Transboundary water vulnerability and its drivers in China

• Published in: Journal of geographical sciences 2009-04, Vol.19 (2), p.189-199
• Main Authors: Feng, Yan, He, Daming
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Annual runoff; Asia; Bgi / Prodig; China; Earth and Environmental Science; Economic development; Emergency preparedness; Freshwater; Freshwater resources; Geographical Information Systems/Cartography; Geography; Nature Conservation; Physical Geography; Remote Sensing/Photogrammetry; River basins; Transboundary waters; Warning systems; Water availability; 信息共享; 应急反应机制; 河流流域; 淡水资源; 生态保护; 驱动因素
• ISSN: 1009-637X; 1861-9568
• DOI: 10.1007/s11442-009-0189-7

Competitive use of transboundary freshwater resources is becoming one of the key factors influencing regional peace and political relationship among states. In China, 18 major international river basins are concentrated in three regions, of which the total annual outflow at the border is 7320×10^8m^3, occupying 26.8% of the total annual runoff of China, and the inflow at the border is only 172×10^8 m^3. In this paper, we analyzed the major drivers affecting shared water vulnerability in China, namely： （1） changes in physical conditions affecting the availability of water; （2） competing objectives between economic development and ecological conservation; （3） lack of emergency response mechanisms; （4） unsound administrative institutions; and （5） shortcomings in the development of regional cooperation based on transboundary waters. We concluded by identifying four pathways for reducing vulnerability： （1） encouraging scientific research cooperation; （2） constructing information-sharing channels; （3） establishing early-warning mechanisms; and （4） promoting further coordination and negotiation.