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Computer-based information systems are to help tackle the worsening
water shortages which are threatening the country.
"Only with such systems can China satisfy its sustainable
development of national economy and sustainable use of water
resources," Wang Shucheng, minister of water resources,
told a national conference in Nanjing.
Wang called for a technological revolution to meet the demand
of massive water conservancy projects in the coming years.
Water projects are a significant aspect of national infrastructure.
They supply water for irrigation, industries and drinking and
control floods and droughts.
Wang promised China will use its water resources in a sustainable
way to maintain a balanced economy and healthy water supply.
Worsening water pollution and frequent floods and droughts must
also be resolved.
One of the most important tasks in ensuring a clean water supply
is to modernize protection efforts through science and technology
with top priority on optimizing water resources, Wang said.
In the 10th Five-Year Plan (2001-05), water authorities are
to strengthen scientific and technological renovations in the
administration of water resources, particularly the sustainable
use of resources during development of the western regions.
To mitigate damages caused by floods of major rivers, construction
of high-tech chain of command systems would be continued to
monitor, regulate and control floods in the five-year period,
Wang said.
While popularizing water-efficient irrigation methods like spring
and drip irrigations, such technologies would be combined with
the government's restructuring of the agricultural sector to
gain better grain yields at less cost.
Monitoring systems are also to be set up along major rivers
and lakes to monitor water quality with counter-measures worked
out to analyze causes of water pollution.
Wang said he hopes further research would be done to solve key
technological issues and related economic and environmental
problems for the ambitious project proposed to divert water
from the Yangtze River in the south into the drought-stricken
North China.
The minister said China can adopt modernized ways of science
and technology, like a computer-based information network, to
set up monitoring and management systems.
(China Daily 10/16/2000) |
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