Some distance away, as the wind howls around the Dalate Power Plant, Deputy director Liang Xi is watching every drop of water he has, because he is on a strict quota. Each year, the Yellow River Conservancy Commission (YRCC) sets a quota of 44 million cubic meters.
"In 2005, we had a traditional water cooling system which consumed more than 40 million cubic meters of water. In recent years, air-cooling systems have replaced them managing the job within the given the quota."
The water is precious because it is transferred from farms, and paid for by the plant - not just in tariffs, but also in money to build waterproof canals and import technology and know-how and material like the tents which farmer Liu oversees.
Fourteen thirsty industrial projects in Erdos have taken part in such innovative exchanges. The net gain from them is estimated to be 26.6 billion yuan after deducting all the investments they needed to ensure that farms got enough water, so that they could transfer it to them.
It is a win-win situation because farmers gain in terms of increased harvests and improved technology, industry gains because it gets enough water, without which its economic activities would be severely curtailed.
A survey we conducted jointly with Tsinghua University showed that many people who lived in the nine provinces through which the Yellow River flows support its rejuvenation efforts. The majority, 79 percent, of the more than 200 respondents said they knew the Yellow River had run dry, while 73 percent said they were willing to make some sacrifice to ensure the health of the river. A sense of optimism was evident among them, too.
But surprisingly, there is very little knowledge about the current efforts to address the problem of water. For example, the pivotal role of the YRCC does not appear to be well known. In fact, 36 percent of the respondents did not even know about the existence of YRCC, and about 59 percent were indifferent to or felt negatively about the governance of the Yellow River.
This is a gap we think must be filled. We must build upon the successes of places such as Erdos, and let the people know that seemingly insurmountable problems have been solved. Moreover, people should be told that they were solved through the joint efforts of the community.
The battle to build dams, reservoirs and a network of pipes is likely to succeed but that victory will be in vain if similar efforts are not made to build community support, change people's habits, and create greater awareness that success against even the greatest odds is possible.
Leong Ching is a research scholar in water policies at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy of the National University of Singapore (NUS). Qian Jiwei is a research associate at the East Asian Institute of NUS.
(China Daily 05/17/2011 page9)