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The pulp and paper sector has been a significant source of water pollution in China for many years. The Chinese government has made great efforts on water pollution control for the pulp and paper sector. While actively participating in various international treaties and conventions related to environmental management and pollution control in this sector, China has created a comprehensive environmental management framework, including several environmental policies, regulations and standards. This study reviews the current environmental framework for the management and control of water pollutants generated by the pulp and paper industry in China, with reference to relevant experiences. Apart from assessing the achievements that China has made, this study proposes some recommendations to further enhance water pollution control capacity and facilitate effective legal enforcement. Approaches such as improvements to environmental standards and permit systems, technical upgrading, cleaner production strategy, environmental monitoring improvements, integration of financing channels for environmental improvement, and enhancement of social responsibilities of enterprises are addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on whether the 'One River, One Policy' is implemented or not, this paper used the questionnaire data of village (community) river chiefs in nine districts and counties under the jurisdiction of Jinhua City, Zhejiang Province, and used the Difference-In-Differences Model to carry out an empirical analysis. The findings are threefold. Firstly, the 'One River, One Policy' implemented by primary river chiefs can improve the water quality of the river reaches in their charge. Secondly, annual river patrol times and public support can improve the water quality of the river reaches in charge of primary river chiefs. Thirdly, the River Chief System (RCS) can promote the treatment of river pollution under 'Responsibility Contracting', but for primary river chiefs, there is still a suspicion of whitewash pollution control behavior, so whether to establish a longterm mechanism of the RCS is still uncertain. The purpose of this paper is to provide empirical support and decision-making reference for constructing the positive incentive mechanism of the behavior of primary river chiefs in the reconstruction of the RCS, which has important practical significance for effectively improving the RCS and comprehensively promoting the Chinese experiences of river pollution control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper constructs a green development efficiency index framework of water-energy-food in China, and uses the Super-EBM model to measure it more accurately and scientifically. The existing studies on water-energy-food efficiency lack the analysis of regional differential decomposition and spatial state transition. In this paper, two kinds of models are used for complementary analysis. One is kernel density map, Dagum spatial Gini coefficient decomposition and traditional Markov chain, which does not contain spatial factors. The other is the global Moran index, spatial Markov chain and spatial spillover effect, including spatial factors. The spatio-temporal dynamic evolution of the green development efficiency of water-energy-food (GWEF) in China is compared from the perspective of national, regional and provincial dimensions. The conclusion is more scientific and comprehensive, which is conducive to the green collaborative development among water-energy-food, economy and environment in China. The study found that GWEF had a lot of room for improvement. The overall spatial difference was mainly derived from the regional difference. GWEF had a significant positive spatial autocorrelation. The development of GWEF maintained the convergence characteristics of clubs. The spatial spillover effect of the main influencing factors was studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study on the risk of Cretaceous water inrush in the Ordos Basin in China is of great significance to the safe production and environmental protection of the western coal seam. This paper selects the following five key influencing factors for Cretaceous water inrush: the coal seam mining thickness, rock quality designation, distance between the top boundary of the waterconducting fracture zone and the bottom boundary of the Cretaceous system, the thickness of the Cretaceous aquifer, and the height of the water head. Furthermore, based on an analysis of geological and hydrogeological conditions of the Yingpanhao coal mine, the comprehensive weights of these factors were found using a fuzzy analytic hierarchy process and the entropy method (FAHP-EM) to be 0.27, 0.25, 0.22, 0.08, and 0.18, respectively. This paper describes the use of ArcGIS's spatial overlay analysis to create a risk assessment zoning map using these weightings. By comparing the evaluation results of the FAHP-EM and the water inrush coefficient method, it is shown that the FAHP-EM provides additional insight in assessing the risk of coal seam roof water inrush. The research results of this paper provide a theoretical basis for coal mining safety in western China to assess water inrush. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional flood simulations fail to properly consider the impact of soil infiltration in floodplain areas with high soil infiltration rates. Notably, ignoring soil infiltration will lead to considerable uncertainty in flood simulations. In this paper, a fully hydrodynamic model coupled with the Green-Ampt infiltration model was used. Taking a natural reach in northern China (HTH in this paper) as a case study, observed flood discharge data were used to analyze the influence of soil infiltration on flood propagation based on the flood propagation simulation results for various inflow conditions. The maximum difference of inundation area is about 25%. The results show that soil infiltration has little effect on the inundation area during the rising stage of a flood. In the late period of a flood, the inundation area considering the effect of infiltration is smaller than that without infiltration, and the smaller the peak coefficient is, the longer the flood duration is, the larger the impact of infiltration on the inundation area. When the peak shape coefficient is 0.42 and the flood duration is 44.4 h, the maximum difference of the inundation area is about 28%. The research results provide a reference for flood management and post-disaster rescue efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Achieving high-quality economic development under the new development pattern has become an inevitable requirement for China’s economic development. Correctly calculating the value of water resources and optimizing the price mechanism of water resources is one of the important guarantees for promoting the high-quality development of the regional economy. Based on this fact, this paper takes Hubei Province as an example to construct a coupling relationship model between water resources and economic high-quality development and to evaluate the coupling coordination between the two. And then, the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation model is used to evaluate the value of water resources in Hubei Province, and recalculate its water price. The results show that Hubei province now is a lagging development of water resources, and the current water price is far lower than assessed. The government should improve the mechanism of water price which should be driven by innovation to adjust the water use structure, finally achieve high-quality economic development of Hubei Province. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the acceleration of urbanization, the demand for water, energy and food (WEF) keeps increasing. However, the infrastructure construction leads to a sharp decline of cultivated land, water area and forest land, so the importance of ecological space management should be recognized. Based on ecological footprint theory, this paper proposes the WEF footprint and first attempts to explicitly examine the relationship between economic growth and WEF footprint by investigating the existence of an Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC). GLS regression and the LOWESS model are used to explore the economic growth and WEF footprint nexus in the eight economic zones and the three regions of China. The results indicate that besides the traditional EKC shapes, an M-shape exists, and the proportion of the M-shape curve (12.5%) is lower than the traditional EKC (87.5%). The results showed that the LOWESS model may be more conducive to reflect the real relationship between economic growth and WEF footprint. According to the analysis, the policy suggestions are put forward to promote the sustainable development of the water-energy-food system. In addition, the study can provide some ideas for solving the contradiction of land use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The integrated agricultural water pricing reform (IAWPR) is by far the most systematic, complex and longest reform in the agricultural sector of China. It has lasted for decades from the stage of reform exploration to the current reform development. IAWPR can effectively address resourced price distortion and promote rational allocation of agricultural water resources. By improving China’s agricultural water pricing mechanism, government agricultural subsidy mechanism, water-saving incentive mechanism, operation and management (O&M) mechanism of irrigation systems and water quota mechanism, the reform will promote water conservation in agriculture and ensure the effective operation of irrigation systems. It is a major strategic decision made by the Chinese government to address the water security challenges facing sustainable development. This paper reviews the course of the reform, introduces the policy design, key tasks and implementation of the reform, and takes Jiangsu Province as an example to demonstrate the effect of the reform, but also discusses the problems existing in the reform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on the adoption behavior of water efficiency labeling is of great significance for improving citizens’ water-saving consciousness and promoting water-saving techniques and standards. This study sorted out 559 papers about adoption behavior and then systematically analyzed the origin and research progress of water efficiency labeling in different fields. Finally, related theories and empirical analysis are integrated, and a research framework of ‘gold ingot’ that focuses on adoption behavior is constructed. The study found that the research mainly involves three contents in the current: adoption behavior of corporate users, adoption behavior of rural households and adoption behavior of individual users. Based on the above literature analysis, this study proposes a theoretical framework for research on the adoption behavior of water efficiency labeling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The deficiency of China’s current pollution discharge permit system lies in the failure to improve the water quality effectively. This paper discusses the premise that the water quality of a water environmental functional zone (WEFZ) is mostly affected by industrial pollution sources. By reviewing the related policy, we noted the link between total emission control, effluent limitations and pollutant discharge permits us to configure a practical framework for pollutant discharge permits based on water quality. China’s pollutant discharge permit system provides an administrative foundation for reducing polluters’ total emissions at the scale of the WEFZ, and it is best implemented through the imposition of limitations on polluters to identify the related treatment technology levels. Owing to the importance of limitations, the methodology of limitation classification and the related treatment technology classification are presented for the pesticide industry. Additionally, a comprehensive analysis of the pollutant reduction potential for the pesticide industry is conducted to determine the current level of sewage treatment. More importantly, this study offers an innovative way to investigate pollutant reduction potential and provides an example that may be useful to other key industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fish migrate up and down streams for reproduction in both sea and freshwater ecosystems over their life cycle. Over the last decades, fish passages have been provided to mitigate the adverse impacts induced by barriers. However, what is the proper type of fish passage and how to guarantee the effectiveness of operation are still under discussion. In this paper, global and China's policies on fish passages are reviewed. The development and main contents of relevant instruments are analyzed. The similarities and differences between China and foreign countries are compared, and issues in the fish protection and fish passages' management in China are identified. The results show that global policies on fish passages varied from local governments to continents. The design, operation, and management of fish passages are popular throughout the world. Duplication of authorities' responsibilities is the most critical issue in China. The paper recommends implementing a plan of environmental protection at watershed scale, and strengthening the monitoring of fish passages' operation and management. Further development directions of policies on fish passages' management have been proposed. The paper may help facilitate national policies on fish passages by integrating the effective measures of global experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The water commonweal propaganda is an important measure to promote citizens' water resource conservation and water-saving behavior. Based on Amos 21.0, this paper adopts structural equation models, through variable extraction and path construction, to explore the mechanisms of how water commonweal propaganda influences citizens' water-saving behavior. The research investigates the case of China's water commonweal propaganda. The results show that: (1) when the same propaganda forms and channels are adopted, the impact of different water commonweal propaganda content on citizens' watersaving behavior is significantly different; (2) with the same water commonweal propaganda content, different propaganda forms and channels have different impacts on citizens' water-saving behavior. Therefore, selecting appropriate propaganda forms and channels for the water commonweal propaganda can significantly improve their impact on citizens' water-saving behaviors. The research aims to provide theoretical support and practical basis for China's follow-up water commonweal propaganda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ensuring food security in China is the primary task in solving the problems of 'agriculture, countryside, and farmers'. Based on Chinese provincial panel data from 2009 to 2018, this paper evaluates the impact of a water rights trading pilot policy (WRTPP) on food security and examines its underlying mechanism. To overcome the estimation bias existing in previous studies, we use the difference-in-differences method, which can separate time effects from policy treatment effects and is an effective tool to compare the effect before and after policy implementation. We, therefore, use this method to evaluate the net effect of the WRTPP on food security. It is found that the WRTPP can help ensure food security. This effect reaches its maximum in the fourth year after the policy's implementation. It is further found that the WRTPP can improve the adoption of agricultural water-saving irrigation technology to increase the grain yield. Our conclusions complement existing evidence on the factors influencing food security. From the perspective of improving farmers' water-saving irrigation technology, we confirm that the mechanism of the water rights trading pilot policy helps ensure food security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clarifying the impact of psychological ownership on public participation in transboundary eco-compensation will contribute to compensation transforming from the current government-led economic incentive mode to the normative guidance of effective public participation, which is of great significance to transboundary management of water resources. From the perspective of social psychology, this paper uses a double hurdle model, empirically analyzes the impact of psychological ownership on public participation, and explores the internal laws and driving mechanisms of behavior. Results show the willingness to participate mainly depends on the public's judgment of self-ability and their own responsibility and values, while the degree of participation depends on the judgment and grasp of self-governance ability. The more they agree that protecting the environment is the responsibility and obligation of citizens, the lower their willingness to pay. China's long-term 'government-led environmental governance' mode has led to the formation of a serious government dependence psychology among the public. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is distinct from existing studies on water resources carrying capacity which usually use dimensionless data to represent trend and status of water resources carrying capacity. Here, on the grounds of the most stringent water resource management system and following the principles of water determining population, water determining city scale, water determining production and so on, water resources carrying capacity prediction model was established. The water resources carrying capacity was represented by population, which can directly reflect the status of water resources. Under the rigid constraints of water use quantity and water use efficiency, six scenarios were set to predict China's maximum population in 2030. The results demonstrated that the maximum population in each scenario is close to 1.45 billion of National Population Development Plan. It means water resources rigid constraints can support population and economic growth at the socio-economic development current pace and path. Total water use quantity will not break through the limit of 800-900 billion m3 when achieving the expected goals of social and economic development, not even more than 700 billion m3. Meanwhile, in order to relieve water resources stress, to improve water resources carrying capacity, and to accelerate construction of a water-saving society, some suggestions were put forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydropower is a clean, low-carbon renewable energy source with the merits of mature technology and flexible operation. Moreover, hydropower plants provide comprehensive utilization functions in many areas, including flood control, shipping, and emission reduction. In the current contradictive situation between power supply and demand, China's hydropower grid pricing mechanism does not reflect the positive externality of hydropower, which is not conducive to fair competition between hydropower and other power sources. This study proposed the concept of the positive external electricity price (PEEP) and a pricing mechanism that considered, for the first time, the values of hydropower positive externality factors by using the positive externality theory. A representative quasi-public welfare power plant of the Sichuan power grid was used to empirically evaluate the model. The pricing mechanism of reservoir power plants proposed in this paper considered the power grid benefits, flood control benefits, shipping benefits, and emission reduction benefits of hydropower, and allowed for the internalization of the positive externality. The hydropower grid prices based on our recommendations did not cause a dramatic impact on the local power grid; furthermore, the model helped promote the social responsibility of power companies through the pricing guidance for improving economic benefits by increasing positive externalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The determination of the total amount of water pollutant emission in different regions is a difficult problem faced by managers and researchers. Previous studies mostly focused on operability and fairness with little attention paid to local water quality. In order to make total emission pollutant control (TEPC) truly serve the improvement of water quality, a water total emission pollutant allocation model was built based on water environmental carrying capacity (WECC) in this paper. This model was used to construct a water pollutant emission control allocation scheme for 28 cities in Henan Province, China. The results showed that the chemical oxygen demand (COD) reduction rates for these cities ranged from 16.8 to 38.6% and ammonia-nitrogen (NH3-N) reduction rates ranged from 5.7 to 43.5% in 2020, which were different from the previous targets for these cities without considering their current status of water quality. The largest COD reduction rates for different types of point sources (industrial, urban, and large-scale livestock sources) were 35.4%, 39.0%, and 38.0%, respectively, and the largest NH3-N reduction rates were 62.2%, 42.5%, and 43.5%, respectively. This study solves the problem of long-term disconnection between TEPC and water quality improvement in China. The results can also be applied to implement the TEPC to improve water quality in other regions with a similar problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, frequent urban drinking water contamination accidents have caused significant impacts on society in China. However, emergency measures are primarily realized as management policies lack systematic technologies especially for those within-network contamination accidents. The aim of this paper is to perform analysis on cases of contaminant accidents that occurred in water distribution networks and to propose a framework of emergency response technologies. The causes, impacts, and characteristic trends of urban water supply contamination accidents are analysed according to the data of eighteen typical contamination cases that have been publicly reported in China since 2003. The results show that the main problems for rapid response to those accidents are: (1) limited monitoring means; (2) lag in response, especially the lag in providing an explanation to the public; and (3) lag in recovery from the accident. To solve those problems, a framework of technological strategy for rapid response to contamination accidents including monitoring, identifying, evaluation, isolation and flushing is then proposed. Since drinking water contamination accidents are not a unique problem that only happens in China, the response policy and related technologies proposed in this paper are also applicable to other countries and regions that face the same problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Groundwater, as an important store of freshwater, plays a more critical role in sustaining the ecosystem and enhancing human adaptation to changing climate than surface water. In particular, it can store large volumes of water to naturally buffer the pressure of water shortage against seasonal changes in rainfall. However, groundwater itself is also vulnerable to climate change, showing a great change in hydrologic cycle. Therefore, effective groundwater management has a strategic importance for China's water security. At present, China is facing a groundwater crisis because of the dual effects of natural and anthropogenic factors. Many new ideas and solutions have been given in previous studies on groundwater utilization and management. This paper vividly captures these studies. The paper summarizes groundwater properties and the situation of groundwater development and utilization. The paper also reports challenges, strategies and policies in groundwater sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a clean and renewable energy, hydropower holds an important place in energy development for every country. China has the richest hydropower resources with 541 GW technical exportable installed capacity, a 17% global share. Hydropower is a key point of energy conservation and comprehensive utilization of resources to ensure the sustainable development strategy of China. This paper investigates the hydropower development of China and provides a summary of the current situation of the development. Over the past 100 years, China's hydropower developed tremendously. The total installed capacity of hydropower is 341.19 GW by the end of 2017 and the installed capacity of small hydropower is 79.27 GW. By the end of June 2018, 33 pumped-storage power stations had been constructed and 32 are under construction. The total installed capacity of pumped-storage power is 72.64 GW. More development will be achieved in the next decades according to China's development strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water quality evaluation is fundamental for water resources management. In this study, a water quality index (WQI) was constructed to evaluate water quality in an estuary region. First, principal component analysis and the Bartlett method were used to select more important water quality parameters from multivariables. Second, quality curves and weights of selected parameters were assigned, and then WQI scores were calculated. The WQI method was applied to the Eastern Pearl River Delta in China as a case study. Results showed that water quality in the upstream area and the coastal region was better than in the central delta, with an average WQI of 72, 55 and 14, respectively. Results further revealed that water quality in the coastal region was more variable (the standard variation of WQIs is near 20) due to more rapid changes in hydrologic features, while water quality in the inland area was more stable (the standard variation is around 10). Comparison between the WQI and fuzzy evaluation methods indicated the reliability of the WQI method. This WQI method can evaluate water quality in the estuarine delta area well, and statistical techniques used in this paper can be applied in different geographical areas considering their specific characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is a country of agriculture, and agricultural production consumes a great deal of water. In this paper, we quantify the provincial food production water footprint (WF) in China during 1997-2011, and then analyze its change trend by the method LMDI (Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index). The results indicate the following. (1) China's food production WF increased during 1997-2011 as a whole. The food production WFs at the provincial level are obviously different. (2) The main reason for the change of WF of food production in China related to the virtual water content and total food production. As for the changes of food production WFs for each province, they were not always in accordance with the total food production. For example, in Guizhou, Qinghai, Sichuan, and other provinces, the food production WFs grew while total food production declined, thus indicating strong negative decoupling. Thus, it is necessary to take the measure of agricultural products' transportation 'green channel' to promote the development of domestic food trade and virtual water trade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public participation in water conservation projects is gaining more and more attention in the information era. Public opinion, showing the focus and interests of the public, is the basis of public participation. This paper proposes a social sensing system based on social media platforms, which employs two natural language processing technologies, namely, sentiment analysis and topic modeling. The public opinion on water conservation projects is monitored from three perspectives: public opinion intensity (POI) monitoring, topic detection, and sentiment analysis. To test their effectiveness, a case study on the South-to-North Water Transfer Project (SNWTP) in China is conducted. The public opinion data were acquired from Sina Weibo, China's largest social media platform. The results indicate that: (1) POI peaks when hot project-related events occur, and POI of direct stakeholders apparently exceeds indirect stakeholders; (2) different stakeholders have different topics of concern closely associated with their interests; (3) negative events always lead to dramatic decreases in the sentiment value (SV), while positive events only slightly lift SV. The proposed system has achieved real-time monitoring of the public opinion on water conservation projects. Consequently, it can help to improve the level of public participation and provide a valuable reference in project management and policy-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Groundwater is an important water source to support China's economic and social development. Since the 1970s, China, especially the north region, has started to intensively pump groundwater as a water supply for agricultural irrigation, industry and city expansion. To meet the water demand due to the rapid development of the economy and society, groundwater is continuously and disorderly exploited to a great extent for a prolonged time in some regions in China, besides faulty operation and management, and insufficient emphasis on protection, which leads to severe problems of groundwater over-exploitation and contamination. In recent years, the Chinese government has attached great importance to groundwater protection. This paper illustrates the general ideas and strategies of groundwater protection and management in China from the aspects of over-exploitation control, quality protection, water ecosystem protection, and implementation of the strictest water management systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water pollution is becoming an increasing threat to China's sustainable development. To respond to this challenge, China has pledged to cut emissions of two major water pollutants, chemical oxygen demand (COD) and ammonia nitrogen (NH4), and has disaggregated the national target among provinces. However, the abatement potential and costs have not been thoroughly assessed. This paper aims to examine the reduction potential and associated costs of COD and NH4 in the Chinese industrial sector. A parametric directional distance function is applied to modeling joint production, in which COD and NH4 are treated simultaneously as byproducts of the production process. Using provincial data from 2003 to 2012, we find that 13.18% of COD and 13.27% of NH4 can be reduced if all provinces perform efficiently. The average abatement cost to cut one additional unit of COD and NH4 is 710 and 7,390 Yuan/kg, respectively. The abatement cost is significantly correlated with the economic development level, pollution intensity and capital-labor ratio. Our results call for a market-based instrument, such as an Emission Trading System, to assist China in achieving this environmental goal in a cost-effective way. Moreover, it will become more difficult and costly to control COD, while there still exists a 'win-win' opportunity to control NH4 emissions through efficiency improvements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water reuse is a cost-effective solution that is carried out in many water-shortage countries on different levels. China, which is the most populous country in the world, is facing a serious water crisis, with great demand and feasibility to use reclaimed water to deal with freshwater shortage and pollution. Although much progress has been made, challenges and problems still exist, which hinder the development of the water reuse market. Accordingly, a strategy should be made from a sustainable use perspective. In this paper, the driving forces, the situations of applications, the social institutions and cultural backgrounds related to water reuse in China are reviewed and presented by a literature review and survey. The obstacles and challenges are discussed from management system, safety of reclaimed water quality, economy and policy perspectives. Beijing and Tianjin are selected for case studies in some aspects. Through review and analysis, it can be concluded that the management system, price system, safe supply of reclaimed water and supported policy are the main factors affecting the development of water reuse in China. The paper also identifies strategies for further sustainable and safe water reuse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given that climate change is likely to exacerbate drought in certain parts of the world, a critical issue is how appropriate context-relevant drought policy can be developed and implemented. This paper examines how China is developing policies to help local communities in the Lancang River Basin to cope with the problems of climate variability and change. The research process includes (a) content analysis of relevant policies at different levels of administration and (b) stakeholder interviews to examine how effective policies are at the local level along the Lancang River in Yunnan province. The paper concludes that China needs to provide more emphasis on (a) enhancing the adaptive capacity of institutions and individuals, (b) drought risk rather than disaster management, (c) enhancing coordination between different departments and levels of government, (d) decentralization in policymaking as local governments can make context-relevant comprehensive policies more easily and are less hierarchical in their relationships, (e) involving farmers or other stakeholders in decision making, (f) building up grass root organizations to support policy implementation to compensate for the retreat of governmental organizations from the local level and (g) adopting market mechanisms which are still in a nascent stage now. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the dynamic interface of state-water users' relationships in large-scale surface irrigation in India and China, to inquire to what extent the issues encountered in large-scale irrigation management and governance are independent of regime characteristics. Though operating in very different overall political regimes, China and India exhibit strong similarities in the way a central state has attempted to relate with local water users, in the types of policy instruments deployed to shape that relationship, and in the problems encountered. Both China and India have a long history of state involvement in irrigation management. Both saw massive expansion after the late 1940s. The state then tried to extend its control in response to 'underutilisation' of the created infrastructure, revenue shortfalls and perceived inefficiencies and yield gaps. In recent decades the policy approaches have, at least rhetorically, emphasised water users' self-management and governance, including financial self-management/cost recovery. In both countries the instrument for this has been Water User Associations. Results have been mixed, to say the least, on all counts. Larger institutional and policy characteristics adhering to the problematic of the state-user interface subvert stated reform objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Severe water pollution is among the top policy priorities in both China and India. This paper undertakes a comparative case analysis to examine efforts in combating river pollution in two major rivers - the Yangtze in China and the Ganga in India. Our analysis suggests that efforts in combating river pollution in the two Asian giants have encountered substantial challenges, such as the lack of comprehensive legal mechanisms to control pollution at the basin level, the lack of coordination among multiple government agencies, and significant gaps in policy implementation. Our analysis also points out considerable differences between China and India in institutional structure, regulatory approaches and policy instruments in dealing with river pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water rights are widely regarded as a crucial component to enhance efficient water use and for meeting a country's water resource challenges. This article presents a framework for analyzing and comparing the similarities as well as differences of the water rights systems between India and China. The article relies on the method of document research and comparative analysis to compare general characteristics of India and China's water rights systems based on six evaluation indicators and evaluation principles. Using this analytical framework, this paper compares the implementation effects of the water rights systems in terms of the degree of meeting water resources demand, conflict-resolution means and the protection of water resources. Our findings provide insights for the reformation of the water rights systems and bring out lessons that other developing countries can learn from India and China's experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to alleviate the water supply-demand problem, a flood resource utilization strategy is proposed, called 'Flood Utilization'. The strategy focuses on building large-scale water conservancy facilities and improving management measures. This paper presents the probability analysis of floodwater utilization in a confluence area, where a tributary joins a main river. Baicheng is used as the study area, where the Taoer River joins the Nenjiang River. After a large number of analyses, the main results and conclusions are as follows: First, the upper limit of available floodwater corresponds to the Taoer River's flood with a 5% probability of occurrence. Secondly, there are compensation characteristics between the two rivers which mean that the Nenjiang River can supply water to the Taoer River area. The analysis of monthly runoff, shows that there are compensation characteristics in 50.9% of the data period. The compensation rates (CRs) for the months from June to October are 0.2, 0.27, 0.25, 0.27, and 0.2, respectively. Thirdly, the differences in the runoff characteristics show that it is suitable for floodwater utilization. Finally, it is proposed that floodwater utilization measures are based on local conditions, such as the regional water storage characteristics and the runoff characteristics of the two rivers, and should be applied for different periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The basic water resources management system in China is a planned water use system which plays a very important role in managing the country's water resources. This paper describes the water resources allocation framework, which is the basis of the planned water use system framework in China. The planned water use system is developed to manage real-time water resources development and utilization, implemented through a series of water resources use plans, including annual water resources regulation plans, annual water abstraction plans and annual/seasonal water use plans at different spatial levels. Both technically and managerially, the planned water use system in China requires the establishment of spatial, temporal and water resource consistencies. Using the Yellow River as a case study, this paper demonstrates the application of the system at three levels in the basin. Finally, combined with the implementation progress, the paper provides recommendations to promote and improve planned water use system implementation in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drought is one of the most harmful natural hazards in the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River basin (URYR) in the mid-west part of China. Alterations in precipitation will affect the severity of drought. The nonparametric Mann-Kendall (MK) test was used in this paper to examine the trend of precipitation and the standardized precipitation index (SPI) was adopted to analyze the spatial-temporal variations of meteorological drought over different time scales in the last 50 years. The MK test value of precipitation indicated that, for most of the URYR showed an increasing trend of precipitation in the months of January, February, March and June, mainly in the Min-Tuojiang, Jialingjiang and Wujiang sub-basins and a decreasing trend was observed in August to December. The most obvious decreasing trend of precipitation occurred in the Jialingjiang, upper mainstream and Wujiang sub-basins in September, with a rate ranging from -7.89mm/10 years to -39.36mm/10 years. The results show that the SPI is applicable in the URYR basin. The number of severe droughts differed among the six sub-basins, i.e., a more obvious 3-month drought takes place in the middle of the upper mainstream, Wujiang sub-basins and the southeast of Jialingjiang sub-basin and other droughts in 6, 9 and 12 month timescales have the same effect in these three sub-basins. The outcomes of the paper could provide references for droughts mitigation, local water resources management and agriculture decision making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A key issue in water resources management in China is the adoption of a total volume control framework of water supply at a regional level corresponding to socioeconomic development. This requires more efficient water demand management in order to achieve a balance between water supply and demand. The purpose of this paper is to conduct a thorough analysis of the water use structure of production sectors in order to identify the major impact factors and thus provide insights for demand management policy design. Taking Jiangsu Province as a case study, we compile a series of extended input-output (I-O) tables at a constant price and establish an I-O structural decomposition model. The major factors leading to change in water use by production sectors (primary, secondary and tertiary) in the Jiangsu Province during five time periods from 1997-2010 are categorized into structure effect, water use efficiency effect, and demand effect for each of three levels: (1) aggregated sectors, (2) sub-aggregated sectors, and (3) individual sectors. Within the study period, the demand effect consistently leads to an increase in water utilization and the increase effect becomes weaker over time, while the other two factors consistently lead to a decrease in water utilization and their dampening effect becomes stronger. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to achieve a more sustainable mode of development, the government of China declared its intention to build a harmonious socialist society, and the Ministry of Water Resources (MWR) proposed 'human-water harmony'. However, some problems still exist in China's water resources management (CWRM), which affect management performance and trigger acute water crisis. Nowadays, the human-water relationship in China is disharmonious and the relationship between human activities and water resources has entered into a vicious cycle. This paper concluded that achieving human-water harmony is a necessary and rational pathway to solve China's water problems on the basis of reviewing the development course of CWRM. In order to achieve human-water harmony in China, many impressive efforts both in terms of policies and measures have been made. Ultimately, they pointed out that human-water harmony can be achieved through our tireless efforts as long as people hold the belief that the idea of 'human-water harmony' is the first and the foremost way to deal with the contradiction between human activities and water resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A co-governance program for five waters (CPFW), including sewage treatment, flood prevention, drainage, water supply and saving, is an innovative concept in water resource management. It includes current and near future system projects and advanced management policies for water utilization and protection. In this paper, the scientific connotation of CPFW is explained by multidisciplinary theory. Based on current guidance and technology, evaluation targets and water management countermeasures are specified. Combining hydraulic engineering and their characteristics, operable approaches for CPFW are suggested for projects' designation and construction. These approaches of CPFW are applied in a typical area. Systematic projects are composed of sewage interception projects, efficient water supply projects and hydraulic projects with ecological engineering. With the guidance of CPFW, all projects are connected together and their integrated benefits are evaluated in water saving, sewage drainage, increase in environmental capacity and ensuring security. The results show the CPFW is valuable and available both in theory and in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mass media are important sources of information about water issues that significantly influence civil life. This paper presents a content analysis approach to contextualize the water issues reporting of the People's Daily. The intent of our approach is to uncover the reporting pattern of water issues and the relationship between government policies and their news reports. Using the newspaper with the second widest circulation in China, the content analysis approach reveals that the document frequency of water issues had shown a flat trend since the 1970s. Water-related articles were given more significance by providing additional front pages. The results suggest that newspapers have been focusing more on the recreational function and protection of water since the 1980s. The results also show that there was a relative shortage of coverage on certain types of water-related central government documents. Lacking persistence was another feature of policy propaganda. These factors could work against public engagement in water issues and undermine the public's understanding of and confidence in water management measures. We believe these results could help water resource managers to interpret media content of water issues and improve the propaganda of their policies, which would contribute to better administration of water resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low agricultural water fee collection rates are a problem commonly faced by many developing countries and this is a problem faced by China as it enters the new century. There are two main problem-solving strategies used in different areas of China: increasing the water fee collection rate, or exempting people from paying the water fee. In those areas where the first strategy is pursued, local governments adopt multiple measures to improve collection rates, such as introducing water user associations and enhancing the transparency of irrigation management. Exempting people from paying a water fee is a new strategy, adapted to China's rapid economic growth and social transition. In those areas that are exempting people from paying water fees, the financial sustainability of irrigation facilities has to be taken seriously and new farmer-level water-saving mechanisms need to be explored. In this paper, China's agricultural water fee collection dilemma is analysed from both a practical and a theoretical perspective. It is argued that China should not simply adopt a single agricultural water fee collection model and that each local government should explore policies that are appropriate for the local situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an assessment framework that analyses the impacts of climate change on the water diversion strategies of a water transfer project in China. A water diversion strategy consists of high and low water levels as well as related diversion flows in four operating periods: pre-flood, flood, post-flood and non-flood periods. The optimal water diversion problem is defined as a multi-objective problem with two conflicting objectives: minimising human and ecological water supply shortages, and solved by the popular non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II (NSGA-II). The derived Pareto- optimal solutions are then evaluated using the predicted runoffs based on an ensemble of three general circulation models under three climate scenarios. Results obtained from the study catchment show that intra-annual distribution of future runoff changes. The optimal solutions on the Pareto front have greatly varying performance under a climate scenario. It is critical to reveal the different impacts of climate change on the water shortages over the four operating periods, in particular when an increase of water shortage in one period is masked by a reduction in one or more periods. This study illustrates that the framework can be used to identify resilient water diversion strategies to mitigate the potential impacts of climate change on the operation of a water transfer project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is facing many challenges in the water sector while implementing integrated water resources management (IWRM). Another daunting task -- adapting to water-related impacts of climate change, is also challenging China's water managers. These challenges have been posing threats to China's economic, social and environmental development. While separate efforts in promoting IWRM and climate change adaptation have been made, the approach of mainstreaming climate change adaptation strategy within IWRM is seldom studied. Attempting to fill the gap, this paper argues that there is great potential in synergizing them after analysing their distinctions and common points. By developing climate-proofing strategies within IWRM, mainstreaming is able to minimize adverse water-related climate change risks and maximize the benefits of policies and plans. In this study, entry points of mainstreaming climate change adaptation in the sustaining environment of IWRM and its process will be identified and analysed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relation of hydroinformatics to modern science is considered in relation to the origins and nature of modern science itself and to the technology that has assured the predominance of the European peoples over the peoples of most of the rest of the world for some 250 years. The current increasingly rapid reversal of this predominance is introduced with special reference to Asia in general and China in particular. This reversal is seen as a consequence of a transmutation in societies generally from modern conditions to postmodern conditions. The relation between knowledge providers and knowledge consumers is then introduced and related to the advent of the Internet and further to the World Wide Web, and further again to mobile devices. It is explained that the numerical predominance of China in access to the Web and to mobile telephony has proceeded alongside Chinese government initiatives that have supported this social development. The present contribution follows upon one with the same main title that was directed specifically to the Islamic world and another directed more generally to North-East Asia. Since this paper is directed almost exclusively towards China, it traces some developments currently occurring in China that exemplify its theses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To achieve an efficient use and allocation of limited water resources and thus resolve increasing water use conflicts due to fast rising societal water demands, in 2000, the Chinese government started a management strategy of 'Construction of a Water Saving Society (WSS)'. It is guided by the principle that socio-economic development should consider the carrying capacity of the ecosystem and focuses on institutional innovation, building on the water rights concept. This paper explores the innovation process during the transition towards WSS by investigating the development course of the innovation process during the transition towards WSS, and the adaptive capacity of the existing water management regime underlying the innovation process. Accordingly, an analysis framework consisting of three types of governance activities and factors determining a regime's adaptive capacity was developed, based on the theory of transition management and adaptive governance. The Tianjin and Zhangye WSS experiments were selected for a deep understanding of local innovations. It is revealed that co-evolution of all three types of governance activities that are claimed to be essential for transition has taken place. However, the current adaptive capacity of the regime still needs further enhancement to support the transition towards the desired WSS in China. Finally, some general insights are provided for policy innovations in other political economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents two Stochastic Dynamic Programming models (SDP) to investigate the potential value of inflow forecasts with various lead times in hydropower generation. The proposed SDP frameworks generate hydropower operating policies for the Ertan hydropower station, China. The objective function maximizes the total hydropower generation with the firm capacity committed for the system. The two proposed SDP-derived operating policies are simulated using historical inflows, as well as inflow forecasts with various lead times. Four performance indicators are chosen to assist in selecting the best reservoir operating policy: mean annual hydropower production, Nash-Sutcliffe sufficiency score, reliability and vulnerability. Performances of the proposed SDP-derived policies are compared with those of other existing policies. The simulation results demonstrate that including inflow forecasts with various lead times is beneficial to the Ertan hydropower generation, and the chosen operating policy cannot only yield higher hydropower production, but also produces reasonable storage hydrographs effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with heavy pressures to save water in natural resource management due to increased water scarcity. We take the example of a Chinese watershed and investigate the water use efficiency in Chinese irrigated agriculture through a field study as dependent on investments in on-farm water saving technologies and canal water conveyance. The economic and environmental impacts of farmers adopting modern irrigation technologies and public sectors improving water transit systems are studied in particular. A spatial mathematical programming model is employed for optimization. The emphasis is on private and public investments in water saving. Water saving in a canal system enables an extension of the system and provides food and income for more farmers, The model results are of great value for policy makers and project managers, who want to optimize irrigation projects, because scenarios (for instance water and product pricing) are provided. We also provide references for farmers in applying suitable irrigation technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rising energy prices, geopolitics and concerns over the impact of greenhouse gas emissions on climate change are increasing the demand for biofuel production. At present biofuel production is estimated at 35 billion liters, accounting only for a small part (~2%) of the 1200 billion liters of annual gasoline consumption worldwide. But the contribution of biofuels to energy supply is expected to grow fast with beneficial impacts including reductions in greenhouse gasses, improved energy security and new income sources for farmers. However, biomass production for energy will also compete with food crops for scarce land and water resources, already a major constraint on agricultural production in many parts of the world. China and India, the world's two largest producers and consumers of many agricultural commodities, already face severe water limitations in agricultural production, yet both have initiated programs to boost biofuel production. This paper explores the land and water implications of increased biofuel production globally and with special focus on these two important countries, using the WATERSIM model. It concludes that, although of lesser concern at the global level, local and regional impact could be substantial. In fact, the strain on water resources would be such in China and India that it is unlikely that policy makers will pursue biofuel options, at least those based on traditional field crops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As China continues to sustain high rates of economic growth, it is important to better understand patterns of resource use within the Chinese economy and the vulnerability of its growth to resource scarcity. This paper examines relationships between two of China's scarcest resources--energy and water--focusing on the energy implications of water use. Based on an analysis of economy-wide resource flows using China's input-output tables, we draw three overarching conclusions: First, the energy used both directly and indirectly in providing non-agricultural water currently represents only a small fraction of China's total energy consumption. However, this share is set to increase as the country expands its water treatment capacity and hydraulic infrastructure. A lifecycle assessment framework for evaluating these projects would aid policymakers as they choose between more and less energy-intensive modes of water provision. Second, energy-water price interactions are currently of little relevance to policymakers because water prices are low, but the high electricity-intensity of water treatment facilities and their need to recover costs may change this situation. Third, water "migration" from agriculture to non-agricultural uses will have important energy dimensions, which will be important for policymakers to bear in mind as they design water pricing and conservation efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the extent to which private sector participation has had an impact on Shanghai's water policy since the late 1990s. This study focuses on the private sphere where private companies in the Shanghai water sector have adapted to new changes in political and economic circumstances. Recent findings based on fieldwork and data from 2000 to 2004 disclose that the Shanghai government has been committed to implementing reforms for private sector participation in the water sector. In response, private companies have actively participated in the process of privatisation. Such private sector participation, however, is unlikely to continue on a smooth path unless the Shanghai government establishes adequate legal and regulatory frameworks for private companies. The study concludes that privatisation in the Shanghai water sector will be an unavoidable process for the rationalisation of water services stimulated by the programme of economic reforms initiated in the late 1970s. But this process has been and will continue to be, balanced first by the government's role in regulating privatised water services, second by the contribution of private companies in service provision and third by the continuous interaction between the government and private companies to achieve provision of high quality water in Shanghai. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]