Growing cities, overuse of fertilizers and factory wastewater have degraded China's water supplies to the extent that half the nation's rivers and lakes are severely polluted. China aims to spend $850 billion to improve filthy water supplies over the next decade, but even such huge outlays may do little to reverse damage caused by decades of pollution and overuse in Beijing's push for rapid economic growth. Photo: Fishermen row a boat in the algae-filled Chaohu Lake in Hefei, Anhui province, June 19, 2009. (Photo by Jianan Yu/Reuters)

A person in costume is pictured during the annual Easter Parade and Bonnet Festival on 5th Ave in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., April 17, 2022. (Photo by Andrew Kelly/Reuters)

MTV Ex On The Beach and reality TV Star Jemma Lucy is spotted keeping herself in shape with a workout session in a park in Manchester, UK on September 2, 2016. (Photo by XposurePhotos.Com)

An employee brings a photo of late Italian actress Gina Lollobrigida for the installation of her lying in state, to allow the public to pay their respects, at Rome's Capitoline Hill on January 18, 2023. Italian actress Gina Lollobrigida, one of the last icons of the Golden Age of Hollywood, has died aged 95, culture minister Gennaro Sangiuliano said on Twitter on January 16. (Photo by Tiziana Fabi/AFP Photo)

Cuban girls dressed as nurses and a lizard wait for their turn to dance during a visit by the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington in Havana July 13, 2015. The choir made its first appearance on July 12, 2015 in Cuba as part of a tour that will include a dozen concerts in the context of the restoration of relations between the island and the United States. (Photo by Enrique de la Osa/Reuters)

A Syrian boy looks through a gate as others wait to cross into Syria at Oncupinar border crossing in the southeastern city of Kilis, Turkey February 11, 2016.. (Photo by Osman Orsal/Reuters)

Marieke van der Meer from the Netherlands works on her sculpture “Flora” at the sand sculpture show in Binz on Ruegen island, Germany, 09 March 2016. With the motto “Fascination Nature”, 50 sand artists have created oversized sculptures. The sculptors use 16,000 tons of special sand that is pressed into big blocks first and then formed. The 7th sand sculpture show on 5,600 square meters of exhibition ground opens on 12 March 2016. (Photo by Ens Buettner/EPA)

A competitor walks on tightrope during a performance in Taizhou, Zhejiang Province, China, May 7, 2016. (Photo by Reuters/China Daily)