Chen Mingzhong, Director General, Department of Water Resources,
Ministry of Water Resources
(September 24, 2012)
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen:
Today, I am delighted to attend the China-Europe Water Platform High-level Dialogue Meeting. It is a good opportunity for us to exchange experiences, share information and conduct discussions with European colleagues.
The No.1 Document issued by Chinese government in 2011 and the highest-level national work conference on water conservancy convened by central government in the same year explicitly called for the implementation of the strictest water resources management system. According to the Central Government's strategic decision on water resources management, the State Council issued the Opinions on Practicing the strictest Water Resources Management System in January 2012, outlining the master plan for practicing the strictest water resources management system, declaring the "Three Red Lines" and "Four Systems" as the core criteria, and establishing major targets.
After issuance of the Opinions, Mr. Chen Lei, the Minister of Ministry of Water Resources, requested us to mobilize all resources in the ministry and the sector to promote the implementation of the strictest water resources management system. In May 2012, the Ministry of Water Resources convened the national work conference on water resources, assigning the tasks for implementing the strictest water resources management system. In response to the call, water conservancy authorities at all levels worked actively to implement this system and had made impressive achievements.
First, the Execution Plan for the Opinions of State Council on Practicing the strictest Water Resources Management System was issued. In line with the Opinions, we made considerable efforts in the top-level design, elaborated the plan for implementing the strictest water resources management system, categorized the tasks as 26 major ones, 78 subtasks, and 189 items of work, and defined the responsibilities of authorities at various levels and the work schedule. The Plan is intended to serve as a programmatic document for the implementation of most stringent water resources management system during the 12th Five-Year Plan Period.
Second, progress was made in the breakdown of indices for "Three Red Lines". According to the National Integrated Water Resources Plan approved by the State Council, we broke down the indices for the "Three Red Lines" to provincial levels by watersheds and conducted coordination. Currently, most provinces have given confirmation and some provinces have divided duties to districts and prefecture-level cities. The development of the water resource allocation plan for 25 cross-province rivers is basically complete.
Third, the Rules for Assessment of the Implementation of the strictest Water Resources Management System were developed, incorporating the opinions of the State Council. The Rules clearly defines the entity responsible for the assessment and the assessment items and methods, and will be submitted to the State Council for approval in the near future.
Fourth, the national program of water resources monitoring system capacity building was launched in an all-round way. Within three years, 40 water resources monitoring platforms at central, watershed, and provincial levels will be built, covering all major water-consuming enterprises, interprovincial river cross sections, and important water function zones, with 14,000 monitoring points. The layout of hydrological station network will be optimized and more hydrological stations will be set up in cross-provincial-boundary rivers’ cross sections. Feasible monitoring designs will be provided for an expanded coverage of discharge outlets into rivers, and the pollution discharge will be monitored. The construction of nationwide groundwater monitoring network will be accelerated. A national water resources management information system will be established.
Fifth, a series of supporting systems were comprehensively implemented. To limit the total volume of water use, we enhanced the water resources assessment and strictly implement the permit system for water taking. The water resources assessment for 315 projects was rejected. More than 450,000 water taking permits were maintained nationwide. The areas where groundwater is overexploited were defined. In Liaoning, the prohibited and restricted areas for groundwater exploitation were determined. In 2011, 636 groundwater taking projects were shut down, reducing the groundwater exploitation by 145 million cubic meters. We actively explored ways to promote the trade in water rights. 38 water right transfer projects were constructed in the Yellow River basin, with a total water volume of 320 million cubic meters. To control the water use efficiency, we launched 100 national and 200 provincial pilot projects for building a water-saving society. 30 provinces issued water use quota for various industries. The water-saving irrigation area reached 410 million mu. The non-conventional water resources such as reclaimed water and rainwater were fully used and incorporated in the water resources allocation. In 2010, the volume of reclaimed water used reached 3 billion cubic meters. During the 11th Fiver-Year Plan Period, the water consumed per 10,000 RMB industrial added value was reduced by 36.1% and the water effective utilization factor in farmland irrigation was increased to 0.51. With respect to the pollution discharge limit of water function zones, the State Council approved the Water Function Zoning of National Major Rivers and Lakes, clarifying the functions and water quality management targets for 4493 major water function zones. The preparation of Water Resources Protection Plan was initiated. 175 pilots for safety compliance construction of the country's major drinking water sources and 14 pilots for water ecosystem protection and restoration were launched. To further optimize the water resources allocation and build control capability, a series of backbone water source projects and river and lake system interconnection projects were constructed and the flood control, water supply guarantee, and ecological capacities were constantly enhanced. The annual water supplies exceeded 700 billion cubic meters. The Yellow River had not seen flow interruption in 12 consecutive years. The water delivery from the Daxihaizi Reservoir to lower reaches of the Tarim River in 12 consecutive years, and that from the Heihe River to East Juyanhai in 8 consecutive years had been running smoothly. To promote the system construction, the integrated urban and rural water affairs management reform was accelerated. 76% of the local governments at county level and above implemented the integrated management.
Sixth, new progress was made in pilot work for practicing the strictest water resources management system. The pilot work was launched in 12 regions, including one watershed, seven provinces, two municipalities, and two counties. Shandong Government issued the Rules for Control of Total Water Use Volume and established an accountability system. In Quanzhou of Fujian, red, yellow, and blue regions were differentiated for water resources management, which was an effective demonstration.
In spite of the achievements in implementing the strictest water resources management system, we have to be aware that we still face serious challenges with respect to the conflict between the Central Government and local government arising from the imbalance between the rapid economic growth and restricted use of natural resources and the conflict between the water resources management and behaviors of water users. We must: (1) balance the economic growth and the resources and environment protection, ensure coordination among all stakeholders, practically implement the water resources management system, and improve the legal system to facilitate implementation of various tasks in strict conformity with legal requirements; (2) make stronger technical supports available, enhance the studies related to major issues, strengthen the water resources monitoring capability building, refine the technical standard system, and introduce advanced technologies to better support the collection of water resources data in a fair manner; (3) rationalize the water resources management system, define the division of power between governments, promote the implementation of various systems and tasks; (4) improve the mechanism for coordination among various sectors and that for collaboration with the whole society participation to form concerted efforts and create a favorable atmosphere; (5) enhance the construction of management institutions and team to improve the management capability and efficiency.
Ladies and gentlemen, nowadays, China is vigorously accelerating the implementation of the strictest water resources management system. We sincerely hope to enhance exchanges and cooperation with European countries, share the experience in implementing the EU Water Framework Directive to address various challenges and provide guarantee for the sustainable development of economy and society through effective water resources management.