A senior Chinese official has called for an overhaul of the country's outdated managerial method of water resources, saying that control and management in a centralized way will be more efficient.
Minister of Water Resources Wang Shucheng said that influenced by the traditional planned economy, China's water resources have long been subjected to the management of divided departments and the managerial work is incoherent among different departments and regions.
"The crux of reforming the low-efficiency managerial method lies in centralized management", he said.
China is now facing mounting pressure because the nation's huge and growing population and its limited water resources threaten a severe water shortage which could endanger its sustainable growth, according to the minister.
The official pledged to put saving and protecting water resources high on the agenda, and called for more attention to such problems as the ownership of water resources, the distributing and pricing of water resources, as well as the water market and the government's macro-control on water resources.
(Xinhua 02/01/01)
