At the end of March, the rainwater utilization project carried out
in the loess plateau of China's western
Gansu
Province was commended as one of the top-grade awards at the
3rd World Water Forum held in Kyoto, Japan.
On
the morning of March 23, a themed project providing water for
humans and livestock; developing agricultural economy and improving
the environment by using rainwater" carried out by Gansu Province
was invited by the World Water Forum to participate in a meeting
held in Japan. The project attracted great attention among
representatives from more than 120 countries. The project from
Gansu was ranked as one of ten prized programs and even won one of
three top grade awards.
China has been facing serious water shortage problems that have
caused great economic and environmental losses over the years. The
water condition is known to be very bad in the loess plateau of
Gansu.
Gansu is one of the driest and poorest regions in China, with an
area of about 100, 000 square km. The annual precipitation reaches
420 mm. However, owing to the deep loess soil layer, which is
characterized by a high vertical infiltration rate, and very low
humidity, most of the rain is absorbed by the soil and then
evaporates into the air. The runoff coefficient is only 0.05.
In
1995, the middle and eastern regions of Gansu Province suffered
from a severe drought which had not happened for 60 years. More
than three million people and over two million livestock were
confronted with critical water shortage.
Supported by the government, every family in the middle and eastern
parts of Gansu built two water cellars to collect rain for cooking
and irrigation. Using aid from various social sectors, 520,000
water cellars were built and reconstructed in Gansu Province,
solving the water problem for 1.31 million people and 1.18
livestock in 27 counties, as well as courtyard fields of 1,130
hectare.
In
November 2001, 14.72 million yuan (US$1.77 million) had been raised
by contribution activities for the water cellar program, which was
designed for 12 provinces in western China. 19,520 water cellars
were built thereafter, benefiting more than 100,000 villagers.
Gansu provincial government is spreading the rainwater-utilizing
project throughout the entire dry land farm belt, aiming to cover
78% of the countryside. At the end of 2002, 1.944 million water
cellars had been set up and a farmland area of 305,000 hectares
developed into rainwater irrigation fields with a high water
efficiency saving method.
The International Rainwater Catchment Systems Association (IRCSA)
noted that, the technology and experience achieved by Gansu's
rainwater utilization project can be adapted not only to China, but
to all countries and regions facing water shortage problems.
(China.org.cn Translated by Wang Zhiyong April 21, 2003)