Chinaʹs 8 challenges to water resources management in the first quarter of the 21st Century

Northern China has less than half the water per person than the absolutely water-scarce Egypt. This simple comparison helps us to understand that China will face great water-related challenges in the coming decades. Its rapid urbanization, industrialization, growing agricultural demand, environmental degradation, and potential climate-related threats will be the major driving forces that challenge the management and utilization of Chinaʹs water resources over the decades to come. Chinaʹs environmental pressures already exceed the carrying capacity of this densely populated land. This paper surveys Chinaʹs water resource management situation and its challenges for the decades ahead. The Yangtze River basin is a special focus. The waters and hydropower of this vast basin are increasingly being exploited—besides the 400 million people who live in the basin—also those other nearby parts of China. Particularly important is the thirst of the North China Plain—with another 400 million people—seeking the Yangtzeʹs water and power.