Addressing China's Water Scarcity: A Synthesis of Recommendations for Selected Water Resource Management Issues

For years, water shortages, water pollution, and flooding have constrained growth and affected public health and welfare in many parts of China. Given continuing economic trends and population growth, the pressures on the country's water resources are likely to worsen. The widening gap between water supply and demand, along with deteriorating water quality caused by widespread pollution, suggests that a severe water scarcity crisis is emerging.'Addressing China's Water Scarcity' addresses the emerging water crisis and the need for China to reform and strengthen its water resource management framework. It covers key issues including water governance, water rights, water pricing and affordability, watershed ecological compensation, water pollution control, and emergency preventions, and it identifies the measures needed to effectively move forward in these areas. In line with the broad strategy of developing a market economy, the book concludes that the focus of the reform needs to be on clarifying the role of and relationship among the government, markets, and society; improving the efficiency and effectiveness of water maangement institutions, strengthening the compliance and enforcement of water pollution control; and fully embracing and using market-based instruments as much as possible.