Water Governance and Water Use Efficiency: The Five Principles of WUA Management and Performance in China1

Wang, Jinxia, Jikun Huang, Lijuan Zhang, Qiuqiong Huang, and Scott Rozelle, 2010. Water Governance and Water Use Efficiency: The Five Principles of WUA Management and Performance in China. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 46(4): 665-685. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2010.00439.x Abstract: In recent years China has attempted to reform water management by decentralizing water management responsibilities. The overall goal of our paper is to better understand the emergence of water user associations (WUAs) in China and assess if they are adhering to the practices spelled out by the Five Principles, a set of recommended practices that are supposed to lead to successful WUA operation. Using four sets of different types of villages to examine implementation and performance, we find that World Bank-supported WUA villages (“Bank villages”) can be thought of as operating mostly according to the Five Principles. For example, the Bank villages were endowed with a more reliable water supply; were set up and were operating with a relatively high degree of farmer participation; and leaders were more consultative and the process more formal. When WUAs are run according to the Five Principals, we show that WUAs increase water use efficiency. The study also provides evidence that there is a perception in the Bank villages that water management is improving in general and that there is less conflict both within the village and among villages. Perhaps more importantly, we find that the Bank’s effort to promote WUAs extended beyond their own project villages. The openness, consultative nature, and transparency found in the Bank WUAs are also found (albeit at a somewhat lower level) in the non-Bank WUA villages.     

Spatial Variation and Space Optimization of the Development of China＇s Circular Economy

China＇s circular economy is still at the initial stage, whose development has many difficulties and problems requir- ing immediate resolution theoretically and practically. Due to the differences of re...     

紫坪铺水库在振兴成都平原经济中的战略地位

紫坪铺水库集农业灌溉、城市生活及工业供水、防洪、发电、漂木、水产、航运、环保、旅游等综合效益于一身,经济指标优越,建设条件较好,无重大技术难题所扰,投资回收年限不足4年,因此,兴利除害,综合利用,费省效宏是紫坪铺水库的自身优势.成都平原灌区及成都市的经济振兴离不开水和电,因此,需要修建紫坪铺水库。紫坪铺水库自身的综合利用优势又因成都平原灌区及成都市的经济振兴而存在,两者结合将产生出巨大的经济效益和社会效益.     

AN EXAMINATION OF THE MECHANISMS CONTROLLING GROUNDWATER GRADIENTS IN HYPER-ARID REGIONAL SEDIMENTARY BASINS1

ABSTRACT: Although evidence of modern recharge in the North African and Arabian sedimentary basin aquifers exists, it is difficult to determine the volume of recharge. Also, from the evidence of regional groundwater gradients, the flow within the aquifers seems to be appreciably greater than one would intuitively expect. A hypotehtical model embodying the characteristics of the aquifers has been used to investigate the likely significance of various possible flow mechanisms. It is shown that while dewatering in the unconfined area can possibly contribute to flows for a considerable period of time, the maintenance of water levels in the unconfined zone must be the result of modern recharge. It is also shown that recharge depths of less than 10 mm per annum are sufficient given suitable aquifer parameters. Results for various combinations of aquifer parameters and configurations are given, including layered aquifers and the effects of restricted oufflows. Comparisons are made using a “bench mark” example. The work indicates that there is little point in carrying out conventional hydrological balance studies in hyper-arid areas and that, instead, more emphasis should be placed upon good groundwater hydrographic data and modeling.     

INFLUENCE OF SMALL MAMMALS ON STORMFLOW RESPONSES OF PINE-COVERED CATCHMENTS1

ABSTRACT: The relative abundance of small mammals in five forest land cover types on the upper Coastal Plain of north Mississippi was determined. Burrowing mammals accounted for one-half of the total captures; one shrew species that accounted for over one-fourth of the total captures had a strong affinity for well-stocked pine plantations. The opportunity for detention and retention of rainfall was enhanced by burrowing activity. Reductions of stormflow volumes 12 to 15 years after replacing poor quality, upland hardwoods with loblolly pine were only partially explained by increased interception of rainfall; much of the residual reductions are postulated to be due to small mammal burrows. Small mammal activity deserves further study as an important aspect of forest land hydrology.     

The new regime for managing US—Mexican water resources

United States-Mexican transboundary water resources management is presently experiencing significant reform resulting from long-term demographic processes in the border region and greater economic integration. The recently concluded North American Free Trade Agreement and supplementary environmental accord modify existing agreements and provide old institution with new mandates. Particularly affected is the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC), long the lead agency in binational water management. This essay reviews the development of the new water management regime against the two preceding phases of management reform and considers its implications for improved water management in the border region.     

我国北方稻区稻飞虱的成灾机制：一个假说

本文通过对大量文献资料的综合分析，从飞虱的飞行特性和北迁运载气流入手，以东亚大气低层环流为背景审视飞虱在有限时间内远迁北方致灾的成因机制，提出了以北上低空急流的时空变化与南方大发生虫源迁出期（区）相吻合、其前沿所至与北方迁入区相一致作为北方稻虱成灾的启动因子的假说．并提出了验证该假说的研究方法和技术路线，为揭示北方稻虱成灾的奥秘，完善灾变监测技术和预警系统奠定了基础。     

CHANGES IN WATER POLICY IN THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA1

ABSTRACT: Ideology has predisposed the People's Republic of China against the use of prices to allocate water. Prolonged drought in north China has made the Chinese more aware of their unfavorable water resource inventory and the expense of expanding supply. Therefore, as part of the economic liberalization commenced since the death of Mao Zedong, China has started to make more active use of pricing to regulate demand and reduce the need for supply expansion.     

加快培育和提高中国企业的国际竞争力

本文以中国企业在国际企业中排名情况论述了中国企业的国际竞争力及其应采取的培育措施。     

西部开发中的累积环境影响

本文首先分析了西部地区生态环境现状，指出西部生态环境十分脆弱，破坏严重。然后在介绍累积影响概念的基础上，结合累积影响的发生过程，对西部地区的开发建设项目以及它们对环境可能产生的累积影响进行具体分析，指出累积影响问题在西部大开发过程中是客观存在的，西部开发过程中必须重视累积影响的作用。最后文章提出了一系列对策和建议，包括加强对累积影响的研究、对开发项目进行累积影响评价（CIA）、强化环境管理和法律监督，以及加强关于生态环境的宣传教育等，以促进西部地区的可持续发展。