China steps up water conservancy efforts
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China will intensify efforts to accelerate the development of the nation's water conservancy and promote the sustainable use of water resources, a central government statement said Saturday.
China will strive to improve the country's underdeveloped water conservancy works over the next five to 10 years, said the document issued jointly by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council, China's cabinet.
"Floods and drought in recent years have exposed weaknesses in water conservancy infrastructures," the document said.
The country aims to build effective flood control and drought relief systems by the end of 2020, it said.
It will complete the harnessing of its major medium- and small-sized rivers within the next five years, during the 12th Five-year Program (2011-2015) period, said the document.
In the same five-year period, the country also aims to maintain annual water consumption at below 670 billion cubic meters.
More efforts will be made to improve water quality and irrigate farmland, it said.
The country will double average annual spending on water conservancy over the next ten years compared with that of 2010, and up to 10 percent of local land transaction fees will go to farmland irrigation projects, it said.
The central government spent 98.7 billion yuan (about 15 billion U.S.dollars) on water conservancy projects in 2010.
The government will also encourage loans to be given to and private investment in the water sector, to ensure funding for the country's water conservancy development, it said.
China will increase areas being irrigated by 40 million mu (2.68 million hectares) over the next five years, according to the document.
Further, the government seeks to complete its planned rural drinking water safety projects by 2013, it said.
Also, the country will continue its efforts to harness the Huaihe River, the downstream section of the Yellow River, and the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River over the next five years.
China will further speed up construction of the eastern and middle routes of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project already under construction, while launching the pre-construction studies of the western route, which is meant to replenish the Yellow River with water from the upper reaches of the Yangtze through tunnels in the high mountains of western China.
The South-to-North Water Diversion Project is designed to divert water from water-rich south China, mainly from the Yangtze, the country's longest river, to the country's arid northern regions. It will consist of three routes: an eastern, middle and western route. The project started with construction of the eastern route in 2002.
The government plans to work out an index system addressing water use efficiency, while intensifying the water-saving management, it said.
Also, the central government will subsidize the maintenance of public benefit water projects in the west regions and poverty-stricken areas, said the document.
China will also promote its water price scheme reforms by further implementing differentiated water pricing among industries, it said.
The cabinet urged water-administrative departments to quicken their planning during the 12th Five-year Program period.
The government vows to improve laws and regulations regarding water resources distribution, water conservation, drought relief and flood control, rural water conservancy, among others, as well as law enforcement, according to the document.
While inviting more talents, the document also urged mobilization of all social forces to participate in water conservancy efforts. It also stressed to elevate the sense of water-saving and water resources protection among the public.
Water availability per capita is only 2,220 cubic meters in China, which is one-fourth of the world average, according to the Ministry of Water Resources.
Among the total of 663 cities in China, there are more than 400 cities suffering from water shortage problems, and more than 110 cities are facing severe water shortages, according to the ministry.
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