CRI听力:Thirsty China Marks 2012 World Water Day

Over the past few years, water shortages have become the biggest problem facing China's rapid urbanization process. Wang Hao, an expert with the China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, says about two thirds of Chinese cities face this problem.

"Based on the results of the national water resources investigation, nearly 420 Chinese cities out of 667 cities in total face water shortages."

China is one of the 13 countries listed by the United Nations as badly lacking water resources. The world's average amount of water resources per capita is about 8 thousand cubic meters, while the figure in China is only a quarter of the world's average. This figure in Chinese cities is even smaller due to dense populations. Take Beijing for example, the amount of freshwater resources per capita is about 180 cubic meters; far less than the world's average level.

As urbanization expands and industrialization deepens, water shortages are becoming a more prominent problem, creating increasingly adverse effects. Expert Wang Hao says the water resources crisis has constrained social development.

"Out of 420 cities, the water deficiency amounts to 10.5 billion cubic meters every year, which leads to more than 200 billion yuan in economic losses."
At the same time, the agricultural sector consumes 62% of the total water used, with an effective coefficient of 0.48, far behind that of advanced countries. Water shortages and low water-usage efficiency have threatened China's food security.

In order to solve the problem, the State Council has issued the strictest regulations yet in an effort to protect water resources. Chen Mingzhong, a senior officer with the Ministry of Water Resources, elaborates upon the regulations that have been put into effect.

"We have laid down specific regulations in relation to three aspects of China's water security, namely water resources development and usage, water-usage efficiency and pollutant loads in functional water areas."

The central government has vowed to invest 4 trillion yuan in the water sector over the next decade in an effort to promote the sustainable use of water resources and raise public awareness of the need for water conservation and security.

For CRI, I'm Yunfeng.