China's total installed capacity of small hydropower stations has reached more than 40 million kilowatts, about half of the world's total.

The number of small hydropower stations in China has increased to more than 40,000, supplying electricity for some 300 million rural residents, according to the 2nd Hydropower for Today Forum held on Sunday in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province.

About 660,000 people work in the small hydropower sector and there are over 80 factories manufacturing small hydropower equipment across the country, according to the forum.

But hydropower experts also said that rapid development of small hydropower has resulted in an urgent need for the country to carry out an overall assessment of its hydroenergy resources.

More than 300 officials and experts from home and abroad attended the forum, which was jointly sponsored by six Chinese and international organizations including China's Ministry of Water Resources, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization and the International Network on Small Hydropower.

(Xinhua News Agency April 24, 2006)