"CEAC Commentary" introduces news analyses andopinions in Japan on topics related to regional
cooperation and integration in East Asia, but they do
not represent the views of CEAC as an institution.

August 25, 2016

China that once thrived on water, faces water
problems today
By KODAMA Katsuya
The cradle of civilization is four ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, theIndus valley, and China. All of them rose and developed by great rivers. The
Mesopotamian civilization is associated with Tigris and Euphrates rivers, the Egyptian
civilization with Nile River, the Indus civilization with Indus River, and the Chinese
civilization with the Yellow and the Yangtze rivers. Water is indispensable for humanactivities. Our civilizations have developed with water.
Among these regions of four great civilizations, China faces a critical problem ofwater today. According to CNN Hong Kong, ground subsidence was prevailing in Beijing,and in the worst district, the land had sunk 11 centimeters in a year by June 27, when thisnews was reported. This result was announced by an international research group based in
China. The research group told that the subsidence is due to depletion of groundwater. InBeijing, two-thirds of water supplies for industrial and household uses come fromgroundwater. Even nationwide, underground water accounts for one-third of total watersupplies. Therefore, subterranean water is an important source of water supply in China.
The total amount of water resources in China is so huge as to reach 2325.85 billion
cubic meters, which is the 4th largest in the world. However, Chinese population is so largethat the per capita amount of water resources is only 1730.4 cubic meters. This is extremely
small in the world. Moreover, water resources are distributed unevenly by the region.
Generally speaking, water is scarce in northern parts of China, including the Northeast, theNorth, and the Northwest regions. Beijing is in the North region. On the other hand, water
is abundant in the South Central, the South, and the Southwest regions. The problem is thatwater is growing scarcer, while its consumption is rising. Particularly, people in Northwest
China suffer from chronic shortage of water.
Industrialization requires a huge amount of water consumption. People use it forwashing, cooling, and so forth. Only some industries like the service sector do not use

much water. China has become a mass water consumption society through economic
development. Also, Chinese household is changing dramatically. Flush toilets have become
widespread. In rural areas, people still go to what is called “Ni Hao” styled communal
restroom which is still furnished with outdated pit toilet, where they chat and squat on thesame toilet bowl in the same compartment. However, flush toilets are already widespreadin urban areas. This is the Chinese toilet revolution. It is inevitable that water consumption
surges. In addition, people are expected to keep themselves clean these days. As a result,people take a shower and a bath more frequently, and wash their clothes more often. In thepast, people did not wash their clothes habitually even in Japan and Europe. However, they
do laundry everyday now. Chinese people are following this trend. Water is indispensable
to maintain the cultural standard of life.
It is not the quantity of water that matters critically in China. The quality of water
is deteriorating rapidly. According to “The Monthly Report of Ground Water” which wasreleased by the Ministry of Water Resources of China this January, they conducted water
quality observation researches of 2,103 wells in the Songliao plain of the Northeast region
and the Jianghan plain in an inland area last year, and it turned out that 80% of groundwater is too severely contaminated to drink. Ground water pollution is serious, particularlyin the regions of water scarcity.
Quite often, we see the color of Chinese rivers change dramatically in the photo,
due to terrible water pollution. Nevertheless, it takes relatively in a short period to clean
the river, if proper measures are taken. Chinese rivers flow slower than Japanese ones, thus
it may take longer to clean them, but water is flowing anyway. However, once
underground water is contaminated in a vast area, it is very difficult to depollute it. In caseof China, water pollution is associated with soil pollution. People discharge factory effluent
underground, and fill industrial waste into the soil. Water pollution in China is extremely
serious, because it stems from both coli bacteria and heavy metal.
First, it is important not to contaminate ground water furthermore. It is necessary
to found a social framework, in order to clean dirty effluent and recycle it. Also, it isessential to depollute contaminated ground water, and reserve it as “available” water
resources. In addition, water saving technology is indispensable.
Japanese people have been sensitive to water. Safe and clean water is deeply
embedded into our culture as an essential element of it. There is no wonder why Japan2

leads the world in water defecation technology. Also, she is a leader in water saving
technology. In this area, Japan and China can cooperate each other. Water resources will be
the most critical issue of economic development in the future. Japan has the most important
technology in the water area. It would be wonderful, if both of countries could co-prosperwith water.
(This is an English translation of the article written by Dr. KODAMA Katsuya, Presidentof Socially Responsible Investment, which originally appeared on the e-forum“Hyakka-Somei” of CEAC on July 13, 2016.)

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