Jostein Nygard, EASEN

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Water Pollution Management in China

• Jostein Nygard, EASEN
• Ge Chazhong, CRAES
• Wang Jinnan, CRAES

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Presentation Overview

1. Context
2. Key Issues in Water Resource and Pollution
   Management
3. Recommendations

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1. Context
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China Context

• Current Critical Chinese plans initiatives
• Water Pollution Control Section in 11th 5-Year
  Plan
• South to North Water Transfer Project
• Water Pollution Control (WPC) are continuously
  very critical
• Water quality not much better despite some
  critical interventions (load reduction vs.
  quality improvements),
• Limited assimilation capacity
• Health related effects of heavy water pollution
  (SEPA, MWR, MoH shared concerns ).

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World Bank Context

• China, Air, Land, and Water Environmental
  Priorities for a New Millennium. Recommendations
• Diversified Instrument Application (three Is)
• Integrated River Basin Management
• China CAS (03 05) included specific objective
  on
• Promotion of integrated river basin management
• Managing Water Resources (ref. WB CH Water
  Strategy)
• Other WB China related initiatives
• Hai River and Bohai Sea-basin water management
  program
• North China Water Quality Management Study
• Environmental cost model, valuation of
  environmental health risk

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Scope Methodology of Study

• Focus Water quality, pollution, institutions
• Funding TFESSD
• Methodology desk review data
• collection through two case studies
• Two critical subjects WPC in
• shallow lakes and river basins
• Timing Complete March 05
• Chinese Partners SEPA,CRAES
• Beijing University, MWR, YRAES
• Team WB, NORPLAN, individual consultants

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2. Key Issues in Water Resource and Pollution
Management
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Chinas Water Resources

• Total annual renewable water resources 2,800
  billion m3/year (6th in the world)
• Average per capita availability 2,187 m3/year
  (1/3 of world average)
• 2030 average per capita availability 1,760
  m3/year (water scarcity threshold 1,700 m3/year)
• Water Demand
• Agriculture (decreasing)
• Domestic (increasing)
• Industrial (increasing)

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Demand for Water is Increasing

• Trends driving water consumption
• Population Growth
• Urbanization (higher per capita water
  consumption)
• Trends driving water pollution
• Economic Growth (aver. annual growth gt 7-9 of
  GDP)
• Changing agriculture
• Increasing use of fertilizer pesticides
• Livestock Production
• Environmental/ecological need is often neglected

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Distribution of Water (river systems)

• Water is not evenly distributed
• South Water Abundant
• North Water Scarce
• Distribution of population and industry does not
  match distribution of water resoruces

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Distribution of Water (river systems)

• Distribution of water in Chinas river systems

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Water Quality

• 5 grade water classification system (G1 best)
• 2000 G1-3 58, G4 21.6 ,
  G5 6.9, G5 13.8
• Most pollution occurs when water passes through
  large cities

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Water Quality
Water Quality in Main River Basins
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Sequenced peaking of water pollution load by
different sectors

• Industrial SOE Peaked in the late 1980s,
  continued reduction.
• Industrial SME/TVEs peaked in mid-1990s,
  substantive reduction since then.
• Residential/urban After continued increase, a
  leveling off appears.
• Agricultural non-point Continuously substantive
  increase.

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Complex Institutional Setup
Leading Agency
Related Bodies
Ministry of Agriculture
Related Local Level Bodies
Environment Protection Bureaus (EPBs)
Various other local level bodies
Water Affair Bureaus (WAB)
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Current Policy Instruments

• River Basin Water Pollution Control
• Continued challenges in inter-agency coordination
• Pollution Charges
• Fees for wastewater flow and fines for exceeding
  standards
• Total Load and Discharge Permit System
• Total discharges set to meet local carrying
  capacity (permits)
• Close Down Policy
• GoC has been and still is closing down serious
  polluters
• Centralized Wastewater Treatment
• Joint wastewater solutions at municipality level
• Environmental Impact Assessment
• EIAs used to set critical conditions for
  pollution prevention

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Some Key Findings

• Policies characterized by old command and control
  structures
• Hesitation in moving ahead with economic
  voluntarily instruments
• Complex institutional set
• Lack strong horizontal vertical co-ordination
• Lack of clarity in roles and responsibilities
• but, some improvements (common goals)
• Low level of investment
• Limite private investments

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3. Recommendations
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Policy Priorities

• Establish a long-term strategic approach based on
  improved inter-agency co-ordination (particularly
  SEPA MWR)
• Promote progress in municipal wastewater
  treatment and wastewater recycling
• Establish Integrated (river basin or regional)
  pollution management processes
• Establish minimum environmental flow regimes in
  key river basins (debated).

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Institutional Investment Reforms

• Clarify central and local government roles and
  responsibilities (inter-agency) in both water
  quality monitoring and WPC.
• (Re-) establish SEPA as an integrated part of the
  river-basin institutional set-ups (ad-hoc
  approach not sufficient).
• Increase investment sources (WTP, collection
  systems)

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Final issues

• Industrial pollution control
• - Continue focus on some specific industries
  with high pollution low GIOV contribution.
• Urban residential pollution control
• - Underutilized WWT capacities, limited/no
  collection systems into parts of cities
• Agricultural non-point pollution control
• - Design plans for how to scale-up from
  promising WPC pilot programs to e.g. lake-basin
  wide programs.
• Need to think and plan LONG TERM