SUSTAINABLE EXPLOITATION AND UTILIZATION OF WATER RESOURCES IN THE INLAND RIVERBASIN OF ARID NORTHWEST CHINA

Calculated in terms of surface runoff plus irrepeated groundwater, there is about 8. 67 ×1010m3 of total available water resources in the inland river basins of arid Northwest China. Water resources is the decisive factor for survival of oases and human being. But there have arisen several aspects of Serious eco-environment problems resulted from irrational exploitation and utilization. From now on, the development and utilization of water not only requires to promote regional economy, but also needs to protect and improve the environment based on their potential. Sustainable utilization needs to broaden new sources and saving water at first. Then three measures are recommended.

THE CONDITIONS OF THE GLACIAL WATER RESOURCE AND WAYS OF ITS EXPLOITATION AND UTILIZATION IN CHINA

China is one of the countries where there is abundant glacial water rears and glaciers exist in a vast area of mountainous regions. In this paper, a prehensive discusion is made for the characteristics of glacial water resource, the chewical properties of matwater and the prospects of future utilization in China. It has found that the gladal water resource is a water resource system based on the effect of a solid water reservoir. Its degree of mineralization is low and it almost does not have any pollution. In particular glacial water is high quality fresh water resource in the inland arid region. It is necesary to reconfirm the value of this water and conduct further studies on the fundamentals of its application in order to ratiedly exploit, utilze and preserve the glacial water resource.

Research on Water Resources Conservation of Mountain River Based on the Concept of Region Partition

Presently concepts and methods related to water resources conservation of mountain rivers are seriously insufficient,and its level is far from being adaptable to the development of a harmonious society.As mountain ecosystems play a key role in water resources conservation of mountain rivers,and the characteristics of mountain ecosystems and hydrologic features of mountain river follow strong temporal and spatial distribution,partition theory can be applied to the water resources conservation of mountain river.This theory observes the following partition principles:regional relativity,spatial continuity,integralcounty,meeting management needs,hierarchical principle,and comparability principle.And it lays equal emphasis on both water resources conservation and environmental protection,on both water quality conservation and water quantity protection,on the combination of water features,water cycle and water pollution.In the partition methods,index method and map superposition method will be applied in region partition.The example of region partition of water resources conservation in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River shows that the partition theory is practicable in water resources conservation of mountain rivers,and it provides a platform for future study in water resources conservation.

STAGES AND POTENTIALITY OF WATER RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT INARID NORTHWESTERN CHINA

The processes of water resources exploitation and utilization can be divided into three stages by water resources transformation, and the history, present situation and future trend of water resources development in piedmont areas around high mountains of arid northwestern China. The three stages are: the stage of surface water development (the first stage), the stage of comprehensive development of surface and ground water (the second stage) and the stage of economical development of water rare (the third stage). The three stages link each other and show the law and processes of water resources exploitation and utilization associated with social and technological progess. The economical water policy should run through the three stages. On this point, however, the third stage differs from the others, particularly, refering to irrigated agriculture. The third stage has more progressive significance because it breaks the traditional ideas on water resources development. According to our investigation and calculation, under present conditions of water resources development, the net used water is about 160 × 108 m3, accounting for 18% of the total water resources of northwestern China. The water resources have not ben fully develop. If the first stage is finished, the exploitable water can be increased by 91 %. After the second stage, furthermore, it can be increased by 216%.

THE PROBLEMS OF WATER RESOURCES IN NORTH CHINA AND THE STRATEGY

North China, whose total area is 420,000 km2, covers 2 provinces and 2 cities (Shanxi and Hebei provinces, Beijing and Tianjin) and the territories of Henan and Shandong provinces to the north of the Huanghe (Yellow) River, and part of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Liaoning Province. Most of this region, which is situated in the semi-humid, semi-arid continental climate temperate zone, gets an annual precipitation of 500-600 mm, whereas, the perennial average amount of total water resource is 50.99 billion m3, including 33.82 billion m3 of surface water, 32.94 billion m3 of ground water and 15.77 billion m3 of their duplication. Due to the intensive exploitation of water resource caused by the deficiency of water resource in North China, key elements of water balance was changed, runoff volume reduced, evaporation increased, vertical movement of moisture strengthened, water circulation pattern transformed from open system into regionally closed system; meanwhile, due to the incompetent

Quality Testing of Air Conditioner Condensate and Its Potential in Water Conservation

A major part of world is facing water shortages today. While the world’s population has grown to more than 7.75 billion, the quantity of sweet water has remained the same. The ever increasing use of water by such a large population has resulted in pollution of many water sources. The developing world where a large fraction of total world population is located faces water scarcity in a more severe manner than the developed world. The developed world has managed to control human population and preserve natural water resources more effectively. As a result of this and also due to stabilized population, they face lesser problems for water availability. Indian population stands at 1.386 billion as nowadays. The erratic monsoon rains over last few years have resulted in floods and subsequent water shortages in summer months in major part of the country. A similar situation is faced by many Asian and African countries. The means of recycling and using every possible source of water are always welcome in these countries. Since many of these countries lie in tropical or semitropical zone, the average relative humidity is more than 50% for most of the year. Changing life styles in these countries and spread of information technology based sectors have resulted in a growth spurt in air conditioning facilities. An air conditioner draws heat from surrounding air and cools the premises to desired temperature. During this process, a large amount of moisture in the atmosphere gets condensed and is drained out. There are no efforts made to recover this water in India and neighbouring countries. We have undertaken studies to check the quality of this water and see the feasibility of its use in a decentralized but effective manner. The results show that this water condensate from air conditioners is highly pure, substantial and available almost round the year. This can help in recovering millions of litres of good quality water daily. This water would find uses in industries, laboratories, households and farming. It would also create good business opportunities.

Roles of Science and Technology in Soil and Water Conservation in the New Era

Firstly,current situation and main problems of science and technology development of soil and water conservation were analyzed,and then roles of science and technology in soil and water conservation were studied. At last,exploration ways of roles of science and technology in soil and water conservation were proposed.

Environmental issues and countermeasures in exploiting water resources of rivers

Based on affirming the tremendous benefits that water resources of rivers can provide in their exploitation, main environmental problems and their countermeasures have been proposed and analyzed in this paper. It is argued that multiple measures should be applied to solving those problems by simultaneously carrying out engineering measures, scientific research and also programs to cultivate the society’s awareness, aimed at a sustainable development strategy for exploiting water resources.

Water resources utilization and eco-environmental safety in Northwest China

Northwest China includes Xinjiang Ugyur Autonomous Region, Qinghai Province, Gansu Province, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region and Shaanxi Province, covering 308×10^4km^2. It is located in the warm-temperate zone and the climate is arid or semi-arid. Precipitation is very scarce but evaporation is extremely high. The climate is dry, the water resources are deficient, the ecoenvironment is fragile, and the distribution of water resources is uneven. In this region, precipitation is the only input, and evaporation is the only output in the inland rivers, and precipitation, surface water and groundwater change with each other for many times, which benefits the storage and utilization of water resources. The average precipitation in this region is 232 mm, the total precipitation amount is 7003×108m^3/a, the surface water resources are 1891×10^8m^3/a, the total natural groundwater resources are 1150×10^8m^3/a, the total available water resources are 438×10^8 m^3/a, and the total water resources are 1996×10^8m^3/a and per capita water resources are 2278 m^3/a. The water resources of the whole area are 5.94×10^4m^3/（a.km^2）, being only one-fifth of the mean value in China. Now, the available water resources are 876×10^8m^3/a, among which groundwater is proximate 130×10^8m^3/a.

Crisis of Water Resources on the Ulan Buh Desert Oases, Inner Mongolia, China-A Case Study of Dengkou County

Hetao Plain, composed of hundreds of oases, is one of the most important grain-producing areas in China. Most crops, especially wheat and corn, depend on irrigation, thus water availability is a key issue for grain productivity on this land. The Yellow River is the main water source for irrigation and a crisis of water resources for agricultural use occurs because of increasingly reduced river flows and water-using competition with industry and human residential use. In order to understand the current situation and distribution of water resources on these oases, we collected 20-yr＇s data of river runoff, irrigation volumes, infiltration and precipitation to examine the relationships between water resources distribution and its agricultural use. We found that the oasis in Dengkou county was short of water resources with a water deficit rate of 5.14% in 2010. Based on the trend of the data, water deficit will continue to increase as the population grows in the future. Water resource is a limiting factor to agricultural development in this region and proper management of water use and strategies for water resource conservation are urgently needed. Especially, based on our results we suggest that current irrigation methods need to be greatly improved to save the water that was lost from evaporation.

Problems for water resources development in typical small karst drainage basins and countermeasures

In karst area water deficit is one of the main factors constraining sustainable economic development. In 1979 the comprehensive karstic observational field station was set up in Houzhai drainage basin located,\ in Puding county of Guizhou Province, which can represent most of the small karst drainage basins on the dividing line of the Guizhou Plateau. Geomorphology, water resources and water chemistry were investigated and observed. Based on comparisons of water supply with water demand and analysis of the main problems in water exploitation and utilization. it is found out that the water deficiency was not directly caused by the scarcity of natural water resources. The true reason is the insufficient capacity of water supply caused by the dismatch of the water and soil water resources which can be dealt with by building more irrigation works. Some solutions such as to build scientific basis for water exploitation and utilization and sustainable economic development in karst drainage basins on dividing line of the Guizhou Plateau.

Regime of subsurface water resources in shallow groundwater agricultural fields

In shallow groundwater agricultural fields, water exchanges between groundwater and soil water happen frequently and intensively. This paper analyzes the regale of subsurface water during the growing period of winter wheat from October 1998 to June 1999 in Yucheng area. During an 8- month period of winter wheat growth. 456.66 mm of evapotranspiration and 75.61mm of groundwater evaporation were measured with a new model lysimeter. Groundwater at 1.60-2.40 m depth of water tables contributed 16.6% of total water used by winter wheat under natural. precipitation and irrigation treatment.The results showed that a significant proportion of field evapotranspiration was supplied by groundwater evaporation, whereas the role of groundwater evaporation was not considered during irrigation, leading to soil water percolation into groundwater.In order to improve water use efficiency of crops, some measures were put forward in the paper. Effective use of groundwater and soil water is a key countermeasure for sustainable development of water-saving agriculture and Water resource exploitation in Yucheng area

Evaluation of Potential Impacts of Agricultural Policy Reforms on Sustainability of Groundwater Resources of Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia has achieved extensive development and expansion in agriculture sector and achieved self sufficiency in a number of agricultural crops including wheat, fodders, dates, some vegetables and fruits. Considering the future growing need for food and water, government of Saudi Arabia has formulated and implemented a number of policy reforms for conservation, optimal utilization and sustainable development of natural resources of the Kingdom. The present study focuses on potential future impacts on natural resources conservations and strategic planning due to recent policy reforms （Council of Ministers （CoM） on Water Resources Management and Conservation （Decision No. 335）） issued on September 2008. The modeling of wheat agriculture was performed based on detailed analysis of water application practices in wheat growing regions/districts and future projection of wheat irrigation in context of recent government water resources conservation strategy. The results clearly indicated a significant positive impact will be occurred in terms of huge relief on highly stressed and limited national strategic groundwater resources. The present study estimated a saving and conservation of more than 51.0 billion cubic meters （BCM） of non-renewable groundwater resources during next 11 years.

Evaluation on the Essentiality Grades of Water Conserving in Tibet, China

Taking Tibet as an example, the functional essentiality degrees of water resources conserving of regions were discussed in this paper. At first, based on the status of regional vegetation, whether the region has the function of water conserving was made certain. And then, according to the impacted objects of water resources conserving, taking into account the demands for water and regional supply capacities of water and the requirement of environmental protection, the functional grades of regional water resources conserving of Tibet were evaluated in this paper.

Introduction to rainwater management in Australia and suggestions for China's water problems

Australia is one of the world leaders in water management. The country meets the challenge of water shortage with established integrated water management in which rainwater is taken as a too precious resource to be just drained off. In Australia, rainwater is extensively harvested and polished to provide cheaper supply for potable and non-potable domestic uses, irrigation, landscaping, refilling aquifers and other uses. Implementing dual management over the quantity and quality of storm water and practicing water sensitive urban design (WSUD) in urban areas effectively control non-point-source pollution of waterways by pollutants carried with runoffs, reduce the discharge of rainwater and thus protect properties and lives from damage by floods. These achievements are attributed to constant reinforcement by govenments from federal to local levels in policy, financial, legal and educational aspects, and also to the lasting efforts of professional communities and water industry in developing requisite techniques, demonstrating the benefits and fostering public credence of rainwater reuse. The successful rainwater management practices in Australia suggest rainwater harvesting can be a complimentary means for the South-to-North Water Transfer Scheme to solve the water shortage in China's northern regions, and thus release to a degree the pressure on the Yangtze water resources. Best management practices of rainwater can be an effective controlling strategy for flooding and non-point-source water pollution of waterways. Such in-site source control initiatives have particular significance to protecting slow waterways of weak self-purification ability, like the Three Gorges Reservior.

Fenlong Cultivation-the Fourth Set of Farming Methods Invented in China

The basic theory and effect of the new farming method of ＂Fenlong＂ cultivation which has been included in the main extension technology of Ministry of Agriculture of the People＇s Republic of China is fully illustrated for the first time, and it is the fourth set （generation） of farming modes and methods following manpower, animal and mechanical （tractor） farming. It follows the natural law to achieve soil activation, water saving, oxygen increase, warming and desalination through the active use of natural resources like soil, rainfall and solar energy, thereby promoting a new round of natural agricultural production and quality improvement and water con- servation, which has crop yield increase by 10%-30%, quality improvement of 5%, natural precipitation retaining increase by100%. The characteristics and mechanism are the use of spiral drill for one-time completion of the land preparation by drilling vertically to 30-50 cm of soil layer through high speed peeling. After instant high temperature and many fierce impacts, mechanical frictions, it could achieve the multiplication of the number of loose soil, soil physical modification and expansion of the soil nutrients, reservoirs, oxygen, microorganisms （＂Four pools＂）. Fenlong cultivation can give birth to new farming culture and civilization, and it can achieve the physical ＂desalinized＂ transformation and utilization of saline soil. The formation of Fenlong green farming technology system makes it possible to invent the farming tools of ＂serf-propelled Fenlong machinery＂ that has got the patent, and it is the method for farmland （dry land, paddy field） Fenlong cultivation, saline-alkali soil smash-ridging cultivation and for the abundance of grass ecology on degraded grassland. The application of Fenlong ＂4＋1＂ （arable, saline-alkali soil, grasslands, Sponge City＋rivers） green development in China can achieve the ＂double safety＂ of food and living space.

The centrality of water resources to the realization of Sustainable Development Goals(SDG).A review of potentials and constraints on the African continent

Africa is endowed with vast water resources including but not limited to lakes,rivers,swamps and underground aquifers.However,the way of life in Africa does not reflect this kind of wealth owing majorly to degradation and underutilization of these water resources.This review discusses the centrality of water resources in Africa's pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs).Following the Sustainable Development Model,the paper thematically examines and synthesizes the importance and potentials of water resources to Africa's development through exploring their contributions and limitations to the various economic sectors namely;agricultural and livestock production,energy,manufacturing and processing,tourism,health,fisheries,trade and other institutional mechanisms such as payment for ecosystem services(PES),mutual cooperation and economic cooperation.Data were collected by review of online peer-reviewed and grey literature published between the year 2000 and 2015.It is observed that sustainable management of water and sanitation for all(SDG 6)will be central to the attainment of all the other SDGs(particularly SDG 1(No poverty),2(No hunger),3(Good health),14(life below water)and 15(life on land))across Africa.African states should therefore increase their commitment to water conservation and management as this will significantly decide Africa's future development paths.

Discussion on Spatial Optimization Modeling of Water Resource Conservation Forests and Management Practice of Forest Functions

According to the unification principle of system structure and system function of the Water Resource Conservation Forests,seven factors were selected from stand spatial structure,trees structure and healthy of woods,the multifunction management optimization model target was confirmed by using nonlinearity multi-objective programming approach, and the target function-stand spatial structure homogeneity index was defined to establish spatial optimization models with restraining conditions set up in diversity of stand structure and spatial structure.The spatial structure of available typical stand in the wet land area in southern Donting Lake was optimized by means of selective cutting and reinforcement planting.The results showed that the spatial structure was improved obviously and trees diversity and stand health were not weakened.It’s suggested that the established optimization model can effectively guide multifunction management,stand structure optimization and the steadiness of ecological ecosystem and it is convenient and operable in practice,and it’s very important to protect and recover ecosystem of Water Resource Conservation Forests.

月球资源开发利用的进展与展望

中国探月工程“绕、落、回”三步走圆满收官,后续将建立国际月球科研站,并进一步规划建立月球基地。月球探测任务由探测勘察进入到开发利用新阶段,月面资源的勘查、开发和利用是未来月球探测的重点任务。总结了月球资源开发利用方面的国内外重要进展,涉及月球资源勘探、水冰等挥发分分析、月球矿物冶炼与材料制备、月面建造与月壤3D打印等四个方面。同时,月球资源开发利用面临极端月面环境、独特月壤理化特性、全流程无人自主控制等重大挑战,为解决这些问题,提出了未来月球资源开发利用的重点任务和研究思路,可为后续科学研究和工程任务实施提供参考。