News of economic slowdown in China often fails to provide this
overwhelming problem. Could it be solved by installation of renewables?
*Natalia*
Full story at:
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/7d6f69ea-bc73-11e2-b344-00144feab7de.html#axzz2TNqI0NoR
(snip)
In the face of China's rapid economic expansion and growing presence on
the global stage, it is often forgotten that the country is running out
of water. In per capita terms, China's water resources are just a
quarter of the world average. Eight of China's 28 provinces are as
parched as countries in the Middle East such as Jordan and Syria,
according to China Water Risk, a consultancy based in Hong Kong.
In the area where Mr Wang lives, Minqin county, a former oasis in Gansu
sandwiched between the vast deserts of Inner Mongolia, the problem is
particularly severe. Mr Wang's neighbours are not the only ones who have
moved away. More than 10,000 people have left the area and have become
/shengtai yimin/, "ecological migrants".
Chinese officials identify water scarcity as one of the nation's most
pressing difficulties. The problems are social, political and economic.
This year Beijing for the first time issued water quotas to every
province, setting targets for annual consumption by 2015.
The water shortage is made even more urgent by China's rapid
urbanisation, as expanding cities have greater water needs. More than
300m people are expected to move into cities between now and 2030.
This transformation comes as the Chinese are becoming far more critical
and vocal about the way they are governed. Weibo
<http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/802bfa1c-b0d0-11e2-9f24-00144feabdc0.html>, a
Twitter-like social network, is routinely filled with users sharing
information about pollution violations. Some users even dare officials
to take a dip in the rivers they are supposed to be in charge of keeping
clean. At times the government's inability to control its waterways
<http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/29704ce0-9542-11e2-a4fa-00144feabdc0.html>
has made it the object of public ridicule, such as when more than 16,000
dead pig carcases
<http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/2530f5da-8a39-11e2-9da4-00144feabdc0.html>
floated down Shanghai's main waterway this year.
The economic problems are formidable, with the water shortage
threatening to slam a brake on growth. According to a World Bank report
in 2007, water problems cost China economic losses of 2.3 per cent of
gross domestic product. Executives say that water shortages are already
starting to reshape their industries.
"Serious water scarcity is one of the big problems that has slowed down
social and economic development in the north," says Jiang Liping, water
specialist at the World Bank in Beijing
<http://www.ft.com/intl/topics/places/Beijing>.
China's lack of water is itself partly a result of economic growth. As
people grow wealthier and move to cities, they eat more water-intensive
foods, buy more water-intensive products and use more water at home.
Changing climate also plays a role, as rainfall patterns and river flows
shift. All this is exacerbated by a strained agricultural sector --
which accounts for 60 per cent of China's water use. Farmers are digging
ever deeper to access water supplies and irrigate more of their land.
The water scarcity
<http://video.ft.com/v/2381825773001/Water-security-threatens-China> is
also worsened by the heavy pollution that accompanies China's economic
growth. "Controlling pollution is the most difficult aspect of China's
water policies," says Xia Jun, director of the centre for water
resources research at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. "Even in
places that have water, it is so polluted that you might not be able to
use it." Already, 39 per cent of the water in China's major rivers is
too toxic to be fit for any contact with humans.
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In a sign of the gravity of the problem, Beijing is planning to pour
Rmb1.8tn ($291bn) into water-related infrastructure projects such as
irrigation and dams under the current five year plan -- a sum that is
greater than the annual gross domestic product of economies such as
Egypt and Chile.
Loss of livelihood for farmers such as Mr Wang in Minqin is just one
example of the huge pressure that water scarcity is putting on China's
whole commercial landscape. The country's growth and political stability
are increasingly threatened
<http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/7c2e114c-f980-11e0-bf8f-00144feab49a.html>by
the widespread degradation of its air and soil.
China's energy sector
<http://video.ft.com/v/1618353589001/Alternative-energy-in-China> is
particularly threatened by water shortages. Promising new technologies
will be constrained in some areas. Projects to develop shale gas, for
example, require large amounts of water for hydraulic fracking. Even as
Beijing builds new nuclear power plants at a record rate, the government
has also announced a moratorium on inland nuclear plants because of
concerns over water supply and safety.
"All uses of energy are connected with water," says Lin Boqiang, an
energy economist at the University of Xiamen. "In the past, when there
was not a shortage of water resources, people would only think about how
much water they needed on the site where they wanted to build a project.
Now it's the other way around. The volume of water available determines
how much energy can be developed in a certain place."
The state's deep concern about water
<http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/4f19a01e-d2f1-11e0-9aae-00144feab49a.html>has
resulted in some of the toughest laws on water use and water pollution
anywhere in the world, although corruption and weak rule of law mean
implementation is patchy. "You have to build the most sophisticated
water treatment plants in the world to fulfil the law," says an
executive in the chemicals industry. "The water laws are sometimes
causing investors to rethink, given the amount of investment needed."
However, many question whether these tough laws and the billions spent
on water infrastructure will really ease the water crisis
<http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/7d6e4db8-861e-11e0-9e2c-00144feabdc0.html>.
Some Chinese scientists have lambasted the expensive projects at the
core of Beijing's water strategy, including the giant diversion system
that will carry water thousands of kilometres from southern to northern
China to alleviate shortages there.
That project, known as the South-North Water Transfer, will cost at
least $41bn and has forced more than 300,000 people to relocate, with
engineers cutting new canals and reservoirs. Other efforts to ease the
water shortages in northern China, such as the desalination plants
springing up on the coast near Tianjin, are also expensive and consume
large amounts of energy.
(snip)
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