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Issues, Challenges, and Cooperation in Transboundary Waters
This document discusses issues, challenges, and opportunities for cooperation in transboundary waters between China and Africa. It notes that as developing countries facing water challenges, China and African countries share common interests in sustainably managing their transboundary rivers. Key points discussed include: - China and Africa face common challenges like balancing development and conservation, and adapting to climate change. - Transboundary water management experiences could be shared, such as China's expertise in irrigation, hydropower, and integrated river basin management. - Cooperative research on topics like the impacts of climate change and dams on river ecosystems could help address regional issues. - Establishing mechanisms for equitable benefit-sharing, regional development, and transboundary environmental compensation could
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Issues, Challenges, and Cooperation in Transboundary Waters
- 1. Daming HeDaming HeDamingHeDaming He AIRC, Yunnan University, ChinaAIRC, Yunnan University, ChinaAIRC, Yunnan University, ChinaAIRC, Yunnan University, China Issues, Challenges, and Cooperation in Transboundary Waters Between China and Africa Workshop on Transboundary Water Management: Orange-Senqu and Zambezi Basins, Johannesburg, South Africa , 29-30 April, 2014
- 2. Diverse but commonchallenges we are facing on Diverse but common TWR issues we have to solute Diverse but different advantages we could share each other Diverse but common interests we could cooperate each other China-Africa
- 3. Diverse but commonchallenges we are facing on As developing countries: how to balance the development and conservation? As the monsoon-driving-ecosystem countries: how to adapt the climate change? As the riparian countries sharing diverse international waters: how to strength the multiple geo-cooperation and solute the transboundary issues? As the long-friendship countries: how to facilitate and update the transboundary water cooperation, from basins, countries, regions, to global? ……
- 4. We face on thehigh water pressure. Asia is the world’s most water-stressed continent (UNEP 2009).
- 5. We share manyinternational rivers, but the transboundary issues in China are much more complex. Most of the great rivers originate from its central mountains and flow from China into the Pacific, the Indian Ocean, and the Arctic Ocean (Chinese Geological Surveying Bureau, 2012). (WolfAaron,2009)
- 6. Daming He1*, RuidongWu1, Yan Feng1, Yungang Li1, Chengzhi Ding1, Wenling Wang1, and Douglas W. Yu2,3*（（（（2014-04-20）））） China’s transboundary waters: New paradigms for water and ecological security through applied ecology research
- 7. Response of keyecological elements (runoff, sediment, water quality, bio-community) to climate changes. Regional storming and transboundary flooding Water quality change and transboundary water pollution International Watercourse change and migration fish ecosystem health International water laws’ revision and improvement Regional hydro-political issue of Vulnerability Assessment and Management of Transboundary Resources Conflicts and solution of Transboundary water We are facing on environmental issues under the climate change and human activities driving as the economic fast development.
- 8. The upstream regionof the international rivers, mainly locating in West China, is the key area for Asian water security and ecology security. “Asia’s lifeblood” ( Sophie le Clue,February 9, 2012) The third pole on the earth The “Asian Water Tower” The Lifeline for almost one-third of humanity in the world The Ecological Buffer between the North and South Asia The “Asia’s lifeblood”
- 9. The major transboundaryissues of international rivers in Southwest China Degradation of river ecosystem Regional serious soil erosion Pattern changes in wetland ecosystem Environmental degradation in mining areas River sedimentation Region environmental change Damage to effect of hydropower projects Water shortage of mountain environment Biodiversity descend Transboundary hydrological regime changes Damage to ecosystem Transboundary flood hazard Watercourse fragmentation Transboundary impact of environmental change River water quality worsen Transboundary water pollution The conflicts of transboundary resources / ecology Construction of the main international passage Geo-cooperation and environmental diplomacy The construction of cross- border economic corridors Regional energy cooperation International treaties / agreements
- 10. 1980-2006：：：：The percentage ofpersons impacted by water problems
- 11. Among 2.6 billionpeople who have not enough security water supply in the world，，，，2.5 billion in Asia and Africa, but about 2.0 billion in Asia ( Source: WHO/UNICEF, 2010)
- 12. Diverse but commonTWR issues we have to solute How to allocate and utilize TWR equitably and reasonably How to assess transboundary impact of TWR development How to manage transboundary water resources (TWR) coordinately among riparian countries How to prevent and solve the conflict of TWR: sharing the benefit and responsibility equitably How to facilitate the participation for all stakeholders of riparian countries
- 13. Surface water qualityin 10 river systems regions and 26 major lakes as of 2011. Chinese Rivers are labeled with bars representing the distribution of water quality based on monitoring results in each river system, while water quality of major lakes is labeled with filled circles and total water resources is labeled with scale drop. In China, water quality is broken into five categories that can be described as ‘‘good’’ (Grades I, II, and III) or ‘‘poor’’ (Grades IV and V or V+, which cannot support drinking). Grades represent official water quality classifications based on China’s Surface Water Environmental Quality Standard as reported by the Ministry of Environmental Protection of the People’s Republic of China. (Data Sources: Ministry of Environmental Protection of the People’s Republic of China. June 6, 2012. http://jcs.mep.gov.cn/hjzl/zkgb/2011zkgb/2 01206/t20120606_231040.htm. The Ministry of Water Resources of the People’s Republic of China. December 17, 2012. Source: Daming He*, Ruidong Wu, Douglas W Yu, Yan Feng, Yungang Li, Chengzhi Ding and Wenling Wang, 2013. Towards transboundary water and ecological security for international rivers in China
- 14. Diverse but differentadvantages we could share each other TWR management: Africa China International Cooperative mechanism: …….. Integrated development and management of river basin: China Africa Hydropower development and eco-risk management: China Africa ……. Africa China
- 15. Sharing the experiencesand technologies of irrigated agriculture development from Asian to Africa
- 16. China owns 16.7％％％％of the world’s total avainable hydrulic enegy resources, and is ranked in the first China’s installed capacity of hydropiwer has been also ranked in the first in the world since 2004 ““““The World Hydropwer is in Chna，，，， China’s Hydropower is in its southwest great rivers!” Sharing the experiences and technologies of hydropower development from Asian to Africa
- 17.
- 19. The major Advancesfor River Health Maintaining in the Upper Mekong
- 20. the first integratedcontrolling system for fish ecosytem health in the upper Mekong under the cascade daming
- 21. Canceling one cascade dam Buildingthe fish Facilities Pumping at different water levels Cascade operating based the eco-security demand Establishing the fish protected area Lowering the dams height Developing the fish hatchery Babi fish releasing Migrating corridor protection Fishery resources proliferation Water temperature regulating Habitat protection (natural nerves)
- 22. Diverse but commoninterests we could cooperate each other Information, knowledge and technologies sharing Cooperative researches Capacity building Scholarship, education, and training Exchange and workshops ….
- 23. Environmental Change and EcosystemServices will address upstream- downstream relationships These changes impact on entire river basins and beyond, regionally and globally Today we know that adaptation to climate change and the long-term and equitable use of scarce resources needs a regional, transboundary approach April 2008
- 24. The Experience fromWorld Bank for Benefits Cooperation Four Types of Benefits (Dr. Claudia Sadoff, 2010) Improved productivity, flood & drought management Improved ecosystem sustainability, conservation & water quality Policy shift to cooperation & development Broader regional cooperation & integration Type 1: Environmental Increasing Benefits To the river Type 2: Economic Increasing Benefits From the river Type 3: Political Decreasing Costs Because of the river Type 4: Indirect Economic Increasing Benefits Beyond the river Sadoff & Grey, 2002
- 25. River ecosystem patternand coupling relationship Chain structural characteristics and ecological effect chain of river continuum Change characteristics and regional differences of river ecological process Change trend of river ecological process (1) Pattern and change trend of river ecological process Some major topics suggesting for cooperative research
- 26. Response of keyecological elements (runoff, sediment, water quality, bio-community) to climate changes. Response of key ecological elements to regional human activity driving Relationship among solid water (glaciers), river flow and climate changes. Regional response of river ecological process to the impacts of climate changes and human activities. (2) Regional response of river ecological process to climate changes
- 27. (3) Multi-scale effectof river ecological changes Changes of river ecological process and its integrity conservation Changes of major ecological service function and ecological water requirement Change of ecological process and hazard chain Runoff change and the security of water resources and hydropower energy
- 28. River system fragmentation, watercourseecological process and its impacts? Ecological effect and impacts of large scale dams construction in mountain area? Regional water cycle process and impacts as environment changes under the large-scale cascade development? River valley ecosystem conservation under the climate change and dams construction?
- 29. (4) Transboundary impactsof river ecological changes Transboundary impacts of sediment change Transboundary impacts of runoff change Regional storming and transboundary flooding Water quality change and transboundary water pollution Impacts of river ecological changes to the transboundary migration fish ecosystem Watercourse change and border demarcation uncertainties
- 30. (5) Maintenance ofriver health and regulating mechanism of transboundary ecological security Key ecological threshold and evaluation base of river health Standards of sharing water resources and benefits allocation (Quantifiable indexes system) Model system of transboundary water resources allocation (Different watercourse type, regional environment and cooperation region) Regional variation and key influencing factors of transboundary ecological security issues Regulating mechanism and adaptive strategies (Different regional environment and cooperation region)
- 31. Need the newlaw’s articles for “common but different duty ” to share the benefits and cost equitably between upstream and downstream Need the trans-boundary environmental compensation mechanism to facilitate the regional development equity (1) Regional development equity should added in international rivers laws The key suggestion we could cooperate to facilitate more fair mechanism development for transboundary waters
- 32. (2) Trans-boundary environmental compensationmechanism should be established It has been recently apprehended from an environmental and even ecological point of view IR treaties has to be conceived in an interdisciplinary and multisectorial context because its related features involve, for instance, environment, health, agriculture, economy, law or policies
- 33. Identify the keyitems/index of benefits and cost from economic development, ecological security, and geo-politics cooperation Assess the getting and losing from the cooperation among riparian countries Establish the trans-boundary environmental compensation mechanism to facilitate the regional development equity Negotiate the clear rules
- 34. Wish the workshopand our cooperation in future could reduce adverse transboundary impacts and preventing conflicts in international rivers, by facilitating informed decision-making for transboundary waters and eco-security decisions in China, Africa, Asia, and the world.
- 35.