Officials and experts are appealing to the whole country to save
water and make it a priority in national economic development and
daily life.
A symposium was held during yesterday's World Water Day in
Beijing, to highlight the concerns about water's potential impact
on the nation and its people.
Officials and experts warned that the country's ever-growing
population might cause a water crisis by 2030.
An official made it clear that by then, national water per
capita would be down from the present 2,200 cubic meters per year
only a quarter of the world average to less than 1,700 cubic
meters.
"It will worsen by then without effective solutions to lower
rates of water utilization and stop the serious waste of this
resource," Hu Siyi, vice minister of water resources said.
The only way out, he and other attendants believe, is to press
towards a water-saving society across the country through an
overhaul in the management and administration of water
resources.
To secure sustainability in economic growth, China must improve
its water efficiency, Hu said.
"We are drafting a national program on building a water-saving
society during 2006-10," he said. "It is the first of its type
China has ever made for a resource-conserving and
environment-friendly society."
The government has set major targets to meet this goal by
reducing 30 percent of water consumption per unit of industrial
added value in five years, experts say.
Meaning, over the next five years, water consumed for each
10,000 yuan (US$1,233) of the value added for industrial products
will be cut from its current 160 cubic meters, to less than 115
cubic meters.
In rural areas the efficiency for water used in irrigation will
be raised from 45 percent last year, to 50 percent by 2010. Farming
irrigation is now using more than 60 percent of the country's total
water supply each year, due to outdated facilities and poor
management.
To help millions of people living in the countryside enjoy a
better life, a plan will also be introduced to provide them with
clean drinking water.
Compared to cities, water safety still remains a chronic issue
affecting more than two-thirds of the country's rural
population.
More than 300 million people in rural areas cannot drink clean
water. Many are also afflicted with various diseases from drinking
water that contains too much fluorine, arsenic, sodium sulfate or
bitter salt.
According to water authorities, China will lower the population
suffering from water shortages to 100 million by 2010 and ensure
safe drinking water for everyone by 2020.
(China Daily March 23, 2006)