THE GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT CHALLENGE IN RURALHEBEI: THE POTENTIAL - AND LIMITS – OF COMMUNITYMANAGEMENT

摘要

China’s quarter century record of rapid economic development has had a major impact on the lives of urban and ruralrninhabitants. However, rapid growth has come at a high price to the natural resource base. In particular, spiralling urban and ruralrnwater demand has raised difficult questions about the sustainability of demand and supply trajectories, and competition betweenrnsectors. Today, there is growing recognition of the link between improved water resources management, socio-economic developmentrnand poverty reduction. The principles of integrated water resources management (IWRM) enshrined in the 2002 Water Law providernclear evidence of this, with the government seeking to advance China’s development goals, and achieve a xiaokang society, in waysrnthat do not compromise the long-term sustainability of the resource base.rnIn this context, efforts to promote groundwater conservation in rural Hebei are worthy of particular attention. Hebei is one ofrnthe most important food-producing regions of China, and agricultural livelihoods are intimately related to the status of groundwaterrnresources. Falling groundwater levels have raised concerns that present agricultural use is unsustainable, and that rural livelihoods mayrnbe seriously affected unless effective demand management measures - including technical interventions and regulatory controls - arernput in place. Implementing new reforms across the large areas at risk remains hugely challenging, however. Agriculture’s claim tornwater is based on social-poverty grounds, as well as strategic concerns about food security and rural stability; controlling the pumpingrnof a multitude of well owner-operators is extremely difficu and investment in new irrigation technologies has, hitherto, underemphasisedrnthe need for community participation and management.rnThis paper summarises groundwater management experience gained under the Sino-Australian Government project, Water andrnAgricultural Management in Hebei (WAMH), in the context of wider government efforts to promote sustainable water use inrnagriculture. In particular, efforts to promote ‘more crop per drop’ and ‘more income per drop’ within existing irrigated areas arerndiscussed, based on experience in six counties with modern irrigation technologies and agronomic practices. New institutionalrnapproaches to the planning and implementation of activities are also highlighted, emphasising the role communities can play as activerndevelopment partners, rather than passive beneficiaries of government assistance. A key conclusion is that technical interventions, byrnthemselves, will not solve the groundwater overdraft problem in rural Hebei. Investment in irrigation hardware has to be backed-uprnwith complementary investment in community mobilisation and management, while government agencies at different levels begin therndifficult task of implementing new groundwater controls.