19.3 Water Resources Policy After 1980
443
Resources Allocation Plan (National Planning Commission & MWR 1998), the idea
of “investing agricultural water-saving and transferring saved water to industry” was
developed. The transfer both increased agricultural water-use efficiency and provided
water for industrial development (Shen et al. 2006a; Macgrath et al. 2006).
At the river basin level, following the concept of water rights, a river basin water
resources regulation plan, based on the 1987 allocation plan, was introduced and
implemented in 1998 in the Yellow River to address the river’s drying-up, as well as
the associated interprovincial water conflicts. The regulation plan and its implementation became the model for river basin water resources allocation and regulation in
northern China. The issuance of the plan soon started to alleviate the severe ecological
problems in the downstream areas and end-tail lakes.
At the jurisdictional level, the concept of the development of a “water-saving society” was promoted as the platform to conduct integrated water resources management, including developing water sources, increasing water-use efficiency, and
protecting water resources. The pilot was started in Zhangye Prefecture in the Hei
River Basin, Gansu Province, to support river basin water resources regulation, and
then extended to the whole of China. The Zhangye pilot included granting a form
of water rights at the farmer level: the water certificate was granted as a form of
permanent water rights, and water tickets were issued as temporary rights linked to
the actual use of water, as discussed in Chap. 6.
One of the controversial issues during this period was the promotion and development of “water affairs bureaus” by the MWR, as discussed in Chap. 16. At the
heart of the change was the reassignment of water resources management functions
between water resources departments and construction departments. Dating back
to the early 1990s, with increasing urbanization and urban water issues, the MWR
wanted to extend its functions to urban water supply and drainage, which originally
were managed by the Ministry of Construction (Shen and Liu 2008). The debate led
to a decision in the 2008 governmental restructure which clarified that the establishment of water affairs bureaus should be a matter for local governments rather than
central agencies. Many water affairs bureaus had been set up, including in Beijing,
Tianjin, Shanghai, Sichuan, and Hainan provinces.
The years 1998–2009 were banner years for water resources management. A
new concept was developed for negotiating water–human relations. Water resources
management became the “dragon head” of the water sector. Modern water resources
management legislation and systems were developed, and water rights theory was
introduced. Numerous water resources management projects were fully implemented, a national water rights framework was developed, and water-saving and
water resources protection initiatives were undertaken. Additionally, investment in
the water sector was increased significantly, with the total central infrastructure
investment from 1998–2003 2.36 times what it was from 1949–1997, and one-fifth of
treasury bonds were invested in the water sector (Wang 2003). In 2008, the national
water supply capacity reached 659.1 billion m
3 , and irrigation water-use efficiency
increased to 0.46 (Chen 2008).
443
Resources Allocation Plan (National Planning Commission & MWR 1998), the idea
of “investing agricultural water-saving and transferring saved water to industry” was
developed. The transfer both increased agricultural water-use efficiency and provided
water for industrial development (Shen et al. 2006a; Macgrath et al. 2006).
At the river basin level, following the concept of water rights, a river basin water
resources regulation plan, based on the 1987 allocation plan, was introduced and
implemented in 1998 in the Yellow River to address the river’s drying-up, as well as
the associated interprovincial water conflicts. The regulation plan and its implementation became the model for river basin water resources allocation and regulation in
northern China. The issuance of the plan soon started to alleviate the severe ecological
problems in the downstream areas and end-tail lakes.
At the jurisdictional level, the concept of the development of a “water-saving society” was promoted as the platform to conduct integrated water resources management, including developing water sources, increasing water-use efficiency, and
protecting water resources. The pilot was started in Zhangye Prefecture in the Hei
River Basin, Gansu Province, to support river basin water resources regulation, and
then extended to the whole of China. The Zhangye pilot included granting a form
of water rights at the farmer level: the water certificate was granted as a form of
permanent water rights, and water tickets were issued as temporary rights linked to
the actual use of water, as discussed in Chap. 6.
One of the controversial issues during this period was the promotion and development of “water affairs bureaus” by the MWR, as discussed in Chap. 16. At the
heart of the change was the reassignment of water resources management functions
between water resources departments and construction departments. Dating back
to the early 1990s, with increasing urbanization and urban water issues, the MWR
wanted to extend its functions to urban water supply and drainage, which originally
were managed by the Ministry of Construction (Shen and Liu 2008). The debate led
to a decision in the 2008 governmental restructure which clarified that the establishment of water affairs bureaus should be a matter for local governments rather than
central agencies. Many water affairs bureaus had been set up, including in Beijing,
Tianjin, Shanghai, Sichuan, and Hainan provinces.
The years 1998–2009 were banner years for water resources management. A
new concept was developed for negotiating water–human relations. Water resources
management became the “dragon head” of the water sector. Modern water resources
management legislation and systems were developed, and water rights theory was
introduced. Numerous water resources management projects were fully implemented, a national water rights framework was developed, and water-saving and
water resources protection initiatives were undertaken. Additionally, investment in
the water sector was increased significantly, with the total central infrastructure
investment from 1998–2003 2.36 times what it was from 1949–1997, and one-fifth of
treasury bonds were invested in the water sector (Wang 2003). In 2008, the national
water supply capacity reached 659.1 billion m
3 , and irrigation water-use efficiency
increased to 0.46 (Chen 2008).