Preface
The year 2015 was the concluding year for the implementation of the 12th Five-year Plan.Under the leadership of the Central Government,water agencies at all levels worked tirelessly and achieved notable results in reform and development.
Key achievements were made in controlling flood and mitigating drought and other related disasters.Flood in big rivers,typhoons,mountain torrents,water logging within urban areas and drought disasters were effectively handled.All the large and medium-sized reservoirs reported no dam breaches and all the important dykes experienced no levee breaches.Therefore,the water supply for daily life and industrial use was basically guaranteed.Flood prevention and water supply were effectively enhanced.And losses caused by disasters were minimized with the number of people lost or missing at a record low since the founding of the PRC in 1949.
Water projects construction were sped up during the last 5 years.85 of the 172 major projects for water conservation and supply have been launched.On-going construction projects command an investment scale of over RMB 800 billion (USD 123.1 billion).Drinking water safety difficulties were overcome for 64.3 million rural residents,teachers and students in project areas as well as Tibetan-inhabited areas in 4 provinces,namely Qinghai,Sichuan,Yunnan and Gansu provinces.Technical improvement and transformation were accelerated for large irrigation districts and large-scale irrigation and drainage pump stations.Newly-added water-saving irrigation areas surpassed 20 million mu (1.3 million hm2).The construction of farmland water conservancy during winter and spring saw new momentum.New progress was made in the development of weak links such as harnessing small and medium-sized rivers,risk removal and dam reinforcement of defective reservoirs and sluices,prevention of mountain torrents and construction of drought-resisting water source projects.
Solid steps were made in promoting water ecological progress.The implementation of the most stringent water resources management system and water pollution prevention action planning was accelerated.Water allocation schemes for 13 rivers were ready for approval by the State Council;the pilot programs of water ecological progress in 105 cities made solid progress;the comprehensively treated areas once exposed to soil erosion reached 54,000 km2;the number of harnessed small watersheds added up to more than 3,000.Terraced farmland was expanded by more than 4 million mu (267,000 hm2);and the installed capacity of newly-added rural hydropower stations exceeded 2 million kW.
Reform in the key aspects of water conservancy saw great breakthroughs.Reform in administrative examination and approval for water conservancy projects construction was further deepened;the establishment of diversified investment and financing mechanisms for water conservancy projects was sped up;and the construction of 12 key pilot water conservancy projects using social capital got under way.The pilot program for the comprehensive reform of the agricultural water price in 80 counties was completed;and the establishment of water rights and water markets and property rights reform for farmland water conservancy facilities moved in full swing.Law-based water governance was strengthened in an all-round way and fruitful results were in harvested water science and technology innovation.
Water reform in the 12th Five-year Plan was carried out in a satisfactory manner.All the goals set in The 12thFive-year Plan for National Economic and Social Development of the People's Republic of China and The 12thFive-year Plan for the Development of National Water Conservancy were essentially realized.Generally speaking,the 12th Five-year Plan period saw the largest ever investment in water conservancy projects,the fastest progress in their construction,the greatest momentum for reform and the most substaintial benefits enjoyed by the population,leaving an indelible chapter in the water harnessing history of China.
The period for the 13th Five-year Plan will be decisive for China in its efforts to build a well-off society by the end of the decade.The Central Government regards water conservancy as important in advancing the"Five Development Concepts".Water conservancy was given top priority among eight items of major infrastructure network construction and was identified as one of the country's"nine major risk prevention fields."Arrangements have been made and clear-cut requirements have been put forward by the Central Government.Therefore,we have made adjustments as necessary to meet the demands of the next five-year plan.We must act in line with the"Four-pronged Comprehensive Strategy"and"Five Development Concepts",and move quickly to build and perfect the country's water conservancy infrastructure in order to achieve a sound water ecosystem.More efforts will be made to improve people-oriented water conservancy and create a water security enabling system as required by the goal of building a well-off society in an all-round way.
The year 2016 is the starting year for the implementation of the 13th Five-year Plan and also the year for tackling key problems in advancing structural reform.Heavy and difficult tasks lie ahead for water sector reform and development.The Ministry of Water Resources (hereinafter referred to as MWR) has put forward the general requirements such as aiming at building a well-off society in an all-round way,grasping the country's "new normal" of economic growth and development,focusing on the improvement of the quality and efficiency of the supply system and adhering to the major theme of deepening reform.Specific arrangements have been made in eight aspects.With a clear-cut goal and a defined blueprint,we need to take solid actions to implement the program.This year will be another fruitful year in water conservancy work in China.
During the editing and publishing of China Water Development Report 2016,we have been endowed with the generous support of many leaders.This report also owes a great deal to the painstaking efforts of many experts and scholars.I would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to all of them on behalf of the editorial board.In the meantime,I look forward to valuable comments and suggestions from readers.
Tian Xuebin
Vice Minister of Water Resources,P.R.China