From Water-Constrained to Water-Driven Sustainable Development—A Case of Water Policy Impact Evaluation

Guangwei Huang
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Guangwei Huang: Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies, Sophia University, 7-1, Kioicho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-8554, Japan

Sustainability, 2015, vol. 7, issue 7, 1-15

Abstract: A water allocation policy that aimed to balance water demand with water availability to ensure sustainability was implemented in an arid region of China over ten years ago. This policy’s success was assessed across three dimensions: society, the environment, and the economy. While the assessment was not intended to be comprehensive, it highlighted the best outcomes of the policy intervention while revealing some hidden issues. It was found that although the policy was successful in placing a ceiling on water use in the middle reaches of the Heihe River, the Water User Association, one of the main actors in water policy implementation, was under-recognized, even though it functioned well. Moreover, the economic structural adjustment at the macro level had not led to any significant reduction in water use, the reasons for which were explored.

Keywords: water allocation; Heihe River; Zhangye City; WUA; water productivity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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