China’s energy challenges may be vast, but its water resource situation is probably even more critical, due in no small part to the water requirements of energy extraction and the energy requirements of water transfer. In this talk, gleaned from several years of looking at the problem through the eyes of a political scientist, I’ll summarize China’s water resource challenges, the policies it has put in place to deal with them, and discuss why I think implementing them effectively will require major political reform
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Water Resource Politics and Policy in China, Scott Moore (July 2012)
1. Water Resource Politics and Policy
in China
Scott Moore
Doctoral Candidate, University of Oxford
Scott.moore@politics.ox.ac.uk
2. China’s Water-Energy Nexus
Energy Requirements of Water Water Requirements of
Production and Supply Energy Production
6.6 MJ/m3 (Kahrl and 800- 3000 gallons of water
Roland-Holst 2008) to extract and process 1
ton of coal [Circle of
Pumping requirements for Blue]
SNWTP (7.3 trillion
Coal power production
gallons/yr for central and uses approximately 4
eastern routes) trillion gallons/per year
(China MWR)
Ecological disruption of
hydropower
4. Basic Water Stats (FAO Data)
2003-2007 Armenia Azerbaijan Bahrain Canada China
Human Development Index (HDI) (-) 0.777 0.758 0.902 0.967 0.762
Agriculture, value added to GDP (%) 20.28 5.906 2.198 11.13
Water resources: total renewable per capita (actual)
(m3/inhab/yr) 2529 4018 152.6 88086 2125
Dependency ratio (%) 11.71 76.6 96.55 1.792 0.9619
Agricultural water withdrawal as % of total water withdrawal (%) 65.76 76.41 44.54 64.61
Municipal water withdrawal as % of total withdrawal (%) 29.82 4.267 49.78 12.19
Industrial water withdrawal as % of total water withdrawal (%) 4.422 19.33 5.68 23.21
Total water withdrawal per capita (m3/inhab/yr) 920.2 1415 470.3 414.6
Percentage of total actual renewable freshwater resources
withdrawn (%) 36.39 35.21 219.8 19.51
Percentage of total actual renewable water resources
withdrawn by agriculture (%) 23.93 26.9 137.2 12.61
8. Water Quantity
Demography
Per capita water resources 2079 m3/yr (2009), 1890 m3/yr 2030s (FAO)
Regional Variation
500 m3/yr in Huai River bain, 25,000 m3/yr in southwest
North China breadbasket: 65% of cultivated land, ~50% wheat
production, 45% national GDP, 20% total water resources (FAO)
Groundwater Depletion
In Beijing and Shanghai water levels falling by 1m/yr (FAO)
In the Hai River Basin groundwater depletion accounts for 95% of total
(FAO)
Climate Change
Overall supply of water in China’s major lakes, rivers, and water-bodies
has decreased 13% since 2000 (China National Bureau of Statistics/Keith
Schneider)
9.
10.
11. Water Quality
70% of major waterways
heavily polluted; 40% of river
water not fit for “human
contact”
436 of 532 rivers polluted, half
too polluted to serve as
drinking water sources
57% of monitored
underground water sources of
bad or extremely bad quality in
2010
56% of total wastewater is
treated (World Bank)
12. Water Use Efficiency
Inefficient Irrigation Water Use
45% of irrigation water actually consumed by crops (FAO)
Low water productivity
US$3.6/m3 (high-income average = US$35.8/m3) [FAO]
14. Policy Framework
Legal Reform
2008 Water Pollution Law
Polluter Pays: fines for bosses
2002 Water Law
Safe water, water conservation and protection are priorities
Water resources owned by the State, use is by permit and permission (delegated to MWR)
River basin planning and management
Investment and Market Reform
US$45 billion in 11th FYP for water conservation (Freeman 2012)
Full cost recovery (but water prices still very low)
Water rights trading (in infancy)
Enforcement and Implementation
MEP Regional Supervision Centers (Quyu ducha zhongxin)
Digital Yellow River (Shuzi Huanghe)
15. Nanshui Beidiao
44.8 billion m3/yr from
South to North
Three routes
Eastern/Grand Canal: 2013
Central: 2014
Western: 2050 (?)
US$62 billion (Circle of
Blue)
Central Route: Submerge
350 km2, displace ~330,000
16. China No. 1 Policy Document 2010
Water conservancy as a national priority
“Mobilize all social forces” including public opinion
The “Three Red Lines” (Santiao Hongxian) [Article 19] say
that by 2030:
Quantity: Total national water consumption limited to 700 billion
m3/yr
Quality: 95% of water quality within established guidelines
Efficiency: water intensity limit of 40m3/10,000RBM, effective
irrigation utilization factor of 0.6
19. Sub-national governance in the People’s
Republic
Functional-territorial structure
Fiscal-administrative decentralization
Hierarchical ranking: provinces have ministerial-rank
“One-level down” appointment system
Cadre evaluation and rotation system
21. Trans-boundary Issues in the People’s
Republic
Article 56 Where a dispute over water arises between different
administrative regions, it shall be resolved through consultation. If
consultation is unsuccessful, it shall be subject to ruling by the
people's government at the next higher level, which the parties
concerned shall strictly abide by. Pending settlement of the dispute, none of
the parties may, in the absence of an agreement reached between the
parties or approval granted by the same people's government at the next
higher level, build any projects for draining, blocking, taking or intercepting
(storing) water or unilaterally alter the existing water regime within a
certain area on each side of the common boundary of the administrative
regions.
2008 Water Law
![China’s Water-Energy Nexus
Energy Requirements of Water Water Requirements of
Production and Supply Energy Production
6.6 MJ/m3 (Kahrl and 800- 3000 gallons of water
Roland-Holst 2008) to extract and process 1
ton of coal [Circle of
Pumping requirements for Blue]
SNWTP (7.3 trillion
Coal power production
gallons/yr for central and uses approximately 4
eastern routes) trillion gallons/per year
(China MWR)
Ecological disruption of
hydropower](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)