中国流域水资源生态补偿的法律问题与对策

随着我国经济社会的不断发展,水资源不足和水质污染引起的水危机已经成为许多地区可持续发展中的重要制约因素。在这种背景下,为了平衡环境、社会和经济多元利益,寻求先进的法律机制来调节平衡、保护流域生态环境、促进流域的可持续发展已成为一种共识。开展流域水资源生态补偿是实现流域上下游之间等相关方利益公平的关键所在。但由于我国缺乏生态补偿立法和相应的制度安排,流域水资源生态补偿目前仍面临许多问题：我国流域水资源生态补偿进展缓慢、法律制度滞后、部分法律法规彼此之间矛盾和相互冲突、流域水资源生态补偿的法律制度缺位、立法模式不适合当今流域生态环境问题解决等。本文通过对我国有关涉水法律中存在问题的分析,提出一些有关流域水资源生态补偿法律制度建设和完善的对策,以期对中国流域水资源生态补偿的推进和进一步实现水资源的可持续利用有所帮助。     

南水北调对湖北省经济的影响

南水北调是一项跨流域、跨省市的远距离调水工程,它对沿线各省(市)的自然地理、人口、资源、社会、经济产生着不同的影响.通过分析南水北调工程(中线)对湖北省经济的促进与制约双重影响,并从全省水资源状况和南水北调工程实际出发,探讨了湖北省实施水资源综合利用战略的具体对策.     

入河（海）排污口排查及其在水环境治理中的应用

随着我国在水生态环境治理方面的大力投入,全国水环境质量得到整体性改善;但水生态环境保护不平衡、不协调、不充分的问题依然突出,部分流域依然存在水资源短缺、水环境污染、水生态退化问题。排污口是陆源污染物进入水环境的主要通道,通过对排污口及其污染特征的全面排查,可识别影响流域水污染现状的关键因素;经过监测和溯源,打通污染物从污染水体—涉污路径—排污单位监管链条,实现水污染物产排的闭环监管,推进流域治理能力的现代化建设。本研究依据已开展的工作,梳理了排污口排查的主要流程、技术要点,并论述了排查结果的潜在应用,为深入推进水生态环境治理提供支撑。     

长距离调水工程建设与安全运行集成研究及应用

正长距离调水工程是实现国家水资源优化配置的重大战略举措,为解决大埋深长距离调水工程建设及安全运行中的关键科学技术问题,"长距离调水工程建设与安全运行集成研究及应用"项目获得2016年国家重点研发计划"水资源高效开发利用"重点专项立项批准。一、研究目的国内外已建的调水工程主要以明渠方式输水,局部辅以隧洞,而以大埋深长隧洞为主要载体的调水工程较少。据不完全统计,目前已建的世界上最长的输     

南水北调西线工程对青海受水区生态环境的影响

南水北调西线工程,是从长江上游引水至黄河上游的跨流域调水工程。该工程实施后,对青海省受水区的生态环境将产生良好影响。(1)黄河青海段的水资源可增加43.3％—84.4％;(2)改善水环境,水土流失和土地沙漠化得到控制;(3)提高植被覆盖率,减少自然灾害。     

我国跨区域水环境行政管理体制之检讨与完善

我国对水资源实施的是流域管理与行政区域管理相结合的管理体制。流域管理机构的地位不明确,在监督管理中没有完全独立的权限,基本上属于一种协调机构,因此完善我国的跨区域水环境行政管理体制具有重要的现实意义。从尽早完善水环境保护管理体制立法、明确各环境监督管理部门的具体职责、健全环境保护跨部门以及中央与地方的协调机制、成立跨区域环境保护管理协调机构、明确流域管理机构在流域水环境保护中的行政执法地位等方面作出了探讨,以利于更好地保护跨区域的水资源。     

粮食安全视角下黄河流域生态保护与高质量发展

黄河流域是我国重要的生态功能区，是实现国家粮食安全的重点区域。本文梳理了近期黄河流域的相关研究，从粮食安全视角下分析了黄河流域现阶段在流域水效率、流域水管理机制、流域水生态文明三方面的问题，并提出了关于黄河流域大保护与高质量发展的两方面建议。一是创新流域水管理机制，服务国家粮食安全。积极改进水资源管理方式，加大节水宣传教育力度，加强黄河流域水土流失综合治理，合理调控水价，完善黄河流域水权市场建设。二是践行"两山"理论，提升流域水生态文明。建设"四大体系"和"七大区域"，推进生态廊道建设；转变经济发展方式；提前布局水生态文明建设。     

流域比较视角的钱塘江与黑河流域水资源问题及对策研究——基于水足迹核算分析

产品贸易及水权交易使得水资源问题"跨流域化",不再单纯是流域内部管理问题。本文从流域比较视角出发,在区分蓝、绿、灰三种水足迹的基础上,应用水足迹模型,测算了两流域典型地区的水足迹,进行流域水资源问题对比分析,并分析了经济发展模式对流域水资源可持续性的影响。结果发现,杭州市经济用水中灰色水足迹占总量的90%,而张掖市经济用水中绿色水足迹占总量的60.8%,说明钱塘江流域水资源问题在于质,而黑河流域水资源问题在于量;经济发展模式中的产业结构、水资源开发效率、工业化路径等影响流域水资源可持续利用,同时基于GDP导向的流域间的水资源逆向配置,更加剧了流域水资源矛盾。最后根据流域对比结果提出治理措施,从而形成流域间协作的良性循环。     

南水进京应重视的问题

正2014年10月,南水北调水进京将极大缓解北京严重缺水的局面。然而由于这项跨流域的调水工程系统庞大、结构复杂、不确定因素众多,所以通水后我们仍不能掉以轻心。洪水对总干渠的潜在威胁、断裂带对配套工程安全性的隐患、地下水保护的新问题、丰枯遭遇对调水量的影响、生物和生态安全,等等问题,需要我们全面考虑,制定好解决方案,从而真正发挥出南水北调工程的效益。     

大伙房水库上游地区生态补偿标准研究

相对于自然生态保护其他方面,江河断流、湖泊湿地萎缩、水源涵养功能退化、水土流失加剧等流域污染问题,水资源保护存在的“上游投入、下游得利”不合理现象,不断加剧水资源质量的衰减和水体环境的恶化。本文以维持流域生态系统平衡及生态服务功能,调整流域相关利益方生态及其经济利益分配关系为依据,根据流域面临的生态保护、污染治理和水资源合理利用等问题特点,以大伙房水库上游地区为例,构建以生态系统服务功能价值和机会成本理论为基础的生态补偿标准估算模型,对流域生态补偿资金进行分配,探索建立不同类型、各有侧重、因地制宜的生态补偿标准,在试点和实践中调整完善,为国家建立流域生态补偿机制和政策提供模式和经验。     

CHANGING TIMES FOR WATER RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER1

In recent years, important changes have occurred in water resources research. There have been major shifts in attitudes of Congress, state legislatures and the general public toward water and related resource issues. Future water research and development will have to be environmentally oriented. Emphasis is shifting to research productivity. To justify research expenditures, hard facts must be produced which demonstrate payoff. Technology transfer (getting research results into the hands of users in an understandable and usable form) is gaining prominence. Research projects must be designed for total problem solution and technology transfer must be incorporated as a part of project objectives. Research must be planned and conducted to meet users' needs. Guidelines for modern research design and technology transfer are presented.     

THE SOCIAL CONTEXT OF WESTERN WATER DEVELOPMENT1

ABSTRACT: Social scientists were included in the planning and design for an integrated, trans-basin water resource project. Within this complex project, a socioeconomic impact assessment (SIA) concentrated on identifying the social, political, and economic issues and potential impacts inherent in developing a city's water rights. Before the SIA began, some of the development alternatives had already generated widespread hostility and organized opposition from communities within the watershed. The SIA involved residents of affected communities in the study design and project planning. The study found a number of components that constituted the concerns, beliefs, and expectations about perceived, potential impacts that might result from the different alternatives. In most cases these issues constituted threats to valued environmental resources, valued community resources, the social environment, the economic base, and a secure future. The social science component was a key factor in the ultimate decision to pursue a particular alternative which was sensitive to the social and political issues, minimized environmental and socioeconomic impacts, and ultimately had support among the communities potentially affected. The experience from this case study suggests that the approach used can be applied successfully in the planning of other water development projects and result in cooperation from the wide range of interest groups that often present costly obstacles to such projects.     

Justice in development? An analysis of water interventions in the rural South

This paper explores a fruitful convergence between the distributive and procedural dimensions of environmental justice theory and current debates in the field of development studies over capitals and capabilities, institutions, and discourse formation to shed new light on natural resource management projects in the developing world. Specifically, we document the planning and implementation of two types of water interventions in two contrasting regions: watershed development programmes in northeast India and small reservoirs in sub‐Saharan West Africa. We find that there is a contradiction between the inherently political nature of water interventions and the fact that such projects remain grounded in apolitical, technical and managerial narratives. In contrast to the new semantic of development, this depoliticization results in the near absence of attention paid to procedural (participation and empowerment) and distributive (equity) justice concerns and in local actors having to revert to covert ways to achieve their ends. A constructive dialogue between development studies and environmental justice scholars can offer a fresh look on the society‐environment nexus in the developing world.     

Drivers and barriers to water transfer in a New Zealand irrigation scheme

Policy makers, economists and water researchers have advocated water transfer and trade as a key potential response to worldwide water scarcity and/or efficiency problems. This paper examines aspects of an operational irrigation scheme in New Zealand that enables transfer of water between shareholders, arguing that the set-up and processes involved with the scheme can provide a wider context for analysis and consideration of social and cultural issues involved with resource allocation. Analysis of the key drivers and barriers for water reveal that while there is potential for real benefits from transferring water for farmers and the community, an examination of some of the processes used, and barriers to transfer reveals important lessons for planning and regulatory perspectives, including the importance of looking at the issues from a procedural and distributive justice viewpoint.     

Tribal communities,the forests,the fisher folk and the river: whither water justice?

Excessive exploitation of and skewed access to dwindling water resources raise serious water justice concerns. Environmental justice movements and related literature have raised critical questions regarding the unequal distribution of the costs and benefits of a development paradigm that is founded on excessive exploitation and appropriation of natural resources. This paper explores the growing relevance of a water justice framework that addresses both the social and ecological aspects of water use and appropriation, with reference to a four-decade long water conflict over the Chaliyar River in Kerala, South India. It highlights how ecosystem degradation and denial of justice go hand in hand. The paper argues that the framing and articulation of the conflict in a partisan manner led to the glossing over of certain critical features, thus preventing a full view of water injustices. It also failed to inform subsequent policies and practices in this regard.     

MEETING FUTURE PUBLIC WATER SUPPLY NEEDS: A SOUTHWEST PERSPECTIVE1

ABSTRACT: Most southwestern cities were founded along rivers or in areas having springs or readily available ground water. Because of the generally sparse precipitation, the renewable fresh water supply in the Southwest is smaller than most other areas of the United States. Despite the arid climate, water use has increased rapidly, first in the form of irrigation, and more recently the use in cities. This has caused extensive development of local water resources and overdraft of ground water basins in some areas. It is difficult to implement new local supplies and importation projects due to a myriad of environmental and legal constraints and a general shortage of public funds. Various opportunities and plans for water management, both on the demand and supply sides, are discussed. Evolving water strategies in four metropolitan areas - El Paso, Albuquerque, Las Vegas, and Phoenix - and issues regarding the Central Arizona Project are presented.     

DETERMINING MINIMUM FLOWS AND LEVELS: THE FLORIDA EXPERIENCE1

ABSTRACT: Florida water resources are among the most abundant in the United States, with Florida receiving the second‐highest mean annual rainfall of all states. However, water supply issues have troubled the state due to the highly variable spatial and temporal distributions of water supply and demand, and they are aggravated by the population's preference for settling in coastal regions where freshwater resources are scarce. Historically, the competing issues of water resource development and natural systems protection have placed water management agencies and local governments at odds. In 1997, the Florida Legislature enacted several major changes to Florida water law in an attempt to improve water resource planning and protection. This paper briefly reviews the history of water management in Florida with an emphasis on decisions culminating in the 1997 legislation, which requires the development of minimum flows and levels. Also examined is the impact of the 1997 law on water management. Efforts made to comply with legislative mandates are summarized; these include, to date, establishment of minimum flows and levels on 209 water bodies and budgeting in excess of $1.4 billion for water resource development projects.     

APPROACHES TO WATER RESOURCE POLICY AND PLANNING IN TEXAS1

ABSTRACT: Texas is one of the states in which limitations in water supplies could severely constrain economic growth in certain areas. The traditional planning approach for addressing this problem has involved devising schemes for large water development projects, which for many years included the importation of water from other states. Now the attitude towards water resource management is changing, and it is generally agreed that better management of existing supplies is the preferred approach. In this paper we review some of the changes that have recently occurred in Texas, including attempts to streamline the water institutions in such a way that they might be more responsive to the need for more comprehensive management of water resources statewide, with greater emphasis on social and environmental concerns.     

When sustainable may not mean just: a critical interpretation of urban water consumption decline in Barcelona

In this paper, we document and analyse the recent decline (2007–2013) in domestic water consumption in Barcelona. The postulates of ecological modernisation and market environmentalism celebrate these declines as an example of sustainable development, thanks to the combination of more efficient technologies and economic incentives. However, these interpretations ignore the new framework of social relations introduced by technologies and markets and take environmental improvements as homogeneous and universal regardless of distributional issues. Therefore, it would be perfectly possible to achieve optimal environmental situations in the context of deteriorating social conditions, particularly in terms of access to basic resources by the most disadvantaged. We explored the relationships between declining domestic water consumption and the uneven impact of the economic crisis on Barcelona’s urban geography. We found that the alleged increase in environmental sustainability that follows decline in resource use translates into highly uneven social impacts in terms of both accessibility and consumption. These results show that water flows have profound political dimensions and that water justice in terms of distributional costs and benefits but also in terms of recognition and participation of the less well-off should be a fundamental component of future urban water policies in this area.     

VOTER REACTIONS TO THE 1976 WATER DEVELOPMENT AND QUALITY REFERENDA IN TEXAS1

ABSTRACT: Since 1957, Texans have had the opportunity to vote on eight referenda concerning the allocation of state funds for water resources development and the maintenance of water quality. In 1976, a water development amendment and a water quality amendment were presented simultaneously to the voters of Texas, affording a unique opportunity for electoral-geographic comparison of county-level returns on the two issues. In this paper, cartographic and statistical analyses of the county-level voting outcomes for each referendum are presented. In both cases, the referenda were supported by voters in water-deficient West Texas, especially those counties dependent on irrigated crop production. In contrast, urban voters and East Texans tended to oppose both amendments. However, support for the water quality amendment in the urbanized areas of Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin, and San Antonio enabled this amendment to pass statewide while its counterpart failed. The results highlight the importance of local differences in perceived water policy needs, and in doing so they illustrate that geographical anlaysis of returns from initiatives and referenda is a useful tool for understanding the locational conflicts underlying water resources and other policy efforts.