6.1 The Development of the Water Rights System Framework in China
131
Before 1998, there was no concept of water rights in China. However, some initiatives, including the water abstraction permit system and the water resources allocation plan in the Yellow River Basin, aimed to improve water resources management,
developing the components of China’s future water rights framework.
The longest dry-up period since the 1972 case of the Yellow River mainstream
occurred in 1997. This phenomenon was more serious for the inland rivers in Northwest China, resulting in severe ecological problems. Under these circumstances
in 1999, the MWR proposed shifting from traditional “engineering-oriented water
resources development” toward “resources-oriented water resources development”
(Wang 1999), an approach supported by water rights, water markets, and water
pricing systems.
Wang’s series of lectures laid the foundation for water rights development in China
(Wang 2001a, b; 2004). The resources-oriented development strategy and water rights
were incorporated into the revised 2002 Water Law, which further elaborated the
water rights system (Article 45, 46, 47, 48).
In the Yellow River Basin in 1998, the river basin water resources regulation
was implemented according to the 1987 allocation plan to address the river’s dryup. The formulation and implementation of the allocation and regulation plan were
written into the 2002 Water Law. The methodology, including the institutional setting,
formulation, and implementation of the allocation and regulation plans, was imitated
and applied in other river basins in northern China, such as the Heihe River in 2000,
the Tarim River in 2002, and the Shiyang River in 2007.
In the agricultural sector, water certificates were granted as a form of permanent
water rights, while water tickets were issued as temporary rights linked to actual water
use in Zhangye Prefecture in the Hei River Basin in Gansu Province. This model
was also copied by other irrigation districts in northern China, such as Shiyang River
Basin and Inner Mongolia (Calow et al. 2009).
In 2005, the MWR promulgated the Water Rights System Construction Framework to clarify the basic contents of the water rights system and the Several Opinions on Water Rights Transfer to improve transfer activities. The framework stipulated that the water rights system is a series of systems to clarify, allocate, regulate,
protect, and practice water rights; to clarify rules of rights, responsibility, and interests
between governments, governments and users, and users; and to manage and secure
water rights in terms of legislation, institutions, and mechanisms. The water rights
system consisted of three components: the water resources ownership system, water
resources use rights system, and water rights transfer system. The water resources
management systems were further grouped into three rights systems. Thus, the
document aimed to develop the connections between water resources management
systems and the water rights system.
In 2006, the Water Entitlement and Trading Project, which was launched jointly
by the MWR in China and the Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries,
and Forests, developed a national water rights framework (WET 2006, 2007; Shen
and Speed 2009; Cosier and Shen 2009). This framework determines the water rights
components for China and develops linkages and relationships between these components to ensure the integrity of the water rights system and to provide a clear pathway
131
Before 1998, there was no concept of water rights in China. However, some initiatives, including the water abstraction permit system and the water resources allocation plan in the Yellow River Basin, aimed to improve water resources management,
developing the components of China’s future water rights framework.
The longest dry-up period since the 1972 case of the Yellow River mainstream
occurred in 1997. This phenomenon was more serious for the inland rivers in Northwest China, resulting in severe ecological problems. Under these circumstances
in 1999, the MWR proposed shifting from traditional “engineering-oriented water
resources development” toward “resources-oriented water resources development”
(Wang 1999), an approach supported by water rights, water markets, and water
pricing systems.
Wang’s series of lectures laid the foundation for water rights development in China
(Wang 2001a, b; 2004). The resources-oriented development strategy and water rights
were incorporated into the revised 2002 Water Law, which further elaborated the
water rights system (Article 45, 46, 47, 48).
In the Yellow River Basin in 1998, the river basin water resources regulation
was implemented according to the 1987 allocation plan to address the river’s dryup. The formulation and implementation of the allocation and regulation plan were
written into the 2002 Water Law. The methodology, including the institutional setting,
formulation, and implementation of the allocation and regulation plans, was imitated
and applied in other river basins in northern China, such as the Heihe River in 2000,
the Tarim River in 2002, and the Shiyang River in 2007.
In the agricultural sector, water certificates were granted as a form of permanent
water rights, while water tickets were issued as temporary rights linked to actual water
use in Zhangye Prefecture in the Hei River Basin in Gansu Province. This model
was also copied by other irrigation districts in northern China, such as Shiyang River
Basin and Inner Mongolia (Calow et al. 2009).
In 2005, the MWR promulgated the Water Rights System Construction Framework to clarify the basic contents of the water rights system and the Several Opinions on Water Rights Transfer to improve transfer activities. The framework stipulated that the water rights system is a series of systems to clarify, allocate, regulate,
protect, and practice water rights; to clarify rules of rights, responsibility, and interests
between governments, governments and users, and users; and to manage and secure
water rights in terms of legislation, institutions, and mechanisms. The water rights
system consisted of three components: the water resources ownership system, water
resources use rights system, and water rights transfer system. The water resources
management systems were further grouped into three rights systems. Thus, the
document aimed to develop the connections between water resources management
systems and the water rights system.
In 2006, the Water Entitlement and Trading Project, which was launched jointly
by the MWR in China and the Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries,
and Forests, developed a national water rights framework (WET 2006, 2007; Shen
and Speed 2009; Cosier and Shen 2009). This framework determines the water rights
components for China and develops linkages and relationships between these components to ensure the integrity of the water rights system and to provide a clear pathway