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.

Climate change, water resources and sustainable development in the arid and semi-arid lands of Central Asia in the past 30 years

The countries of Central Asia are collectively known as the five "-stans": Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan. In recent times, the Central Asian region has been affected by the shrinkage of the Aral Sea, widespread desertification, soil salinization, biodiversity loss, frequent sand storms, and many other ecological disasters. This paper is a review article based upon the collection, identification and collation of previous studies of environmental changes and regional developments in Central Asia in the past 30 years. Most recent studies have reached a consensus that the temperature rise in Central Asia is occurring faster than the global average. This warming trend will not only result in a higher evaporation in the basin oases, but also to a significant retreat of glaciers in the mountainous areas. Water is the key to sustainable development in the arid and semi-arid regions in Central Asia. The uneven distribution, over consumption, and pollution of water resources in Central Asia have caused severe water supply problems, which have been affecting regional harmony and development for the past 30 years. The widespread and significant land use changes in the 1990 s could be used to improve our understanding of natural variability and human interaction in the region. There has been a positive trend of trans-border cooperation among the Central Asian countries in recent years. International attention has grown and research projects have been initiated to provide water and ecosystem protection in Central Asia. However, the agreements that have been reached might not be able to deliver practical action in time to prevent severe ecological disasters. Water management should be based on hydrographic borders and ministries should be able to make timely decisions without political intervention. Fully integrated management of water resources, land use and industrial development is essential in Central Asia. The ecological crisis should provide sufficient motivation to reach a consensus on unified water management throughout the region.

Problems of Sustainable Use and Management of Water and Land Resources in Uzbekistan

In this paper, the problems of rational use, protection and management of water and irrigated land resources of Uzbekistan are discussed. Uzbekistan is using more than 50% water resources of the region and therefore it’s more vulnerable to the problems of water deficiency and pollution caused by mismanagement, use of outdated technologies, and climate change impact. Utilization of water resources on main branches of economy (irrigation, industry and drinking water supply) from 2000-2009 and in some cases beyond this period was analyzed. Based on the data analyzed, the conditions of irrigated land degradation in Uzbekistan are estimated. The results of this analysis suggest several possibilities toward a sustainable use of irrigated lands: i) reduction of the groundwater table depth;ii) decrease of the level of mineralization of groundwater, and iii) improvement of ameliorative conditions of irrigated lands. The causes resulting in degradation of the irrigated lands and practical measures on the reduction of salinization of the irrigated lands are also recommended.

DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES OF WATER AND LAND RESOURCES IN THE HEXI REGION,CHINA

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Interactions between water-land resources and oasis urban development at the northern slopes of the Tianshan Mountains,Xinjiang,China

Urban development in arid and semi-arid regions is largely constrained by fragile physical environ- ments. The characteristics of an urban settlement are different from those in other regions of China. This paper analyses the coupling characteristics and spatio-temporal variations for oasis urban development and water-land resources at the northern slopes of the Tianshan Mountains by principal component analysis and a coupling degree model. The result shows that the degree and change in regional use of water and land resources are different among the studied cities/counties during their development. The built-up areas of these cities/counties have changed little with increasing populations and urbanization levels, which well reflects that the urban development in arid and semi-arid regions is limited by oasis areas. Per capita amount of water supplied, however, presented a trend of slowed growth with increasing levels of urbanization. Water consumption gradually increased with urban development and the improvement of people＇s living standards, accompanied by enhanced water use efficiency. The level of urbanization can be assessed through the coupling degree between oasis urban development and the use of water and land resources. A high coupling degree represents a high level of comprehensive urban devel- opment and use of water-land resources. Alternatively, a low coupling degree denotes a low level of urban devel- opment and water-land resource use.

CHARACTERISTICS AND RATIONAL EXPLOITATION OF LAND RESOURCES IN XIZANG

ＣＨＡＲＡＣＴＥＲＩＳＴＩＣＳ ＡＮＤ ＲＡＴＩＯＮＡＬ ＥＸＰＬＯＩＴＡＴＩＯＮ ＯＦ ＬＡＮＤ ＲＥＳＯＵＲＣＥＳ ＩＮ ＸＩＺＡＮＧＣＨＡＲＡＣＴＥＲＩＳＴＩＣＳＡＮＤＲＡＴＩＯＮＡＬＥＸＰＬＯＩＴＡＴＩＯＮＯＦＬＡＮＤＲＥＳＯＵＲＣＥＳＩＮＸ...

Coupling of water and land resources and its application in regionalization

This paper focuses on the coupling of water and land resources based on several factors related closely to either water or land resources, which have become a topical subject due to the economic expansion and their sustainable development in recent years. A case of Qihe County in Shangdong Province, China has been used to demonstrate the methodology of the coupling and its application in regionalization with the help of geographical information system (GIS) tool. Field observation and measurement of soil salt and moisture in several profiles are used to verify the results of the coupling, which gives reasonable distribution of different areas regarding to the advantages and disadvantages for sustainable agriculture.

The supporting capability of Water and land resources for sustainable increase of yield in North China Plain

The potential of yield increase in the North China Plain is about 30 billion kg by ameliorating the low yield and medium low yield farmlands and 4 billion kg by reclaiming unused land. Water shortage will be the main limitation to the further increase of grain crop yield. The amount of water shortage is 8 200 million m3 at present, and will be 17 720 million m3 in 2 000. Yield increase can not be realized by using more water in the future. Other factors such as decrease of the area of cultivated land and the grain crop growing area, deterioration of environment and destruction of resources will also affect the development of grain production. Some suggestions have been proposed in the paper for attaining sustainable increase of yield in the plain.

Application of System Dynamics in Analyzing the Cultivated Land-Water Resources Carrying Capacity in Bijie Prefecture,China

The cultivated land-water resources carrying capacity(CL-WRCC)with the method of system dynamics(SD)were analyzed.Bijie prefecture of Guizhou province served as a case in this study.Bijie prefecture is one of the least-developed areas in China.In Bijie,the physical and chemical characteristics of karst as well as the rapid economic development lead to the scarcities of cultivated land-water resources(CL-WR).On the basis of analysis on the subsystems of Bijie CL-WRCC system,the fundamental feedback structure of CL-WRCC was presented by causal loop diagram.Considering the three aims("poverty alleviation and development,ecological construction,and population control")of Bijie as the major goals,Bijie CL-WRCC SD model was developed.Three scenarios,resource-saving and environment-friendly development-oriented scenario(Scenario 1),fast economic development-oriented scenario(Scenario 2),and coordinated development-oriented scenario(Scenario 3),were investigated.Simulation results indicate that Scenario 3 which takes social economic development,environment protection,and cultivated landwater resources utilization into account,is the best alternative scenario.It can promote the coordination development of society,economy,cultivated land,water resources,and environment.In this study,the technological support and the decision-making for the rational use of CL-WR are provided not only in Bijie,but also in other similar regions of China.

Study on ecological and economic effects of land and water resources allocation in Sanjiang Plain

The pattern of groundwater usage and industrial development in the Sanjiang Plain remains a concern of Chinese government. In accordance with the Water Conservancy Planning of the Sanjiang Plain, this paper presents a Sanjiang Plain resources allocation model which is established to be used in controlling water, land, ecology and economy in consideration of 50%-level and 75%-level years, planting structure adjustment, industry development by 2020, and different transit water exploitation schemes. Lingo10 global optimization has been adopted in solving the model. The results show that by 2020 the output of three industries will increase to a certain degree, the grain yields will satisfy state demand, and regional service value will decrease dramatically. Such results provide theoretical basis and practical significance for instructing the development and exploitation of the Sanjiang Plain.

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

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

Effect of coal resources development and compensation for damage to cultivated land in mining areas

The exploitation of coal resources inevitably affects, to different degrees, arable land resources and impacts the socio-economic development in mining areas. Therefore it is of great practical importance to probe the rules of the effect from coal resource exploration on arable land. Suitable and effective measures to compensate for damaged to and loss of arable land resources should be taken on the basis of carrying out green mining and reducing damage to limited arable land resources. We have used GIS in simulating the effect of coal resource exploration on arable land. In light of our simulation of the space-time spectrum, the effect is analyzed. Given the socio-economic development conditions of a mining area, specified rational amounts and opportunities for compensation to arable land in mining areas are explored. Finally, from a policy perspective, relevant proposals for rational arable land resource compensation are proposed to facilitate the coordinated development between coal resource exploitation and socio-economy development in mining areas.

Impact of Climate and Land-Use Changes on Water Security for Agriculture in Northern China

North China is the most important food basket of China, where the majority of wheat and corn are produced. Most crops grown in North China are irrigated, thus water security is food security. Since the 1980s, drying has been frequently observed, as shown by a reduction in precipitation, cutoff in riverflow, and shrinkage of lakes. This increase in drying cannot be explained by climate change alone. We propose that intensive land-use in this area in recent decades has had a significant impact. The objectives of the study are to develop a quantitative model of the concurrent processes of climate change and land-use in North China, and to estimate the relative contributions of each on the observed drying. We integrated relevant socioeconomic data, land-use data, and climate data in the model, and carried out a detailed multi-temporal （decade, year, day） analysis. Results showed that land-use has greatly changed since 1999. This change is mainly associated with an extremely important 1999 national policy of ＂returning farmland and grazing land to forest and grassland＂. We found an interesting interaction between climate change and land use policy on riverflow, runoff, and evapotranspiration. During 1970s and 1980s, climate change explained more than 80%, while the land-use change explained only 10% of the riverflow change. The relative contributions were 45 and 45% in the 1980s-1990s and 35 and 55% in the 1990s-2000s respectively for climate change and land-use change. Since the 1990s land-use change has also contributed more to runoff change than climate change. The opposite trend was found for changes in evapotranspiration. Water availability for agriculture in northern China is simultaneously stressed by extensive changes in land-use and rapid climate change. Adaptation of ecological principles, such as the ＂returning farmland/grazing land to forest and grassland＂ policy, and other adjustments of economic developmental strategies can be effective tools to mitigate the water shortage problem in northern China and promote sustainable agricultural and food development.

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

Soil and Water Resources and Land Sustainable Productivity in the Catchment Area with Intensive Management in Hilly Red Soil Regions,China

Taking an example of Majiayu Catchment Area (14.15 ha) in Taoyuan County of HunanProvince, the soil and water resources dynamics, fertility evolution characteristics andland productivity changing situation were studied. Fixed observation results from 1993to 2002 showed that pools covering about 15% of total area could store up 10% of surfacerunoff, keep 78.1% of eroded soil and 65.4% of lost nutrients. The yearly ratio ofinterception and evapotranspiration in land, storage in pools and drainage was 7:2:1,which ensured the resources and nutrients equilibrium and a benign recycle in thecatchment area system, and benefited the aquatic culture and helped to resist seasonaldrought. Moreover, the results showed that soil erosion modulus decreased significantly,equal to or lower than soil loss tolerance (≤500 tkm-2) in reddish yellow soil regions.Soil organic matter, total and available N content in sloping land, dryland and paddyfield increased steadily (>10%); water storage enhanced by more than 20% in sloping landand dryland in drought season; crop production increased by more than 20%; and productionof trees, fruits, tea and fish as well as land productivity increased yearly.

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.

Water Distribution in the Perspectives of Stakeholders and Water Users in the Tarim River Catchment, Xinjiang, China

Many river basins in the arid and semi-arid parts of the world are experiencing water scarcity due to water consumption by agriculture resulting in conflicts between upstream and downstream, conflicts between water users, and degradation of the natural ecosystems. The Tarim Basin, Xinjiang, China, has developed into the world’s most important cotton production region with 8.85% of the world’s production. Under the extremely arid climate with annual precipitation of below 100 mm, the water consumption due to irrigation resulted in water scarcity and conflicts between water users as well as between upstream and downstream. The Tarim river catchment harbors about half of the world’s Populus euphratica riparian forests, which are impacted by water shortage. Starting in the 1990s, a unified water management system with a quota system for water distribution has been set up. We introduce this unified water management system and analyze how the water distribution works in practice. Ecologists and forestry officials claim more water for environmental flow, whereas water management officials give priority to agricultural, industrial, and domestic water use. The water quotas for downstream regions are frequently not fulfilled, especially during the non-flood season in spring and early summer posing a risk to water users. Water users with financial and political advantages gain more water security than others. The water quotas are annual quotas. These quotas should be differentiated into seasonal quotas, in order to enhance water security for the downstream section of the Tarim all year round.

Assessment of deep groundwater over-exploitation in the North China Plain

A series of environmental—geological problems have been caused by over-exploitation of deep groundwater（i.e.,confined aquifer water） in the North China Plain.In order to better understand the status of deep groundwater over-exploitation and the resultant environmental—geological problems on a regional scale,the over-exploitation of groundwater has been assessed by way of the groundwater exploitation potential coefficient（i.e.,the ratio of exploitable amount of deep groundwater to current exploitation）, cumulative land subsidence,and long-term average lowering rate of the groundwater table.There is a good correlation among the results calculated by the different methods.On a regional scale,deep groundwater has been over-exploited and there is no further exploitation potential under the current conditions.The groundwater exploitation degree index takes the exploitation in 2003 as the reference for the calculations, so the results mainly reflect the degree of current groundwater exploitation.The results of over-exploitation of deep groundwater obtained by land subsidence data and long-term average rate of depression of the water table mainly reflect environmental—geological problems caused by exploitation of deep groundwater.