coated otter (Lutra persicillata) and the Asian giant softshell turtle (Pelochelys bibroni) are both declining in numbers. The Chinese sturgeon (Acipenser sinensis) and Chinese paddlefish (Psephurus gladius), both prized for their large size are now both seriously endangered.
Fishermen in the Yangtze River regard the baiji as "Goddess of the Yangtze". They believe that the appearance of the dolphin, leaping and swimming rapidly back and forth, is a warning to them that a storm is coming. They are convinced that those who do evil cannot see the goddess, and that if someone hurts the animal that they will come to a tragic end. If the baiji becomes extinct who will safeguard the fishermen of the Yangtze from harm?
