6.1 The Development of the Water Rights System Framework in China
133
In June 2016, the Temporal Methods for Water Rights Trade Management was
issued by the MWR (2016). This document defined the management arrangements
for trading regional water rights, water abstraction rights, and water use rights in
irrigation districts. In the same month, the China Water Exchange was established
by the MWR as the national government-supported water rights trading platform.
However, this state intervention in the water trade will raise concerns about the market
mechanism.
In sum, after more than 30 years of progress, China has developed a water rights
system framework, including its implementation procedure and technical requirements. This system has been established through a process of piloting, piece-bypiece development, and transitioning from theory exploration to full implementation.
However, despite this relatively lengthy process, some fundamental issues have not
been fully addressed, such as the role of government, the effective protection of water
rights, and the introduction of market mechanisms.
6.2 Water Rights Legal Framework
6.2.1 Constitution
The Constitution of the PRC defines the ownership of water resources. Article 9 stipulates that “All natural resources, including mineral resources, water flows, forests,
mountains, grassland, unreclaimed land, beaches etc., are owned by the state, that
is, by the whole people; with the exception of the forests, mountains, grasslands,
unreclaimed land and beaches that are owned by the collectives in accordance with
the legislations.”
This article concerns the ownership of natural resources in China, which are
the most important production material and the economic lifeline of the country,
providing the material basis to guarantee sustainable, stable, and healthy socioeconomic development. Therefore, such resources must be owned by the state, that
is, the whole people. In this context, state ownership refers to the state’s rights to
own, use, benefit from, and dispose of natural resources. According to the Constitution, the NPC has formulated and issued natural resources laws to stipulate water
resources ownership rights, such as the Water Law.
Another key issue is the definition of “water flow.” The Constitution adopts a
definition from the Modern Chinese Dictionary according to which water flow is
the general name of rivers. Based on this definition, the Constitution states that only
natural resources reaching a certain size, rather than a small pond, are owned by the
state. Under the principle of state ownership, natural resources could be owned by
the collective only if defined by law. Among such resources, water flow can only be
133
In June 2016, the Temporal Methods for Water Rights Trade Management was
issued by the MWR (2016). This document defined the management arrangements
for trading regional water rights, water abstraction rights, and water use rights in
irrigation districts. In the same month, the China Water Exchange was established
by the MWR as the national government-supported water rights trading platform.
However, this state intervention in the water trade will raise concerns about the market
mechanism.
In sum, after more than 30 years of progress, China has developed a water rights
system framework, including its implementation procedure and technical requirements. This system has been established through a process of piloting, piece-bypiece development, and transitioning from theory exploration to full implementation.
However, despite this relatively lengthy process, some fundamental issues have not
been fully addressed, such as the role of government, the effective protection of water
rights, and the introduction of market mechanisms.
6.2 Water Rights Legal Framework
6.2.1 Constitution
The Constitution of the PRC defines the ownership of water resources. Article 9 stipulates that “All natural resources, including mineral resources, water flows, forests,
mountains, grassland, unreclaimed land, beaches etc., are owned by the state, that
is, by the whole people; with the exception of the forests, mountains, grasslands,
unreclaimed land and beaches that are owned by the collectives in accordance with
the legislations.”
This article concerns the ownership of natural resources in China, which are
the most important production material and the economic lifeline of the country,
providing the material basis to guarantee sustainable, stable, and healthy socioeconomic development. Therefore, such resources must be owned by the state, that
is, the whole people. In this context, state ownership refers to the state’s rights to
own, use, benefit from, and dispose of natural resources. According to the Constitution, the NPC has formulated and issued natural resources laws to stipulate water
resources ownership rights, such as the Water Law.
Another key issue is the definition of “water flow.” The Constitution adopts a
definition from the Modern Chinese Dictionary according to which water flow is
the general name of rivers. Based on this definition, the Constitution states that only
natural resources reaching a certain size, rather than a small pond, are owned by the
state. Under the principle of state ownership, natural resources could be owned by
the collective only if defined by law. Among such resources, water flow can only be