Global Water Resources Development - Assignment Example

? Global Water Resources Development - Experience from China The South-North Water Transfer Project (SNWTP) The idea of the SNWTP was conceived during the beginning of 1950s by the Chinese Chairman Mao Zedong for transferring water from the Yangtze Kiang river in eastern China to the northern plains. The construction of the SNWTP Project officially started during the later part of 2002. There was an abundance of water in South China, while the northern part suffered from scarcity of the same. Therefore, there was a need to transfer the essential resource from the south to the north. During the late 1970’s China implemented widespread economic reforms throughout the nation. As a result, the country’s economy grew remarkably which in turn increased the national wealth. Thus, China accumulated the financial resources necessary to implement the SNWTP. (Yang and Zehnder, 2005, p.1) The northern part of China comprises of a fertile flat plain similar to that of France and Ukraine which is ideal for farming. However, this part of the country is devoid of adequate water resources. Though the Yellow, Huihe and the Haihe rivers flow through north China, these river basins are too dry for the growing of produce. In contrast, southern China has abundant sources of water but is not suitable for extensive agriculture because of its hilly terrain. Therefore, it was essential to conceive the SNWTP which provided a solution to this problem. The project is supposed to link the four main Chinese rivers – the Yangtze Kiang, the Yellow River, the Huaihe and the Haihe through three diversion routes stretching from the southern to the northern part of China across the eastern, western and central parts of the country. The SNWTP is an ambitious project which is being constructed with the help of advanced engineering techniques. (Changming, 2009) Environmental Effects on Regional Ecology and Society Once the first stage of the SNWTP is fully implemented, it is expected to channelize 40-50 km3 water annually from the river Yangtze-Kiang basin in southern China to the northern plains. This will partially address the water scarcity faced by about 300-325 million people residing in north China. However, this will not be adequate to satisfy the water requirement of the entire region. According to a study by the World Bank on the SNWTP, the project would involve the shifting of 300,000 Chinese citizens to the northern plains which is expected to incur a series of economic costs. The report also indicates that the SNWTP is likely to deprive the inhabitants of the Han sub basin, of their essential water supplies. (Berkoff, 2003 p.1) The SNWTP is expected to provide a solution to the dual problems of floods in southern China and drought in the north China by transferring the excess water from the south to the north. The project will involve the construction of three canals linking the Yangtze Kiang river in south China to the basins of the Yellow, Hui and Hai rivers in the northern part of the country. The Eastern, Central and Western canals will facilitate the transfer of 44 billion cubic metres of water every year. The work on the Eastern Canal has already been started from December 2002 while that on the Western Canal was supposed to get underway in 2010. Geological experts have predicted that the eastern route of the SNWTP will be comparatively easier to construct as it would be aided by the existing water carriage and supply infrastructure of the Grand Canal. The northern Chinese plain is already plagued by several ecological and environmental difficulties. Due to shortage of flowing water resources, the groundwater supply of the region has been over-exploited. The SNWTP has been strategically designed to address these problems. Once implemented, the project is expected to be a major source of water for the capital city Beijing, Taijin and other important areas of northern China. In addition to this, the project is supposed address the problems of the basins of the Yellow, Huihe and the Haihe rivers. The river basins are densely populated and the inhabitants are faced with acute shortage of water. The SNWTP has been structured to address all these difficulties of the economy of northern China. Economic Effects The economic effects of the SNWTP on the regional ecology and society of China as well as the global economy can be determined with the help of a general equilibrium model. Following the assumed implementation of the SNWTP, three different scenarios are considered and their resulting effects on the economy are analyzed. Firstly, the diversion of the water resources from southern China to the north is expected to increase the productivity of China’s agricultural produce especially that of northern China. This effect is not intrinsically related to the business market. In contrast, the second economic effect is associated more with the market. After the SNWTP is underway, the supply of water in the market is expected to be equal to its demand and the market price of water is predicted to adjust itself accordingly. Thirdly, China has invested a huge amount of capital for constructing the infrastructure of the SNWTP. The third scenario analyzes the economic effects of such a large expenditure. After the implementation of the SNWTP, the expected increase in the water supply in the northern China is combined with the huge-scale capital expenditure and their implications are determined jointly. Under the non-market scenario, the enhanced supply of water results in a productivity increase of the China’s goods and services whose production techniques are intensely dependent on water resources. This in turn is expected to increase the production and export of such commodities and services, which would result in an overall positive welfare effect on the Chinese economy. For this market solution to be applicable, a market for water resources should exist in the context of the country’s economy and the whole world. Only then, China’s economy would be benefitted from the welfare effects of this situation. However, the global economy would not gain from such a scenario. The terms-of-trade faced by the world economy in the water resources market would deteriorate which would result in a loss. Again, there remains a limitation on the third solution. In reality, the Chinese economy is unlikely to have efficiently functioning water markets. There have been various estimates about the economic cost of the SNWTP. The project is expected to cost around $ 50 billion and this expenditure is likely to escalate as the project will near its completion in 2050 (Berittella, Rehdanz & Tol, 2007 p.1). Balancing Current Needs with long-term sustainable development of China In the past, China has witnessed an unprecedented rate and magnitude of socio-economic changes and this trend is expected to continue in the future. The residents of the north Chinese plains have encountered difficulties in adapting to these fast-paced changes and their problems have been aggravated by the water scarcity in the region. It is not practicable to reallocate water from irrigation sources to agricultural, industrial and civil uses of this region. This would deprive another section of the Chinese people of their water requirements. In contrast, the SNWTP would provide a solution to all these problems. Berkoff states that it is these political and practical arguments rather than the environmental and economic rationalities that have encouraged the Chinese Government to proceed with the SNWTP. (Berkoff, 2003 p.2) Several studies have analyzed the future water consumption pattern in northern China after the implementation of the SNWTP. The west-route project of the SNWTP is expected to serve the basin of the upper Yellow river. This route will satisfy the water requirements of the basin during years which are subject to normal monsoons. However, in moderately dry years, the water from this route will be deficient by 8 billion metric3 in 2030 and by 5 billion metric3 in 2050 respectively from the total water requirements. The area served by the central route of the SNWTP is expected to experience a huge water shortage of 20.7 billion metric3 even after the SNWTP is operational. The east route of the SNWTP is being constructed to benefit the basin of the Huaihe River and will satisfy the water requirements of the basin till 2030 after which it is predicted to fall short by 2-4 billion metric3 of water in 2050. In addition to this, the SNWTP will not be able to satisfy the full water requirements of the Shandong Peninsula (in the north-eastern part) and it will experience a severe shortage of 3.891 billion metric3 of water. (Si-yue & Quan-fa 2005; Yu 2002; Ying 2002) Inspite of these projections, it can be concluded that China still needs to proceed with the construction of the SNWTP. The project will relieve the problem of water shortage of the north Chinese plain in the background of the country’s economic scenario, technical capabilities and current income levels. However, experts feel that the SNWTP is only a partial answer to north China’s recurring water deficit problems. The country should continue to implement its demand management policies throughout the economy to channelize the resources of fresh water to satisfy the different needs of the human populations and the environmental ecosystems. References 1. Changming L. (2009), Environmental Issues and the South-North Water Transfer Scheme. The China Quarterly Vol.156 pp.899-910 available at http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=3566804 (accessed on October 12, 2011) 2. Berittella M, Rehdanz K & Tol S.J.R (2007) The Economic Impact of the South-North Water Transfer Project in China: A Computable General Equilibrium Analysis available at http://www.bepress.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1055&context=feem&sei-redir=1&referer=http%3A%2F%2Fscholar.google.co.in%2Fscholar%3Fhl%3Den%26q%3DEnvironmental%2BEffects%2Bof%2BThe%2BSouth-North%2BWater%2BTransfer%2BProject%2B%26btnG%3DSearch%26as_sdt%3D0%252C5%26as_ylo%3D%26as_vis%3D0#search=%22Environmental%20Effects%20South-North%20Water%20Transfer%20Project%22 (accessed on October 12, 2011) 3. Berkoff J. (2003), China: The South-North Water Transfer Project- is it justified? Water Policy 5 pp 1-28 available at http://www.environmental-expert.com/Files/5302/articles/5876/1.pdf (accessed on October 13, 2011) 4. Wang L.& M. Christian (1999), A study on the environmental geology of the Middle Route Project of the South-North Water Transfer, Engineering Geology 51(3) 153-165 5. Si-yue L. & Q. Zhang (2005), Analysis on Solving Issues of Water Use in the Northern China through South North Water Transfer Project, ONKI available at http://en.cnki.com.cn/Article_en/CJFDTOTAL-RMHH200508012.htm (accessed on October 13, 2011) 6. Yu, P. et al (2002), Water Pollution Investigation in Shandong Province along the East Line of South-to-North Water Transfer Project (SNWTP), ONKI available at http://en.cnki.com.cn/Article_en/CJFDTOTAL-JZJS200208005.htm (accessed on October 13, 2011) 7. Ying-wu, T. (2002), Analysis of Key Technical Issues of West Route Works of Water Transfer Project from South to North, ONKI available at http://en.cnki.com.cn/Article_en/CJFDTOTAL-RMHH200207018.htm (accessed on October 13, 2011) 8. Yi-sen, W. & Y. Yang (2005), South-to-North Water Transfer Project of China, ONKI , available at http://en.cnki.com.cn/Article_en/CJFDTOTAL-RIVE200507001.htm (accessed on October 13, 2011) 9. You, J., Tang K., Gan H., & L. Wang (2010) Analysis of Effect of South-to-North Water Transfer Project on Groundwater Exploitation in North China available at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/freeabs_all.jsp?arnumber=5515494 (accessed on October 13, 2011) 10. Sun T., Li R., Li G. (2011) Frame design for the protection of water environment and ecology, east line of South-to-North water transfer project, China available at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/Xplore/login.jsp?url=http%3A%2F%2Fieeexplore.ieee.org%2Fiel5%2F5961996%2F5980662%2F05980986.pdf%3Farnumber%3D5980986&authDecision=-203 (accessed on October 13, 2011) 11. Henan Wastewater Management and Water Supply Project in the People’s Republic of China (2005) available at http://www.adb.org/Documents/Environment/prc/prc-henan-seia.pdf (accessed on October 13, 2011) 12. He, C., He, X., & Fu, L. (2010), China’s South-to-North Water Transfer Project: Is it Needed? Geography Compass 4(9) 1312-1323 available at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1749-8198.2010.00375.x/full (accessed on October 13, 2011) 13. Huang Z. (2004), The South-North Water Transfer Project (SNWTP) in China available at http://www.iris.no/internet/student.nsf/5cd78704522281fbc12567f60051ecee/f4f0ce38f77b86d8c125768f004eebc5/$FILE/SNWTP_040328.pdf (accessed on October 13, 2011) 14. Sharma D. (2003), Linking Rivers in China: Lessons for India, Observer Research Foundation available at http://www.orfonline.org/cms/sites/orfonline/modules/analysis/AnalysisDetail.html?cmaid=2428&mmacmaid=678 (accessed on October 13, 2011) 15. Chen H. H. (2005), An Analysis of Sustainability and Efficiency of the Middle Route of the South-North Water Transfer Project in China available at http://nature.berkeley.edu/classes/es196/projects/2005final/Chen.pdf (accessed on October 13, 2011) 16. Walton M. A. (n.d), The Importance of Ecological Security for Protective Security available at http://www.du.edu/korbel/jais/journal/volume2/volume2_walton.pdf (accessed on October 13, 2011) 17. Yang S. Q. (n.d) How to Alleviate Global Water Stress: Case Study about China Water Diversion Scheme available at http://nb.iwhr.com/news/614-618.pdf (accessed on October 13, 2011) 18. Yang H & Zehnder A.B.H (2005), The South-North Water Transfer Project in China. Water International Vol. 30 No.3 available at http://www.fischer.eawag.ch/organisation/abteilungen/surf/teaching/management_as/unterlagen/01/TheSouth-NorthWaterTransferProjectInChina.pdf (accessed on October 12, 2011) 19. Vierstra, M. M. (2010) Real-time control of the South-North water transfer project within Jiangsu Province in China : development and assessment of model predictive control (MPC) as operational management systems available at http://essay.utwente.nl/59668/ (accessed on October 13, 2011) 20. Yang S. Q.(2011), How to Alleviate Global Water Stress: Case Study about China Water Diversion Scheme, World Scientific available at http://ebooks.worldscinet.com/ISBN/9789812776969/9789812776969_0111.html (accessed on October 13, 2011)     Read More