138
6 Water Rights System
6.3.5 Water Rights Certificate and Water Ticket
Within irrigation districts, the abstraction permit is usually held by the government
agency responsible for administering the district. Farmers are then supplied their
share of the water available to the irrigation district under the permit. In some areas
in northern China, a district plan is developed that identifies each farmer or village’s
share of the available water.
In most cases, farmers do not hold any form of individual entitlement and allocations are made based on land area. In a few pilot areas, trials have been conducted
on granting water certificates that identify each farmer’s share of the resource. This
measure is coupled with a water ticket system, under which farmers pre-pay for
the water they want in a particular year, season, or watering. Individual farmers are
allowed to purchase water tickets up to a limit, which is determined based on their
certificate volume and seasonal availability.
Therefore, in the irrigation district at the farmer level, a water rights certificate
can be regarded as the farmer’s individual right to water or permanent water rights.
The water ticket, which defines the use volume that could be purchased by farmer,
can be viewed as the farmer’s annual/seasonal water entitlements or temporary water
rights.
As with regional rights, the water certificate and water ticket are not named as
“rights” or even explicitly defined in legislation before 2016. In the 2016 Interim
Methods for Water Rights Trade Management by the MWR, the water trade between
users in the irrigation district is developed (Article 3), which partially provides a
legally established definition of these rights.
6.4 Challenges and Suggestions to Improve Water Rights
System Development in China
6.4.1 Challenges to Implementation of a Water Rights System
The existing legal, institutional, and management arrangements provide a solid
water rights framework in China. However, there are significant issues that must
be addressed to ensure that a comprehensive, integrated, and robust system evolves.
These challenges include the following (WET 2006):
Lack of definition, security, and certainty of rights. Water rights are not always
well defined. The duration of rights can be uncertain, and there are limited rules
and broad discretion for determining the annual availability of water under different
water rights. Furthermore, there are limited protections for rights holders in the event
of changes affecting their rights.
Not all water and water users captured. Not all water abstractors are captured
within the water permit system; some are exempted for historic reasons, others
6 Water Rights System
6.3.5 Water Rights Certificate and Water Ticket
Within irrigation districts, the abstraction permit is usually held by the government
agency responsible for administering the district. Farmers are then supplied their
share of the water available to the irrigation district under the permit. In some areas
in northern China, a district plan is developed that identifies each farmer or village’s
share of the available water.
In most cases, farmers do not hold any form of individual entitlement and allocations are made based on land area. In a few pilot areas, trials have been conducted
on granting water certificates that identify each farmer’s share of the resource. This
measure is coupled with a water ticket system, under which farmers pre-pay for
the water they want in a particular year, season, or watering. Individual farmers are
allowed to purchase water tickets up to a limit, which is determined based on their
certificate volume and seasonal availability.
Therefore, in the irrigation district at the farmer level, a water rights certificate
can be regarded as the farmer’s individual right to water or permanent water rights.
The water ticket, which defines the use volume that could be purchased by farmer,
can be viewed as the farmer’s annual/seasonal water entitlements or temporary water
rights.
As with regional rights, the water certificate and water ticket are not named as
“rights” or even explicitly defined in legislation before 2016. In the 2016 Interim
Methods for Water Rights Trade Management by the MWR, the water trade between
users in the irrigation district is developed (Article 3), which partially provides a
legally established definition of these rights.
6.4 Challenges and Suggestions to Improve Water Rights
System Development in China
6.4.1 Challenges to Implementation of a Water Rights System
The existing legal, institutional, and management arrangements provide a solid
water rights framework in China. However, there are significant issues that must
be addressed to ensure that a comprehensive, integrated, and robust system evolves.
These challenges include the following (WET 2006):
Lack of definition, security, and certainty of rights. Water rights are not always
well defined. The duration of rights can be uncertain, and there are limited rules
and broad discretion for determining the annual availability of water under different
water rights. Furthermore, there are limited protections for rights holders in the event
of changes affecting their rights.
Not all water and water users captured. Not all water abstractors are captured
within the water permit system; some are exempted for historic reasons, others