At the 30th annual planetary meeting of the InterAction Council held on May 10-12, 2012, in Tianjin, China, Dr. Chunmiao Zheng, chair professor of water resources and director of the Center for Water Research at Peking University, gave an invited presentation to 20 former heads of state and government.

In his presentation entitled “Can China Cope with Its Water Crisis?”, Zheng provided a brief overview of the formidable challenges China faces  in water scarcity and water pollution, and discussed a possible method for coping with these challenges.

The InterAction Council was established in 1983 as an independent international organization to mobilize the experience, energy and international contacts of a group of statesmen who have held the highest office in their own countries. Council members jointly develop recommendations and practical solutions for the political, economic and social problems confronting humanity. Current council members include former U.S. President Bill Clinton, former Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, former Chancellor of Austria Franz Vranitzky, former President of South Africa Nelson Mandela, and former Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Tung Chee-hwa.

The Council selects specific issues and develops proposals for action and communicates these proposals directly to government leaders, national decision-makers, heads of international organizations and influential individuals around the world.

For the 2012 annual meeting, the four topics were: “Present State of the World,” “Global Financial Crisis,” “Global Security Imperatives,” and “Global Water Crisis.”

As one of three distinguished international water experts, Zheng was invited to present his views on the global water crisis and how China is dealing with the issue.  The other two presenters were Dr. Henry Vaux, Jr., Chair of the Rosenberg International Forum on Water Policy from the United States, and Mr. MoneefZou’bi, Director General of Islamic World Academy of Sciences from Jordan.

In his presentation, Zheng mentioned that the water resource per capita in China is only one fourth of the world’s average, ranking 120th in the world. Because China’s water resources are distributed unevenly, many parts of north and west China suffer from more severe cases of water scarcity. For example, in the North China Plain, the water resource per capita is actually less than 1/20th of the world’s average. 

Additional environmental problems exist, including water quality deterioration, river dry-up, groundwater depletion, and land subsidence induced by groundwater overdraft.

Formidable challenges often come with great opportunities. Zheng described some of these opportunities, including the designation of water and energy as the top two national priorities by the Chinese government and the anticipated investment of one trillion RMB into the Chinese water services market from 2009-2014. Finally, Zheng discussed some of the measures being implemented or considered to combat water scarcity, including water conservation, increased water use efficiency, rainwater harvesting, desalination, water price reform and water transfer.

Related information on the InterAction Council meeting can be found:
http://interactioncouncil.org/interaction-council-celebrates-30-years-gathering-tianjin-china