Demand control and quota management strategy for sustainable water use in China

Abstract

With enhanced economic development and population growth in recent years, total water consumption has increased significantly around the world. As the most populated and most rapidly developing country in the world, one of the major challenges for the Chinese government is to guarantee a continuous water supply to improve the livelihood of the growing population and maintain the fast development of the economy. An ever-increasing trend of water consumption has led to the construction of hydraulic structures and degradation of the ecosystem in China. Through the analysis of water consumption and water-use efficiency around the world, this study concluded that water demand management is the only option to assure a continuous supply of water to a growing population and developing economy. In this paper, water supply and demand of China over the time period 1980–2009 are analyzed to formulate water demand management strategies for a sustainable water supply. The study proposes that a water demand management strategy, based on demand control and quota management, could be a better option for sustainable water management in China. An example of the Haihe River Basin is provided to show the success of water demand management using total demand control and quota management. It can be expected that through the encouragement of a water conserving society, by water demand management, it is possible to harmonize the relationship among water, the environment, ecosystems, and human beings in China.