Learning around the world...China

Water conservation is the alternative when drought looms

Everyone has heard about China's tremendous industrial expansion in the last decade or two. What you might not have heard is that China is now experiencing its worst drought in half a century.

Its water is running out.

The 1.3 billion people have at their disposal only a quarter of the water per person that is available on average around the world. Because of the surging economic growith, industrial pollution and widespread waste, China is facing a systemic water problem.

400 of China's 600 cities are short on water. The water shortage could threaten the very economic development that has moved China into an industrialized powerhouse.

The new complexes built in Beijing are using water for irrigation of lawns and flowers in spite of the water problems.

Statistics indicate that China requires 10 times more water than Japan to produce one unit of gross domestic product.

China's food security is also being threatened, by leaving crops withering in the fields. The fall harvest is expected to lead to food shortages in some areas.

Uneven distribution of water is also affecting agricultural productivity...the most agricultural sections of the country have access to a smaller percentage of water reserves.

300 million Chinese in rural areas lack clean drinking water. The water resources ministry estimated that pollution has left 40 percent of the water in the nations' 1300 rivers fit only for agriculture or industrial production.

"Water is the lifeline of a country's economy and a regional economy," Ma Jun, author of a book on China's water crisis says, "Economic growth cannot be allowed to come at a steep environmental cost. It is time for the government to cope with the realities of declining water stocks and their implications for the whole society." He adds that priority needs to be given to conservation and more efficient use of water.