19.3 Water Resources Policy After 1980
441
China was facing four main water resources issues: regular floods, water shortages, water and soil erosion and ecological degradation, and water pollution (Wang
2005). However, the approach to addressing these issues suffered from significant
limitations: in planning, water resources were only considered from the point of
view of the water sector, not in the broader demographic, resources, and environmental systems; in development, there was a greater emphasis on developing new
sources rather than saving water; there was a greater focus on water quantity rather
than water quality; and infrastructure construction was emphasized at the expense of
non-structure instruments (Qian 1998a).
This period was a golden time for economic development for China. Entering the
WTO greatly pushed economic development in China, with the country becoming
the third-largest economy in the world in 2007 and the second in 2010. GDP per
capita increased from $750 in 1998 to more than $5,000 in 2009 (National Bureau of
Statistics of PRC 1999, 2010). The improving social welfare and rapid urbanization
process that accompanied this economic development led to demands for a safer water
supply, improved water quality, and a better and more amenable water environment.
This led to a shift toward a “resources-oriented water resources development”,
rather than the more traditional “engineering-oriented water resources development”
(Wang 1999). “Resources-oriented water resources development” required a change
in mindset: from unlimited abstractions of water to harmony between human and
nature; from viewing water as an inexhaustible resource to recognizing the limits
of freshwater resources; from focusing on protecting people from water harm to
instead considering the harm humans cause to water systems; from emphasizing
water resources development and use to emphasizing allocation, saving, and protection during development and use; from emphasizing infrastructure construction to
emphasizing both “hard” and “soft” measures; from supply management to demand
management; from separated management of quantity and quality to integrated
allocation, regulation, and management of supply, use, drainage, and reuse (Wang
2000).
Implementing a “resources-oriented water resources development” was supported
by the development of the theory of water rights, water markets, and water pricing.
The theory stated that clarifying water rights was a prerequisite to deepening water
sector reforms and to achieving the optimal allocation of water resources; tradable
water rights were the basis for developing water markets; water pricing and water
markets were important tools to allocate water resources; and governmental macroregulation, democratic consultation, and water market regulation were the institutional guarantees to realize effective and optimal allocation of water resources (Wang
2001a). Following the theory, a policy on implementing a “water-saving society” was
established as the platform to implement water rights at both the macro- and microlevels (Wang 2001b), and water rights transfer was an important way to promote
optimal water resources allocation (Wang 2004). The aim was to encourage sustainable social and economic development supported by sustainable water resources
development (Wang 2001c), based on harmony between water and human beings
(Wang 2004).
441
China was facing four main water resources issues: regular floods, water shortages, water and soil erosion and ecological degradation, and water pollution (Wang
2005). However, the approach to addressing these issues suffered from significant
limitations: in planning, water resources were only considered from the point of
view of the water sector, not in the broader demographic, resources, and environmental systems; in development, there was a greater emphasis on developing new
sources rather than saving water; there was a greater focus on water quantity rather
than water quality; and infrastructure construction was emphasized at the expense of
non-structure instruments (Qian 1998a).
This period was a golden time for economic development for China. Entering the
WTO greatly pushed economic development in China, with the country becoming
the third-largest economy in the world in 2007 and the second in 2010. GDP per
capita increased from $750 in 1998 to more than $5,000 in 2009 (National Bureau of
Statistics of PRC 1999, 2010). The improving social welfare and rapid urbanization
process that accompanied this economic development led to demands for a safer water
supply, improved water quality, and a better and more amenable water environment.
This led to a shift toward a “resources-oriented water resources development”,
rather than the more traditional “engineering-oriented water resources development”
(Wang 1999). “Resources-oriented water resources development” required a change
in mindset: from unlimited abstractions of water to harmony between human and
nature; from viewing water as an inexhaustible resource to recognizing the limits
of freshwater resources; from focusing on protecting people from water harm to
instead considering the harm humans cause to water systems; from emphasizing
water resources development and use to emphasizing allocation, saving, and protection during development and use; from emphasizing infrastructure construction to
emphasizing both “hard” and “soft” measures; from supply management to demand
management; from separated management of quantity and quality to integrated
allocation, regulation, and management of supply, use, drainage, and reuse (Wang
2000).
Implementing a “resources-oriented water resources development” was supported
by the development of the theory of water rights, water markets, and water pricing.
The theory stated that clarifying water rights was a prerequisite to deepening water
sector reforms and to achieving the optimal allocation of water resources; tradable
water rights were the basis for developing water markets; water pricing and water
markets were important tools to allocate water resources; and governmental macroregulation, democratic consultation, and water market regulation were the institutional guarantees to realize effective and optimal allocation of water resources (Wang
2001a). Following the theory, a policy on implementing a “water-saving society” was
established as the platform to implement water rights at both the macro- and microlevels (Wang 2001b), and water rights transfer was an important way to promote
optimal water resources allocation (Wang 2004). The aim was to encourage sustainable social and economic development supported by sustainable water resources
development (Wang 2001c), based on harmony between water and human beings
(Wang 2004).