Three major rivers in China.As someone deeply passionate about water resources, and being close to Mainland China, I thought I would write a three part series about China’s water situation and provide some analysis. Most of the information in this series is derived from a chapter of a publication called “The World’s Water 2008-2009”. The chapter, titled “China and Water” is written by Peter Gleick. Part 1 of this series will feature the salient connection between China’s economy and its dependence on water resources. These posts will be lengthy so feel free to just read sections.
Simply put, demand for fresh water is growing in China. Renewable water availability is 2,138 cubic meters per person per year. That’s more than India’s 1,719 cubic meters but smaller than the US (10,231 cubic meters). A lot the water is located in the Southern region of the country. More recently, there has been more pressure to pipe water over long distances to the north with economic development happening there. China’s voracious demand for water comes at a time when the country is growing so rapidly (both in population and economy) with some provinces already over 100 million people (Henan Province, for example).
China’s response to such growth has been through the construction of more water infrastructure such as hydro-electric dam projects on China’s many rivers. The country has over 14 major rivers including the famous Yangtze river running over 6000 kilometers in length. These projects are economically beneficial in that they produce electricity for various industries and they provide water for various users including the public, industry and agriculture. Manufacturing and other industries consume lots of water but help keep productivity and China’s trade surplus in check.
With such immense economic growth, and with water being indispensable for that growth, social friction starts to arise as citizens become displaced and soon homeless from such massive water projects. Hydro-electric dams like the Three Gorges Dam (the biggest hydro-electric dam in the world) has displaced millions of people along the Yangtze River where public consultation was non-existent and simply an impediment to building such a critical project.
According to Gleick’s research, many local governments are forced to protect local industries and jobs at the expense of displacement and crippling water protection. Economic development is driven by the utilization of water resources. Case in point, water use per unit of GDP or economic productivity is higher in China compared to many other countries. In 2003, 465 cubic meters of water were used to produce 10,000 yuan worth of GDP, four times the world average and nearly 20 times that of Japan and Europe at that time.
The Chinese are currently building the South to-North Water Transfer Project, to “funnel 45 billion cubic meters a year to the northern part of the country from the Yangtze River basin. That project was approved in 2002 to address water shortages in the north. Even if fully built, it will not be completed until in the middle of this century. Amid construction, there is growing concern about both environmental and social problems.”
This is just a contemporary example of a hydro-electric dam stirring up controversy. China recently announced that total investments in the water sector during its five year plan (2006-2011) could be as large as one trillion yuan (156 billion Canadian $). This investment will focus on water distribution systems and the construction of thousands of wastewater treatment plants. Fortunately, wastewater treatment plants will help improve quality of life and help with environmental protection efforts (I'll blog about this in Part 2).
So, is China suffering from that conventional economy versus environment debate? Water resources are being exploited for energy purposes, industrial uses and keeping local economies going. However, such large scale projects have produced a lot of social issues and polluted rivers.
We often overlook the salient connection between water and economic growth. In China, this connection is indeed a critical one and vastly important for the country’s future. China is expanding water supply through dams and forthcoming coastal desalination. These are innovative engineering solutions but the equations do not always account for “people”. And in China, people or persons equal 1.3 billion. Thus, expanding water supply must be done in an equitable way that benefits all water users including the public, industry, agriculture and commerce. Dams and increasing water supply must be balanced with public participation and consultation, water education and conservation.
In the next part, I will discuss water quality in China and the current policies in place to protect that water. I will also touch on quantity and what China is doing in terms of pricing and rationing i.e. some of the economics.
Simply put, demand for fresh water is growing in China. Renewable water availability is 2,138 cubic meters per person per year. That’s more than India’s 1,719 cubic meters but smaller than the US (10,231 cubic meters). A lot the water is located in the Southern region of the country. More recently, there has been more pressure to pipe water over long distances to the north with economic development happening there. China’s voracious demand for water comes at a time when the country is growing so rapidly (both in population and economy) with some provinces already over 100 million people (Henan Province, for example).
China’s response to such growth has been through the construction of more water infrastructure such as hydro-electric dam projects on China’s many rivers. The country has over 14 major rivers including the famous Yangtze river running over 6000 kilometers in length. These projects are economically beneficial in that they produce electricity for various industries and they provide water for various users including the public, industry and agriculture. Manufacturing and other industries consume lots of water but help keep productivity and China’s trade surplus in check.
With such immense economic growth, and with water being indispensable for that growth, social friction starts to arise as citizens become displaced and soon homeless from such massive water projects. Hydro-electric dams like the Three Gorges Dam (the biggest hydro-electric dam in the world) has displaced millions of people along the Yangtze River where public consultation was non-existent and simply an impediment to building such a critical project.
According to Gleick’s research, many local governments are forced to protect local industries and jobs at the expense of displacement and crippling water protection. Economic development is driven by the utilization of water resources. Case in point, water use per unit of GDP or economic productivity is higher in China compared to many other countries. In 2003, 465 cubic meters of water were used to produce 10,000 yuan worth of GDP, four times the world average and nearly 20 times that of Japan and Europe at that time.
The Chinese are currently building the South to-North Water Transfer Project, to “funnel 45 billion cubic meters a year to the northern part of the country from the Yangtze River basin. That project was approved in 2002 to address water shortages in the north. Even if fully built, it will not be completed until in the middle of this century. Amid construction, there is growing concern about both environmental and social problems.”
This is just a contemporary example of a hydro-electric dam stirring up controversy. China recently announced that total investments in the water sector during its five year plan (2006-2011) could be as large as one trillion yuan (156 billion Canadian $). This investment will focus on water distribution systems and the construction of thousands of wastewater treatment plants. Fortunately, wastewater treatment plants will help improve quality of life and help with environmental protection efforts (I'll blog about this in Part 2).
So, is China suffering from that conventional economy versus environment debate? Water resources are being exploited for energy purposes, industrial uses and keeping local economies going. However, such large scale projects have produced a lot of social issues and polluted rivers.
We often overlook the salient connection between water and economic growth. In China, this connection is indeed a critical one and vastly important for the country’s future. China is expanding water supply through dams and forthcoming coastal desalination. These are innovative engineering solutions but the equations do not always account for “people”. And in China, people or persons equal 1.3 billion. Thus, expanding water supply must be done in an equitable way that benefits all water users including the public, industry, agriculture and commerce. Dams and increasing water supply must be balanced with public participation and consultation, water education and conservation.
In the next part, I will discuss water quality in China and the current policies in place to protect that water. I will also touch on quantity and what China is doing in terms of pricing and rationing i.e. some of the economics.
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