Adhere to Water Saving Priority and Strengthen Water Resources Management: Written on the occasion of World Water Day and China Water Week in 2019

Source: People's Daily

Today is the 27th World Water Day, and the 32nd China Water Week has also begun its propaganda activities. The United Nations has decided that the promotional theme of this year's World Water Day is "No one should be left behind". The promotional theme of China's commemoration of World Water Day and China Water Week activities is "Adhering to the priority of water saving and strengthening water resources management".

Water is the mother of all things, the foundation of survival and the source of civilization. There are more people and less water in China, and the spatial and temporal distribution of water resources is seriously uneven. Water security concerns the stability of China's economic and social development and people's health and well-being. Since the Eighteenth National Congress of the CPC, General Secretary Xi Jinping has made important speeches and directives on water control on many occasions, pointing out that with the continuous development of China's economy and society, the old problems in water security still need to be solved, and the new problems are becoming more and more prominent and urgent. He has clearly put forward the water control policy of "water saving priority, space balance, systematic management and two-handed efforts", emphasizing the importance of water control. From changing nature and conquering nature to adjusting people's behavior and correcting people's wrong behavior. This is the fundamental policy put forward by General Secretary Xi Jinping, who has a profound insight into China's national conditions and water conditions, and in view of the severe situation of water security in China. It is also the concentrated reflection of Xi Jinping's socialism with Chinese characteristics in the field of water control in the new era. The Nineteenth National Congress of the Communist Party of China made a major conclusion that the main social contradictions in our country have been transformed into the contradiction between the people's growing need for a better life and the unbalanced and inadequate development, bringing the insistence on the harmonious coexistence of man and nature into the basic strategy of upholding and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era; the State Council has taken measures to implement the national water-saving action, coordinate the Strong water infrastructure network construction and other specific requirements, further deepening the connotation of water work, pointed out the direction of water development.

To solve water problems and ensure national water security, we must adhere to the guiding ideology of socialism with Chinese characteristics in Xi Jinping's new era, fully implement the spirit of the Nineteenth National Congress and the Second and Third Plenary Sessions of the Nineteenth Central Committee of the CPC, actively implement the water control policy of "water saving priority, space balance, systematic management and two-handed efforts", accurately grasp the historical orientation of current water reform and development, and soberly recognize it. Recognizing that the main contradiction of water control in China has been transformed into the contradiction between the people's demand for water resources, water ecology and water environment and the insufficient supervision ability of water industry, according to the general keynote of water conservancy work of "making up for shortcomings in water projects and strengthening supervision in water industry", we should speed up the transformation of water control ideas and methods, and integrate the adherence to water saving priority and strengthening water resources management throughout the whole process of water control into the economy and society. In all aspects of the development and construction of ecological civilization, we should constantly improve the national water security capacity, promote the sustainable development of economy and society with the sustainable utilization of water resources, and lay a solid foundation for building a beautiful China and realizing the goal of "two hundred years".

First, water conservation is the premise of water resources development and utilization, and national water-saving actions are implemented to comprehensively improve the efficiency and efficiency of water resources utilization. In order to make water conservation a prerequisite for water resources development, utilization, protection, allocation and dispatch, we should thoroughly implement the "water saving priority" policy, take the implementation of national water saving actions as the starting point, improve water saving system standards, strengthen water saving publicity and education, and strengthen water saving supervision and management. Focus on four "one": lay a good foundation, formulate and improve the water-saving standard quota system. Establish a working mechanism for formulating water-saving standard quotas, promote the formulation of water-saving standards in different regions and industries, dynamically revise water-saving standard quotas, and strictly apply standard quotas. Establish a mechanism to establish water-saving evaluation mechanism. Based on the guidance of water-saving evaluation, planning and water resources development and utilization construction project water-saving evaluation, technical requirements for water-saving evaluation are compiled, and projects that fail to pass the examination of water-saving evaluation are strictly called off, and water-saving customs are well handled from the source. Create a bright spot and implement contract water saving in Colleges and universities. In conjunction with the Ministry of Education and other departments, we formulate and promulgate evaluation standards for water-saving universities, introduce social capital and increase investment through contract water-saving, and build water-saving universities as soon as possible. Set up a benchmark to carry out the construction of water-saving organs in water conservancy industry. Starting from the Ministry of Water Resources and local water departments at all levels, a number of advanced water-saving units with water-saving standards have been built to promote water-saving in the whole society.

Second, we should deal with the relationship between water and economic and social development, implement water demand, and strictly control the upper limit of water resources development and utilization. We should adhere to the principle of determining cities by water, land by water, people by water and production by water, exert the rigid restraint role of water resources, restrain unreasonable water demand, force the development scale, structure and layout optimization, and promote economic and social development to be compatible with the carrying capacity of water resources and water environment. We should pay close attention to the determination and control of river ecological flow, establish and improve the monitoring and early warning mechanism of ecological flow (water volume), strictly control the intensity of water resources development, ensure the discharge of basic ecological flow (water volume) of rivers and lakes, and maintain the healthy life of rivers and lakes. We will accelerate the allocation of water in major river basins, formulate and implement regulatory measures, clarify the rights and interests of water use in river basins, strengthen the monitoring of provincial boundaries, and implement the requirements of spatial balance on the premise of meeting the basic needs of ecological water use. To formulate management measures for planning water resources demonstration, promote major planning and industrial distribution water resources demonstration, strictly implement the policy of total water use control and water intake permit restriction and approval in river basins, and implement water intake permit restriction and approval in river basins that have reached or exceeded the carrying capacity of water resources, so as to promote the realization of dynamic supervision of water resources.

Third, we should deal with the relationship between water and other elements in the ecosystem, promote water ecological management and restoration as a whole, and restore and expand the ecological space of rivers and lakes. We should adhere to the systematic management of mountains, forests, fields, lakes and grasses, and combine water management with mountain management, forest management, grassland management, so as to promote the harmonious coexistence of various elements of the ecosystem. The long river system and the long lake system should be implemented in all rivers and lakes throughout the country, with the local party and government leadership responsibility system as the core, giving full play to the synergy of water conservancy, ecological environment, housing, agriculture and rural sectors, and establishing a clear responsibility, coordinated and orderly, strict supervision and strong protection mechanism for River and lake management. Focus on managing the "basin" and "water in the basin". Through special actions, we will focus on solving the outstanding problems of disorderly occupation, mining, heaping and construction of rivers and lakes, and restore and expand the ecological space of rivers and lakes. We will promote comprehensive management of groundwater overexploitation areas, do a good job in pilot projects of river and lake ecological recharge and groundwater recharge in North China, take measures such as regional water saving, water source replacement and adjustment of planting structure to curb the situation of groundwater overexploitation and gradually realize the balance of groundwater recovery and recharge. Optimize the allocation pattern of water resources, connect rivers, lakes and reservoirs, strengthen the management and protection of drinking water sources, and achieve sufficient water, good water quality, good water ecology and beautiful water environment.

Fourthly, we should deal with the relationship between government and market, give full play to the "two-handed" role, and promote the fundamental change of water use mode. Water is closely related to the national economy and people's livelihood and can not be replaced. The government should manage it strictly, and at the same time give full play to the decisive role of the market in the allocation of resources. We should establish and improve laws and regulations on water conservation, River and lake management, groundwater management and other aspects, and improve the level of legal protection of national water governance. Accelerate the construction of intelligent water resources and improve the informationization level of water resources supervision. We should deepen the reform of water resources investment and financing system, continue to increase financial investment, actively strive for financial and credit support, and encourage and guide social capital to participate in the construction and operation of water-saving and water-supply projects. We will improve the system of paid use of water resources, deepen the reform of water resources tax, and use tax leverage to promote the optimal allocation and conservation of water resources. We will continue to promote the comprehensive reform of agricultural water prices, implement the total amount control and quota management of agricultural water use, and establish and improve the formation mechanism of agricultural water prices and the precise subsidy mechanism. We will continue to push forward the reform of water prices for domestic and industrial water use, and implement the system of total water use control and progressive price increase beyond quota. Actively and steadily promote the confirmation of water rights, cultivate and develop water markets, carry out various forms of water rights transactions, and promote the transfer of water resources from low-benefit areas to high-benefit areas.

(The author is Ejingping, Secretary and Minister of the Party Group of the Ministry of Water Resources)