Sustainable development strategies for China's Du Jiang Yan Water Resources Project

SUMMARY

China's Du Jiang Yan Irrigation Project, dating back to 256 BC, is one of the world's earliest water resources projects. Although it has been benefiting the Sichuan Basin area for over 2000 years, it is facing increasing problems due to ecological deterioration, over-exploitation from local industries and agriculture, suboptimal resource allocation arising from supply and demand mismatches, and an aging infrastructure. The traditional water resources development model is no longer appropriate for current and future needs of the area. Therefore, a sustainable development framework is envisioned in which population, economy and environment coexist in harmony. Within this framework, major strategies, such as construction and renovation of infrastructure, promotion of water conserving irrigation through non-engineering measures, pollution control and ecological improvements, restructuring of management entities and exploration of new funding sources, are proposed. An evaluation system is also introduced to assess the degree of sustainability and to monitor progress towards a high level of sustainable development.

Keywords:

• Sustainable development
• water resources
• irrigation
• strategic framework
• support system
• evaluation indices