Addressing China’s Water Scarcity
China's water resources are scarce
and unevenly distributed. It has the sixth largest amount of
renewable resources in the world, but a per capita
availability that is only one-fourth the world average and
among the lowest for a major country. The country is under
serious water stress, and its problems are made more severe
by the fact that resources are unevenly distributed, both
spatially and temporally. Per capita water availability in
northern China is less than one-fourth that in southern
China, one eleventh of the world average, and less than the
threshold level that defines water scarcity. A monsoonal
climate also means that China is subject to frequent
droughts and floods, often simultaneously in different
regions, as precipitation varies greatly from year to year
and season to season. The complexity of water resource
management in China requires a transition from a traditional
system with the government as the main decision making
entity toward a modern approach that relies on a sound legal
framework, effective institutional arrangements, transparent
decision making and information disclosure, and active
public participation. This will require that laws are
straightforward and not contradictory, with mechanisms and
procedures for enforcing them. It also should entail the
creation of a new multi-sectoral state agency tasked with
overseeing water management policy at the national level.
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Bibliographic Details
| Main Author: |
Xie, Jian |
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| Language: | English |
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| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2009-05
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| Subjects: | ACCESS TO SAFE DRINKING WATER,
AGRICULTURAL WATER,
AGRICULTURAL WATER USE,
ALLOCATION SYSTEM,
CENTRAL GOVERNMENT,
CLIMATE CHANGE,
COST OF WATER,
DECISION MAKING,
DRINKING WATER,
ECOSYSTEM,
EFFICIENT USE OF WATER,
EFFICIENT WATER USE,
ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATIONS,
EVAPOTRANSPIRATION,
FARMING,
FLOOD CONTROL,
FLOODING,
FLOODS,
GLOBAL WARMING,
GROUNDWATER,
GROUNDWATER DEPLETION,
HOUSEHOLDS,
INDUSTRIAL WASTEWATER,
IRRIGATION,
IRRIGATION SYSTEMS,
LAKES,
LOCAL WATER,
MUNICIPAL SEWAGE,
MUNICIPAL WATER,
MUNICIPAL WATER SYSTEMS,
POLLUTION CONTROL,
PRICE OF WATER,
PROGRAMS,
PUBLIC HEALTH,
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION,
QUALITY STANDARDS,
RECYCLING,
RESERVOIRS,
RIVER BASIN,
RIVER BASIN MANAGEMENT,
RIVER BASINS,
SAFE DRINKING WATER,
SCARCE WATER,
SCARCE WATER RESOURCES,
SCARCITY OF WATER,
SERVICE PROVIDERS,
SOIL CONSERVATION,
SOURCES OF WATER,
UNDERGROUND WATER,
URBAN CENTERS,
USE OF WATER,
WASTEWATER,
WASTEWATER DISCHARGE,
WATER AVAILABILITY,
WATER BODIES,
WATER CONSUMPTION,
WATER CRISIS,
WATER MANAGEMENT,
WATER MANAGEMENT POLICY,
WATER POLLUTION,
WATER POLLUTION CONTROL,
WATER PRICING,
WATER QUALITY,
WATER QUALITY MANAGEMENT,
WATER RESOURCE,
WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT,
WATER RESOURCES,
WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT,
WATER RIGHTS,
WATER SCARCITY,
WATER SECTOR,
WATER SERVICE,
WATER SERVICE PROVIDERS,
WATER SERVICES,
WATER SHORTAGES,
WATER SOURCES,
WATER SYSTEM,
WATER USAGE,
WATER USES,
WATER WITHDRAWAL,
WATERSHED,
WETLANDS, |
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2009/05/10626476/addressing-chinas-water-scarcity
https://hdl.handle.net/10986/11722
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