China faced with combined challenges from water scarcity, mounting demand

BEIJING, Feb. 9 (Chinese media) -- Threatened by rising water demand and limited supplies, combined with severe water pollution, China is faced with mounting challenges for supplying safe, clean water to its 1.3 billion residents, as well as maintaining sustainable development.

China outlined its water resources development strategies in its 11th five year plan (2006-2010) , but the continuing economic growth trends and population increase, as well as growing industrialization and urbanization, are likely to worsen China's water shortage, the World Bank has said.

In its report "Addressing China's Water Scarcity", the World Bank urged China to reform and strengthen its water resource management framework, the China Daily reported Monday.

The report said current policy failures in China's water management include, an underdeveloped system of water rights administration, weakness in water demand control, lack of market-based instruments and insufficient financing for pollution control.

The report suggested China should further reform its water pricing mechanism in order to promote efficiency.

"In order to provide appropriate incentives for adopting water saving technologies and behaviors, water prices need to be raised to reflect its full scarcity value," the report said.

The World Bank said the social impact of water price increases, especially those affecting the poor, would need to be addressed by establishing social protection measures.

"It is essential to make sure that low-income group will receive the basic water supply service when the water prices adjusted," Xie Jian, a senior environmental specialist from World Bank said.

The report also proposed that China should try market-oriented mechanisms for ecological compensation, for instance, the payments for ecological services will help to protect the upstream ecosystems, which are essential for the long-term supply of good quality water sources.

China's water resources are scarce and unevenly distributed. China's renewable water resources amount to about 2,841 cu km per year, the sixth largest in the world. However, its per capita availability in 2007 is only 2,156 cu m per year, only one fourth of the world's average. And about 400 of China's 667 cities are reportedly short of water.

The uneven distribution of the water resources, both spatially and temporarily, has made the problems more severe.

In northern part of China, the water availability per capita is only 757 cu m per year, one eleventh of the world average, and is well below the threshold level of "water scarcity", which is 1,000cu m per year.

The precipitation pattern further intensifies the uneven distribution of water resources. With a strong monsoonal climate, China is subject to highly variable rainfalls that contribute to frequent droughts and floods, which also happen simultaneously in different regions.

The poor water productivity in the country, which is 3.6 per cum, is lower than the average of 4.8 U.S. dollars per cu m in middle-income countries, and 35.8 dollars per cu m in high-income countries.

Water use in agricultural sector accounts for 65 percent of the country's total. But only 45 percent are actually consumed on crops, due to extensive waste in irrigation systems.

The industrial sector takes up 24 percent of the total water consumption in the country. The recycling rate is only 40 percent, compared to 75-85 percent in developed countries. China's water scarcity is also aggravated by extensive pollution.

It was not until 2007 that the rising trend of water pollution began to show a sign of reversal, as total emissions of chemical oxygen demand (COD) dropped 3.14 percent over the 2006 level.