256
12 The Strictest Water Resources Management Strategy …
affect people’s lives and ensure their lawful rights and interests to receive clean
water.
The reasons for ineffective water resources management are many. They include
both the limitations set by natural hydrology and a lack of attention given to water
saving and protection, which in turn stems from a lack of awareness in the past of the
significant role that water resources management can play in economic and social
development.
Since 1978, China has implemented reforms with the intention of creating a market
economy, with a transformation of the way that resources are now allocated. China
has moved from the planned allocation of resources to a market-based approach. The
reform of water services has lagged behind other sectors, however, with water seen
as a public rather than an economic good and the market mechanism not regarded
as the main driver behind how water is allocated. This perception is now beginning
to change and it is recognized that new steps are needed to reform water allocation
mechanisms and property rights systems to fit more closely with a developing and
maturing market economy. Water rights need to be defined and clarified and a system
set up to manage them.
In the last two decades of the twentieth century, China completed legislation
for water management reform, especially the revision and promotion of the Water
Law in 2002, which covered most aspects of economic and social development.
Implementation proved problematic, however. In analyzing the causes of China’s
water problems, it can be found that while some derive from scarcity or neglect
of water resources, more important still has been a failure to address and invest in
resources management.
China lacks an effective, modern system for monitoring water resources, use, and
quality. Nearly all provinces or municipalities have yet to complete their assessment. Baseline monitoring for groundwater has been established in some regions but
fewer than half of China’s cities have metering equipment to monitor extraction rates
from rivers. There is fewer water metering in rural areas. Few indicators are used
to measure water quality and measuring is infrequent. Polluted water discharges are
not monitored. Most provinces do not have data-based information systems for water
management.
China lacks an effective instrument to implement the management of water
resources. The country has an established legal framework for water management in
line with its emerging market economy, which includes systems for water abstraction
permits, water resources fees, water resources justification, water function zoning,
and management of discharge outlet into water body. However, a lack of effective
water administration has meant that these systems are not well-implemented. The
result is that less than 30% of due water resources fees are collected, if based on
abstraction volumes. Much water is withdrawn illegally and users are not penalized,
while polluted water is discharged illegally into water courses.
Water resources management systems lack long-term investment and this has
led to low water use efficiency. The potential for fundraising needs to be explored
further, including raising awareness of the importance of water management rather
12 The Strictest Water Resources Management Strategy …
affect people’s lives and ensure their lawful rights and interests to receive clean
water.
The reasons for ineffective water resources management are many. They include
both the limitations set by natural hydrology and a lack of attention given to water
saving and protection, which in turn stems from a lack of awareness in the past of the
significant role that water resources management can play in economic and social
development.
Since 1978, China has implemented reforms with the intention of creating a market
economy, with a transformation of the way that resources are now allocated. China
has moved from the planned allocation of resources to a market-based approach. The
reform of water services has lagged behind other sectors, however, with water seen
as a public rather than an economic good and the market mechanism not regarded
as the main driver behind how water is allocated. This perception is now beginning
to change and it is recognized that new steps are needed to reform water allocation
mechanisms and property rights systems to fit more closely with a developing and
maturing market economy. Water rights need to be defined and clarified and a system
set up to manage them.
In the last two decades of the twentieth century, China completed legislation
for water management reform, especially the revision and promotion of the Water
Law in 2002, which covered most aspects of economic and social development.
Implementation proved problematic, however. In analyzing the causes of China’s
water problems, it can be found that while some derive from scarcity or neglect
of water resources, more important still has been a failure to address and invest in
resources management.
China lacks an effective, modern system for monitoring water resources, use, and
quality. Nearly all provinces or municipalities have yet to complete their assessment. Baseline monitoring for groundwater has been established in some regions but
fewer than half of China’s cities have metering equipment to monitor extraction rates
from rivers. There is fewer water metering in rural areas. Few indicators are used
to measure water quality and measuring is infrequent. Polluted water discharges are
not monitored. Most provinces do not have data-based information systems for water
management.
China lacks an effective instrument to implement the management of water
resources. The country has an established legal framework for water management in
line with its emerging market economy, which includes systems for water abstraction
permits, water resources fees, water resources justification, water function zoning,
and management of discharge outlet into water body. However, a lack of effective
water administration has meant that these systems are not well-implemented. The
result is that less than 30% of due water resources fees are collected, if based on
abstraction volumes. Much water is withdrawn illegally and users are not penalized,
while polluted water is discharged illegally into water courses.
Water resources management systems lack long-term investment and this has
led to low water use efficiency. The potential for fundraising needs to be explored
further, including raising awareness of the importance of water management rather