1. GEF Hai Basin Integrated Water and
Environment Management Project in China
Total Cost: US$ 339.54 million, including
1. Government: US$ 136.06 million;
2. IBRD: US$ 186.48 million;
3. GEF Incremental Cost: US$ 17 million
Outlines
1. China’s Irrigated Agriculture and Hai Basin
2. New concept and Innovations
3. Operationalized IWRM in Hai Basin
4. Outcomes

3. 1. China’s Irrigated Agriculture & Hai Basin
 China’s irrigated areas: 58 million hectares increased by 8
million hectares during the past 30 years; water use 68% of
total;
 Hai Basin’s irrigated area: 7.54 million hectares with
groundwater abstraction pumped at 26 billion m3/ year,
exceeds recharge by 7.2 billion m3/yr, water table drawdown
by 2-3 m/yr. Surface water is overused by 2.4 billion m3/yr;
 Over use of water resources has resulted in serious ecological
and environmental degradation and land subsidence - a big
threat to 134 million people who lived in the Hai River Basin,
which produces about 1/10 of grain and 1/3 of wheat in
China; and
 The current water withdrawal permit system needs to be
improved – and based on consumption rather than
withdrawals

4.  New Concept of Real Water Savings: The only water truly lost
in a hydrologic system is through Evapotranspiration (ET), if
genuine savings are to be made, measures should be taken to
cut or reduce ET!
 ET-based Water Rights System: it includes three elements,
namely the amount of water withdrawal, amount of water
consumption (or ET) and amount of water release;
 Satellite Technology on ET Measurement: the technology has
been used to monitor and evaluate ET variations and to
reduce overuse of surface and groundwater resources at the
pilot counties;
 IWRM at the River Basin Level: the ET target (for economic
activities) and pollution-discharge target (the maximum) are
determined and allocated from the river basin level to the
administrative and water user level for enforcement.
2. New Concept and Innovations
Note: ET ( Evapotranspiration ) is a term used to describe the sum of evaporation and plant
transpiration from the Earth’s land surface to atmosphere.

5. Use of the Latest RS-based ET Measuring Technology
Remote sensing by satellites can now provide ET readings for pixels
of 30 by 30 meters with a good accuracy.

9. 3. Operationalized IWRM in Hai Basin
 We strengthened Hai Basin Commission with a joint decision
making conference system to provide coordination on
allocation of ET and pollution reduction targets at the Basin
level and signed and implemented data sharing agreement;
 As agriculture is the biggest water user, the goal was to
specifically control actual ET over the irrigated areas;
 We helped the government improve the current water
withdrawal permit system to establish water rights based on
ET rather than withdrawals.
 We established farmer water user associations one of whose
jobs is to ensure that their members’ actual consumptive
use of water is less than the target consumptive use
allocated at the basin level;
 We gave farmers incentives to comply by giving them tools
to increase their agricultural production or value per unit of
ET (water productivity) incentives.

11. 4. Outcomes
 Indicator No. 1 – The amount of real water savings for
irrigated agriculture in 16 pilot counties has reached to 266
million cubic meters, which can be used to reduce
groundwater overdraft, or increase water inflow to Bohai
Sea, or produce higher-value outputs;
 Indicator No. 2 - Reduction in pollution loading to the Bohai
Sea from 16 pilot counties: Original Target Value (PAD): COD
164,000 tons/year; and NH3-N 1,900 tons/year; Actual values
achieved: COD 38,615 tons /year and NH3-N 4,665 tons/year;
 Indicator No. 3 – Farmers’ incomes increased: In Beijing
project area of farming region that is overdrawing its aquifers,
the World Bank and GEF helped 360,000 farm households to
save water and to leapfrog technology. Each farmer got a
pre-paid card for water. Once it was used up, the pump shut
down. Farmers used less water, they used it better, and their

12. Results of Using Satellite Technologies to Reduce ET
Actual ET Before Project Actual ET After Project