Why water

Over the next 40 years, the world’s population is predicted to grow by about 40%, 90% of which is expected to be in the developing world. This growth will be accompanied by increased industrial and agricultural output, urbanization and utilisation of a limited yet interdependent resource: water. A look at our historical use of water indicates that demand to fuel this growth will be substantial: the World Water Council reports that whilst the global population tripled in the 20th century, the use of renewable water resources increased six fold.

As water resources have been chronically overexploited globally, shortages have cost billions of dollars in reduced economic and industrial output, lives have been lost and quality of life has remained static or has diminished for millions of poor in the developing world.

On-going interference in the water cycle and consumption on the scale seen in recent years is evidentially not sustainable. Continuation of current trends will in all likelihood have disastrous consequences for the global economy and humanity itself, potentially surpassing the impacts of climate change. Yet, according to the United Nations, water withdrawals are predicted to increase by 50% by 2025 in developing countries and 18% in developed countries.

In Asia the situation is already acute. Due to the phenomenal growth of some Asian economies, coupled with inadequate governance, water crises regionally have begun to emerge, not least in the world’s factory – China. The challenge a country the size of China faces in managing this finite resource sustainably is arguably without parallel in global terms.

China is in the throes of a water crisis that threatens to only worsen under present conditions. Its economy has grown at an average rate of more than 9.5% annually for the past 28 years, four times the rate of first world economies¹. As a result, skyrocketing water demands, overuse and systemic inefficiencies, combined with persistent pollution of major water resources have resulted in depleted supplies of both ground and surface water, with devastating consequences. If current trends continue, the strain on China’s water resources will be extraordinary, potentially threatening economic development and social stability.

Increase in annual water demand 2005-2030 (Billion m³)

Source: 2030 Water Resources Group, Charting our Water Future, December 2009

Highlights: A crisis in the making

1999

As early as 1999, preeminent environmentalist Ma Jun raised the red flag about China’s looming water crisis in a book that drew attention to water pollution and scarcity. Ma cited the particularly dire situation existing in China’s seven main river basins and particularly the Yellow and Yangtze rivers.

2002

Introduction of the Water Law with a clear mandate to facilitate private sector investment in China’s water sector.

2003

Introduction of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Law, a crucial element of pollution control in China.

2005

World attention drawn to the now-notorious Songhua River pollution incident—when 100 tonnes of toxic benzene substances spilled into the river following an explosion at a petrochemical plant in Jilin Province. Four million people lost access to water in Harbin as a result. Since the Songhua River flows into the Amur River in Russia, Chinese and Russian authorities also worked to minimize the impact on the nearby towns of Komsomolsk-on-Amur and Khabarovsk. Songhua was one of the most significant transboundary pollution incidents at the time.

The Songhua incident highlighted many issues including the lack of enforcement of pollution control laws as well as prevailing institutional weaknesses in environmental protection. It further served as a springboard for the much needed revision of the Prevention and Pollution of Water Pollution Law.

2007

Severe algal bloom in Lake Taihu from nutrient-rich sewage and agricultural run-off affects the tap water of 2-3 million people.

2008

Government takes a bold step and launches its Measures for Opening the Environmental Information, which mandates environmental disclosure by government departments.

The State Environmental Protection Administration attains ministerial status with the establishment of the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP).

2009

Twenty years after Ma Jun’s book drawing attention to a water crisis, the World Bank warns of a severe water scarcity crisis in China in its report, Addressing China’s Water Scarcity. Based on the synthesis of 30 technical reports, case studies and background papers, the report provides a comprehensive account of the crisis.

IPE and NRDC launch the Pollution Information Transparency Index (PITI) following introduction of the Government transparency measures on environmental disclosure in 2008. The Index evaluates government disclosure of pollution information from 113 Chinese cities and graded and ranked their level of disclosure.