Department of Industrial Ecology, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden.
Water Sci Technol. 2010;61(2):499-506. doi: 10.2166/wst.2010.848.
The emerging water crisis in China shows that the current institutional frameworks and policies with regard to water resources management are incapable of achieving an effective and satisfactory situation that includes Integrated River Basin Management (IRBM). This paper analyses this framework and related policies, examines their deficiencies in relation to all water stress problems and explores alternatives focusing on river basins. Water resources management reforms in modern China are reviewed and the main problems involved in transforming the current river management system into an IRBM-based system are analysed. The Huai River basin is used as an example of current river basin management, with quantitative data serving to show the scale and scope of the problems in the country as a whole. The institutional reforms required are discussed and a conceptual institutional framework is proposed to facilitate the implementation of IRBM in China. In particular, the roles, power and responsibilities of River Basin Commissions (RBCs) should be legally strengthened; the functions of supervising, decision-making and execution should be separated; and cross-sectoral legislation, institutional coordination and public participation at all levels should be promoted.
中国新出现的水危机表明，当前水资源管理的制度框架和政策无法实现综合流域管理（IRBM）的有效和令人满意的局面。本文分析了这一框架和相关政策，考察了它们在应对所有水资源压力问题方面的不足，并探讨了以流域为重点的替代方案。本文回顾了中国现代水资源管理改革，分析了将现行河流管理制度转变为基于 IRBM 的制度所涉及的主要问题。淮河流域被用作当前流域管理的一个例子，用定量数据展示了全国范围内的问题规模和范围。讨论了所需的体制改革，并提出了一个概念性体制框架，以促进 IRBM 在我国的实施。特别是，应依法加强流域委员会（RBC）的作用、权力和责任；应分离监督、决策和执行职能；并应促进跨部门立法、体制协调以及各级公众参与。
