312
15 Agricultural Water Management in Northern China
projects, the strengthening and upgrade of such facilities, relevant water-saving
irrigation projects, and agricultural comprehensive water pricing reform works.
Country/Town Water Resources Management Stations
China has developed rural stations and agencies providing grass-root water resources
services at the level of the country or town. In 2012, the MWR, the Office of Central
Institution and Staffing Commission, and the Ministry of Financing issued “Guiding
Opinions on Further Improving Grass-root Water Resources Service System.” A
grass-root water resources services institution is with public-interest, and might have
such functions as flood-control and drought-resistance works, or irrigation infrastructure construction and water resources technology promotion. Other duties might
involve providing technical guidance on rural water resources projects, as well as
organizing and providing guidance to farmer water user cooperative organizations,
mediating local water conflicts, and working to propagate water legislation.
Service agencies are set up within the governments of counties or towns. They
are guided by the county water resources bureau, or act as its residential mission.
The setup of the agency depends on local natural conditions, water resources, socioeconomic development, and water resources management requirements. Regions
with prominent river basin characteristics might have cross-county agencies based
on the watershed as the unit; regions with small or highly integrated clusters of towns
or counties might use these as their basis; while regions with more water resources
tasks and a large county or town area would use this as their guiding unit. Staff
numbers for each agency are defined according to factors such as management area,
the scope of water infrastructure, water management tasks, and the local agricultural
population, with professionals comprising no less than 80%. In 2012, about 26,000
town or river basin stations had been set up (Chen 2012).
In fact, the key functions of country/town water resources management stations are
agricultural water resources management, including almost all water-related activities in rural areas. Thus these stations carry out the detailed activities of broader
public agricultural water resources management.
Additionally, in some counties, a drought-resistance service team has been set
up to provide services to tackle drought, including forecasting, well-drilling, wellwashing, and irrigation, providing guidance and training on drought-resistance technology, and promoting the use of relevant new technology. In 2012, there were 14,064
such teams in situ (Chen 2012).
Irrigation District Management Bureau
The irrigation district management bureau (division or station) is the agency for
managing water-related activities in the irrigation district. Normally, the size of each
bureau varies according to the coverage of the district, notably the irrigated area. The
bureau is directly involved in agricultural water resources management, including
15 Agricultural Water Management in Northern China
projects, the strengthening and upgrade of such facilities, relevant water-saving
irrigation projects, and agricultural comprehensive water pricing reform works.
Country/Town Water Resources Management Stations
China has developed rural stations and agencies providing grass-root water resources
services at the level of the country or town. In 2012, the MWR, the Office of Central
Institution and Staffing Commission, and the Ministry of Financing issued “Guiding
Opinions on Further Improving Grass-root Water Resources Service System.” A
grass-root water resources services institution is with public-interest, and might have
such functions as flood-control and drought-resistance works, or irrigation infrastructure construction and water resources technology promotion. Other duties might
involve providing technical guidance on rural water resources projects, as well as
organizing and providing guidance to farmer water user cooperative organizations,
mediating local water conflicts, and working to propagate water legislation.
Service agencies are set up within the governments of counties or towns. They
are guided by the county water resources bureau, or act as its residential mission.
The setup of the agency depends on local natural conditions, water resources, socioeconomic development, and water resources management requirements. Regions
with prominent river basin characteristics might have cross-county agencies based
on the watershed as the unit; regions with small or highly integrated clusters of towns
or counties might use these as their basis; while regions with more water resources
tasks and a large county or town area would use this as their guiding unit. Staff
numbers for each agency are defined according to factors such as management area,
the scope of water infrastructure, water management tasks, and the local agricultural
population, with professionals comprising no less than 80%. In 2012, about 26,000
town or river basin stations had been set up (Chen 2012).
In fact, the key functions of country/town water resources management stations are
agricultural water resources management, including almost all water-related activities in rural areas. Thus these stations carry out the detailed activities of broader
public agricultural water resources management.
Additionally, in some counties, a drought-resistance service team has been set
up to provide services to tackle drought, including forecasting, well-drilling, wellwashing, and irrigation, providing guidance and training on drought-resistance technology, and promoting the use of relevant new technology. In 2012, there were 14,064
such teams in situ (Chen 2012).
Irrigation District Management Bureau
The irrigation district management bureau (division or station) is the agency for
managing water-related activities in the irrigation district. Normally, the size of each
bureau varies according to the coverage of the district, notably the irrigated area. The
bureau is directly involved in agricultural water resources management, including