Addressing China’s Water Scarcity Recommendations for Selected Water Resource Management Issues Public Disclosure AuthorizedPublic Disclosure AuthorizedPublic Disclosure AuthorizedPublic Disclosure Authorized Addressing China’s Water Scarcity [...]... AND EQUITY IN WATER SUPPLY PRICING Traditionally, China’s policies have focused on meeting the demand for water by increasing the supply rather than managing demand An important factor contributing to the current waterscarcity crisis is the lack of effective water resource policies that focus on demand management and encourage efficient water use xxvi ADDRESSING CHINA’S WATER SCARCITY Water Pricing... loss from the extensive pollution in most of China’s water bodies Thus, total costs are undoubtedly higher A PLAN OF ACTION FOR ADDRESSING WATER SCARCITY As outlined above, the major factors underlying the emerging water crisis point to the need for China to reform and strengthen its water resource management framework In line with the ADDRESSING CHINA’S WATER SCARCITY xxi EXECUTIVE SUMMARY broad strategy... government in accelerating its efforts to address China’s water scarcity James Adams Vice President East Asia and Pacific Region The World Bank ADDRESSING CHINA’S WATER SCARCITY xi Acknowledgments This report synthesizes the main findings and recommendations of the World Bank’s Analytical and Advisory Assistance (AAA), entitled Addressing China’s Water Scarcity: From Analysis to Action.” The AAA was launched... Willingness-to-pay Water user associations ADDRESSING CHINA’S WATER SCARCITY xvii Executive Summary ⅷ For years, water shortages, water pollution, and flooding have constrained growth and affected public health and welfare in many parts of China Northern China is already a water- scarce region, and China as a whole will soon join the group of water- stressed countries The combined impact of the widening gap between water. .. reviews China’s water scarcity situation, assesses the policy and institutional requirements for addressing it, and recommends key areas for strengthening and reform It is a synthesis of the main findings and recommendations from analytical work and case studies prepared under the World Bank Analytical and Advisory Assistance (AAA) program entitled Addressing China’s ADDRESSING CHINA’S WATER SCARCITY. .. against changes to water rights and no clear provisions dealing with what happens when a right is adversely affected ADDRESSING CHINA’S WATER SCARCITY EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Water Rights and Allocations Need to Be Based on the Evapotranspiration Approach Recommended Actions Past water management in China, based on water abstraction only, has encountered only limited success because the saved water was used... obligations for water withdrawal, consumption, and return flows clearly specified The process for granting water rights, and in particular for allocating water on an annual basis, should be clear and consistent This will provide certainty and security for holders of water rights ADDRESSING CHINA’S WATER SCARCITY xxv EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Adequate monitoring, reporting, and enforcement are part of effective water. .. preliminary system of water rights trading To date, however, the increasing scarcity of water resources has not been effectively managed Many national and local water resource management and water pollution control plans have not been fully implemented and many targets, including water pollution investment targets, have not been achieved The economic costs of water pollution and scarcity are high Water pollution... have revealed great variations in the economic value of water by sector and by region, low economic efficiency of agricultural water use, and poor cost-effectiveness of underground water withdrawal in North xxxii ADDRESSING CHINA’S WATER SCARCITY China Although the general direction should be to raise water- use efficiency by reducing demand for water by the agricultural sector, progress is complicated... accentuating the water problem China’s Water Productivity Is Low China’s water productivity of $3.60/m3 is low in comparison with the average of middle-income ($4.80/m3) and high-income ($35.80/m3) countries This gap is largely due to differences in the sectoral structure and efficiency of water consumption Water productivity in agriculture, which accounted for 65 percent of total water withdrawals, . AuthorizedPublic Disclosure Authorized Addressing China’s Water Scarcity