水资源负债刍议

随着经济社会的快速发展,自然资源消耗不断加剧,由此造成的环境损害、生态退化趋势日益严峻,人类社会对生态环境的欠账已成为不争的事实。如何界定和量化这种欠账,并将其纳入经济社会发展评价体系,值得研究。基于经济学、会计学、统计学资产负债表基本理论,论文针对具有可再生性、随机性和流动性特点的水资源,探讨了水资源负债是否存在、水资源资产与负债如何界定、以及水资源资产负债核算思路等。通过总结国内外以往与自然资源负债和水资源负债相关的研究成果,厘清水资产、水资源资产、负债、金融负债、环境负债等基本内涵,研究认为：1）广义的水资源负债是指人类经济活动会对水资源数量、水环境质量和水生态系统带来不利影响,包括水资源的过度消耗造成对水循环过程及水资源可再生能力的损害、向天然水体的过度排放造成水环境容量的降低、生态用水的过度挤占造成水生态系统服务功能的减少;2）狭义的水资源负债是指当经济体过度使用和消耗水资源时,形成的经济体和环境之间关于水资源的债权债务关系,是一种已经发生的并在涉水活动中形成的、针对水循环过程及其可再生能力损害需承担的补偿、恢复或修复的现时义务;3）水资源负债可以通过引入环境作为虚拟主体、明确水资源资产和经济体的水资源权益加以确认,将水资源权益作为判定水资源负债形成的临界点。研究结论使水资源资产负债表编制成为可能,也可供其他自然资源在相关资产负债表中核算负债项提供借鉴和参考。

Discussion on Water Resources Liabilities

With the rapid development of economy, more and more natural resources have been depleted. It results in more and more severe problems of environment pollution and ecosystem deterioration. It is no doubt that human society has the liability to protect the environment. However, how to define and quantify this liability and how to fit it into the evaluation system of economic development is an issue to study. This paper, aiming at renewable, random and flowing water resources, discusses whether water resources liabilities exist in the balance sheet of assets and liabilities and how to define and account water resources assets and liabilities based on the principles of economics, accounting and statistics. After summing-up the experiences from relevant researches in natural resources liabilities and water resources liabilities and clarifying the concepts of water assets, water resources assets, liabilities, financial liabilities, environmental liabilities etc., the study draws the conclusions: 1) Generalized water resources liabilities can be defined as the negative impact on water resources volume, environmental quality and ecosystem function due to excessive improper economic activities. It could be further stated as the over-use of water resources leading to the damage on water cycling process and renewability of water, the over-discharge of wastewater and pollutant to natural water bodies leading to the reduction of environmental capacity, and the over-occupation of ecological water use leading to the decrease of ecosystem service. 2) Special water resources liabilities can be explained as the relations of obligatory right and debt on water resources between environment (creditor) and economic entity (debtor), which is defined as the debtor’s present obligation of compensation, restoration or reparation of the damage of water cycling process and renewability of water resources occurred in water-related activities. 3) Water liabilities can be accounted by introducing environment into balance sheet for water resources as a virtual sector to account water resources as non-financial and non-productive assets in economic account system. The occurrence of water resources liabilities can be confirmed by comparing the water resources used by the economic entities in an administrative region with the total volume of water right and interests for the economic entities in the region. The methodology of water resources liabilities proposed by authors can make it possible to format the balance sheet for water resources. It can also be referred to other natural resources in similar studies.