Water resources of China

The Water resources of China include 2,711.5 cubic kilometers of mean annual run-off in its rivers and 828.8 cubic kilometers which was pumped annually from shallow aquifers circa 2000. As pumping water draws water from nearby rivers, the total available resource is 2,821.4 cubic kilometers. 80.9 per cent of these resources are in the Yangtze River basin. In 1993 498,720 square kilometers were irrigated.

China is facing many problems in managing its water resources. Flooding is still a major problem, demand for water is rapidly exceeding supply and water pollution has yet to be effectively controlled. The contamination of the Songhe River following an explosion at a Jilin chemical plant in November, 2005, highlighted of the the problems of water pollution.

Several authorities have responsibility for dealing with water. Water pollution is the responsibility of the environmental authorities, but the water itself is managed by the Ministry of Water Resources. Sewage is dealt with by the Ministry of Construction, but groundwater falls within the realm of the Ministry of Land and Resources.

Commentators have identified parts of the Chinese government as being responsible for some of the pollution to water supplies, while other parts are tasked with dealing with the pollution.

Ma Xiancong identified these areas where the government failed to act, or tacitly consented, approved or actively took part and so creating a worse situation: Land appropriation, pollution, excessive mining and the failure to carry out environmental impact assessments. An example of this emerged in 2006, when the State Environmental Protection Administration revealed over a dozen hydroelectric projects that had broken the Environmental Impact Assessment Law. [1]

See also

• Water supply in Hong Kong
• Water resources of Singapore

References

• An overview of Chinese environmental law.

External links

• "Agenda for Water Sector Strategy for North China" World Bank, April 2001
• "China to step up water resource protection". People's Daily. 22 March, 2005. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
• "Chinese cities face toxic spills: Explosions at chemical plants leave millions without clean water" Subscription required Nature, November 25, 2005
• "Wet politics in China" 中国与世界，环境危机大家谈
• "China's environmental governance"