river basin management in china irbm and the nine-headed dragon dorri te boekhorst twm - fall 2009
TRANSCRIPT
River basin management in China
IRBM and the nine-headed dragon
Dorri te Boekhorst
TWM - fall 2009
- Problem definition- Government and water management- Where did we come from?- Where are we now?
GONGYI, China -- The flowers that welcome visitors to the town of Gongyi in China's Henan province have seen better days. The stems that spell out the greeting message are withered and parched, the surrounding grass bleached yellow from lack of water.
China's worst drought in 50 years is taking a heavy toll here. It hasn't rained in nearby Yaoling village for more than 100 days. Even the government's efforts to fire cloud-seeding rockets into the sky that brought minor relief to much of the province haven't worked here.
Global Post 02-17-09
PROBLEM DEFINITION
DROUGHT
FLOODS
POLLUTION
SOIL EROSION
PROBLEM DEFINITION
Percentage of people with access to safe, clean water: 66% (Chinese Ministry of Water Resources, 2006).
2007 SOE - MEP
PROBLEM DEFINITION
Water Quality of Major Large Freshwater Lakes
Name
Index for nutrition state
Nutrition state
Levels of water quality
Major pollutants2007 2006
Baiyangdian Lake 83Serious eutrophication
Worse than Grade V
Worse than Grade V
Ammnonia nitrogen, total phosporus, total nitrogen
Dalai Lake 64Moderate eutrophication
Worse than Grade V
Worse than Grade V
pH value, permanganate index
Jingbo Lake 59Mild eutrophication
IV IV Volatile phenol, total phosphorus
Bositeng Lake 57Mild eutrophication
III III -
Hongze Lake 56Mild eutrophication
Worse than Grade V
Worse than Grade V
Total nitrogen,toal phosphor
Nansi Lake 53Mild euthrophication
VWorse than
Grade VTotal phosphorus,total nitrogen, oils
Dongting Lake 45Mesotrophic state
IV V Total phosphorus, total nitrogen
Poyang Lake 45Mesotrophic state
IV V Total phosphorus, total nitrogen
Erhai Lake 40Mesotrophic state
III III -
Xingkai Lake - - IV II Volatile phenol
PROBLEM DEFINITION
Rivers and River BasinsChina has a large number of rivers with a total length of 420.000 km. There are more than 50.000 rivers each with a drainage area of more than 100 km2 and more than 1500 each with a drainage area of more than 1000 km2.
FACT SHEET
Ministry of Environmental Protection: SOE 2007
The rivers are distributed very unevenly over regions. Most of the rivers are situated in the wet eastern monsoon climatic zone, directly flowing into the sea, with the major ones including the Yangtze, Yellow, Heilong, Pearl, Liaohe, Huaihe, Haihe, etc.
Rivers and River Basins
FACT SHEET
The whole country may be divided into nine major river basins, including Yangtze, Yellow, Haihe, Huaihe, Songhua-Liaohe, Pearl, Southeast Rivers and Inland Rivers.
Ministry of Environmental Protection: SOE 2007
Figure 1. Per Capita Water Resources by Watersheds in China, 1998. Source: Yang and Zehnder (2001)
Yangzte river
• China’s longest river: 6300 km• ~ 700 tributaries• Basin covers about 19% China’s total land area• 19 provinces, automnomous regions and municipalities
• Major inland waterway• Major source for irrigation, agriculture and hydro-electric power• 17 dams, inlcuding San Ba
• Important ecosystem wich in biodiversity• 370 fish species, birds (wintering area threatened japanese crane), flora
FACT SHEET
SOUTH-TO-NORTH TRANSFER
COSTS: US$62 billion
BENEFITS: 45 billion (109) m3 water annually
STATUS: Construction on the eastern and central routes is underway. Western route in planning stage. Entire project duration ~ 50 years to complete.
SOUTH-TO-NORTH TRANSFER
“the present conflicts caused by competitive water users of agricultural, industrial, domestic and ecological shall be alleviated. Water demand of agriculture and ecologic system shall be met and over-exploitation of groundwater shall be controlled.”
MWR 2006 project proponent
BENEFICIARIES: Cities and industries. Eastern route: domestic and industrial water use for Shandong and Jiangsu provinces. Central route more than 20 cities, including Beijing and Tianjin. Farmers will be the last to benefit from project water.
PROBLEMS: Decreased water quality in both channels (run-off factories) and Yangtze river basin; water tariffs will be stiff, cities may pass this water; roughly 300,000 people are to be resettled by the project.
People’s Republic of China
> 1.3 billion people
World third’s largest economy
1949: People’s Republic of China
Communist Party (CPC); One-party state
GOVERNMENT AND WATER MANAGEMENT
President Hu Jintao (Head of State)
Premier Wen Jiabao (Head of Government)
MAIN CHALLENGESEconomic growth
GOVERNMENT AND WATER MANAGEMENT
Population
Environmental challenges (Climate Change)
Rich urban and poor countryside
President of P.R. China
GOVERNMENT AND WATER MANAGEMENT
National People’s Congress
Ministry of Water Resources (MWR)
GOVERNMENT AND WATER MANAGEMENT
1. Ensure water resources are rationally developed and utilized; […]; provide draft legislations and promulgate water administrative rules and regulations; make integrated river basin management plans and flood control plans for major rivers and lakes […]
2. Take overall consideration and secure domestic, industrial and ecological water uses ; undertake integrated water resources management and supervision; formulate and supervise the implementation of national and inter-provincial development plans of water supply and demand and schemes for water allocation […]
3. Take charge of water resource protection; organize and draft water resource protection plans, water function zoning in major rivers and lakes and implementation supervision; review and verify the capacity of pollutant load of water bodies; make proposals on the limit of total wastewater discharge; …
4. Take charge of flood control and drought relief, and undertake day-to-day work of the Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters…
5. Take charge of water conservation; formulate water conservation policies, draft water-saving plans, develop relevant standards and give directions and promote the water-saving society campaign.
6. Provide guidance to hydrological work, including hydrological monitoring of water resources,…
7. Provide guidance to the management and protection of water infrastructures, water bodies and shorelines, control and development of major rivers, lakes, estuaries and coast beaches; …
8. Be responsible for control of soil and water losses by formulating soil and water conservation plans and supervision, …
9. Provide guidance to irrigation & drainage and rural water supply by organizing and coordinating construction of farmland water facilities, construction and management of projects of safe drinking water supply and water-saving irrigation, …
10. Be responsible for investigating illegal cases that violating water laws, mediate and arbitrate inter-sector and inter-province water disputes, provide guidance to the enforcement and execution of water laws and regulations; …
11. Management of water science and technology and foreign affairs related to water issues, …
12. Other duties and responsibilities assigned by the State Council.
GOVERNMENT AND WATER MANAGEMENT
Ministry of Water Resources
Responsible for water quantity (and water quality)…
• initiation of policy• implementation of policy• measuring • control • (int) cooperation and science
… at all levels of state organisation: national, provincial, regional and local
Through Water Bureaux and River Basin Commissions
GOVERNMENT AND WATER MANAGEMENT
7 River Basin Commissions
Changjiang Water Resources CommissionYellow River Conservancy CommissionHuai River Water Resources CommissionHai River Water Resources CommissionPearl River Water Resources CommissionSongliao River Water Resources CommissionTaihu Basin Authority
GOVERNMENT AND WATER MANAGEMENT
1998 Water Law, 2002 revised
1) water allocation, rights, and permits; 2) river basin management; 3) water use efficiency 4) conservation and environmental
protection.
Law on Prevention and Control of Water Pollution (WPPC)
Water and Soil Conservation Law
Flood Control Law
other relevant laws and regulations
GOVERNMENT AND WATER MANAGEMENT
7 River Basin Committee’s …BUT:
- only MWR, not intersectoral
- limited stakeholder-dialogues
- limited NGO participation
- overlapping responsibilities
- overlapping laws
- no water trade systems
- no decent pricing mechanisms
GOVERNMENT AND WATER MANAGEMENT
D. te Boekhorst 04-07-2008
Where do we come from?
• Extremely severe pollution• Frequent floodings due to impoldering• Unbridled cutting of forests upstream• Hydrolic mission thinking
… Unsustainabel practices that ultimately pose a serious threat to the economic development of the country…
World Bank 1997
A CHANGE was needed…
WHERE DO WE COME FROM?
Lake Taihu, blue-green algae
1.Stop logging and promote forestation (the National Logging Ban).
2.Stop agricultural use of mountain slopes and reintroduce forest & grass (Grain for Green).
3.Return reclaimed land to the river (make room for the river).
4.Convert cultivated land to wetland and lakes (wetland restoration).
5.Resettlement of people who live in flood prone areas.
6.Reinforce the primary flood defense structures.
7.Dredge river sections that have silted up.
8.Give people work instead of relief subsidies.
1998: 32 Character Policy
WHERE DO WE COME FROM?
Shock event: Floodings in the Yangtze
+
32 Character policy
provided a window of opportunity for change agents
WHY does change happen when it happens?
WHERE DO WE COME FROM?
WWF (1998): “Partnership for a Living Yangtze”bottom-up process to shift from rice cultivation on
impoldered land towards alternatives such as organic farming and returning polder to lake (Dongting Lake, Hong Lake, Zhangdu area)
processes aimed at combining nature restoration goals with safety measures and sustainable livelihoods.
CCICED (2004): Task Force on Integrated River Basin ManagementHigh-level, ‘top-down’ implementation of IRBM as an answer to technocratic river management.
Aimed at formally accepting IRBM as a new way of managing water in China.
1992 China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED), in the wake of the UNCED conference in Rio
WHERE DO WE COME FROM?
IRBM co-chairs:
Prof. Chen Yiyu
Prof. Toine Smits
Meeting of the CCICED co-chairs with premier Wen Jiabao (October 2004)
CCICED = China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development
IRBM co-chairs:
Prof. Chen Yiyu
Prof. Toine Smits
IRBM Institutional arrangements流域管理机构安排
Establishment of the IRBM commission at the national level
在国家层面成立流域综合管理委员会
MoWR
SEPA
NDRC
IRBM
commission
Coordination & control of regulations, policies and planning with respect to IRBM of MoWR, SEPA and NDRC
统一协调水利部、国家环保总局和国家发改委有关流域性的法规、政策与规划
水利部国家环保总局
国家发改委
国家流域综合管理委员会
Legislation
-Eliminate contradictions of existing Laws, including, Environmental Protection Law, Water Pollution Prevention and Treatment Law, Soil Erosion Control Law, Flood Control Law, Fishery Law, National Reserves Management Regulation
修订已有法律中不协调的条款 ,包括《环境保护法》、《水污染防治法》、《水土保持法》、《防洪法》、《渔业法》、《自然保护区管理条例等》。
Stakeholder and public participation利益相关方与公众参与
- Access to information -信息发布与共享
- Establishment of a Development and Conservation Forum
-建立流域发展与保护论坛
- Community engagement in IRBM implementation
-社区参与流域管理项目实施
- Education -教育与公众意识
Economic and incentive measures经济手段与激励机制
-Implementation of the “polluter pays” principle and “nature compensation” principles
-贯彻实施“污染者付费”与“生态补偿”原则
-Compensation mechanisms at the river basin level
-建立流域尺度生态补偿机制
-Valuation of ecosystem services -生态系统服务功能评估
-Develop new market mechanisms for alternative land use
-开发新的市场机制
-From “water pricing” towards “environmental pricing”
-从“水资源价格”到“水环境价格”
将流域综合管理理念与行动纳入国家十一五计划
Suggestions how to proceed推进流域综合管理的近期工作
-Stimulate international academic co-operation focusing on filling knowledge gaps when IRBM is put into practice
-Integrate IRBM into next national five year plan (2006-2010)
At National Level:
开展进一步研究，弥补实施建议的科技与知识差距
在国家层面 :
In response to the new challenges confronting the protection and development of the Yangtze, the relevant departments and agencies under the Central government together with the governments of the 11 provinces, autonomous regions and unicipalities along the Yangtze mainstream, as well as domestic and international organizations, have jointly launched, in February 2005, the initiative of the First Yangtze Forum themed with "Protection and Development".
This initiative aims to create a dialogue and exchange platform to promote active participation of all the stakeholders and the whole society as well as international organizations in collaborative efforts to protect, manage and develop the Yangtze River and to ensure the healthy Yangtze for our future generations.
Yangtze Forum (2005)
WHERE ARE WE NOW?
Yangtze Forum – Organising comittee
Advisor GeneralQian Zhengying, former Vice-Chairwoman, Chinese People’s Political Consultation Conference (CPPCC), Academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering
AdvisorsQu Geping, Vice Chairman of CCICED, former Chairman of the NPC’s Environment and Resources Protection Committee Yang Zhenhuai, former Minister of Water Resources, Vice Chairman of the NPC’s Agricultural and Rural Committee
Honorable ChairmenWang Shucheng, Minister of Water Resources (MWR)Xie Zhenhua, Minister of State Environment Protection Administration (SEPA)Zhou Shengxian, Minister of State Forestry Administration (SFA) Chen Yiyu, President of National Natural Science Foundation of ChinaClaude Martin, Secretary General, WWF
ChairwomanCai Qihua, Commissioner, CWRC
Vice ChairmenGao Bo, Director, Department of International Cooperation, Science & Technology, MWRLiu Hongzhi, Deputy Director, Department of Pollution Control, SEPAWei Diansheng, Director, Department of Afforestation, SPAJim Harkness, Country Representative, WWF China ProgrammeDong Zheren, President, GWP (China) Technical Advisory CommitteeMa Jianhua, Chief Engineer, CWRC
WHERE ARE WE NOW?
Yellow River Forum (2003)
ORGANIZER
Yellow River Conservancy Commission (YRCC), Ministry of Water Resources, P.R. China
SPONSORS
WWF (World Wide Fund For Nature)Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID)
EU-China River Basin Management ProgramInternational Network of Basin Organizations (INBO)Global Water Partnership (GWP)
International Water Resources Association (IWRA)International Economic Technical Cooperation and Exchange Centre, MWR (IETCEC, MWR)
Yellow River Research Association(YRRA)
China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research (IWHR)Nanjing Hydraulic Research Institute (NHRI)
WHERE ARE WE NOW?
WHERE ARE WE NOW?
Firm set of laws…
strengthen the administrative rights of river basin management organizations in order to improve the implementation of water conservation and management measures
…but regulation and implementation…
WHERE ARE WE NOW?
Yangtze and Yellow river Fora:dialogue with
stakeholders and sciences
MEP:Public hearings
But…WHICH stakeholders? WHAT science?
…pressing need for social sciences to get involved and create dialogue but government less anxious…
WHERE ARE WE NOW?
Means are allocated
BUT…
NRDC still holds sway over large hydropower projects
MWR still technological fix thinking…
WHERE ARE WE NOW?
Much cooperation and exchange
BUT…
Will it be swift enough? Will it be robust enough? …
WHERE ARE WE NOW?
The role of both fora is influencial but advising. Basin Commissions still unisectoral although comprehensive integral plans are drafted for Yellow, Yangtze and other basins and lake systems – Dongting Lake
A major challenge will be effective cooperation and involvement of civil society how to organise civil stakeholders in a non-democratic governing system
WHERE ARE WE NOW?
Major challenges
- Accountability and transparency- Coordination capacity- Education of staff- Water pricing mechanisms
WHERE ARE WE NOW?
WHERE ARE WE NOW?
DIFFERENT…
… BUT ALSO THE SAME
Snacks at Beijing food marketStudents looking for a room, work, …