A Review of the Economic, Social, and Environmental Impacts of China’s South–North Water Transfer Project: A Sustainability Perspective

Abstract

China's South-North Water Transfer Project (SNWTP) has the potential to transfer as much as 44.8 km 3 year −1 of water from the Yangtze River basin to the Yellow River basin. However, the SNWTP has not been assessed from a sustainability perspective. Thus, in this study we evaluated the SNWTP's economic, social, and environmental impacts by reviewing the English literature published in journals that are part of the Web of Science database. We then synthesized this literature using a Triple Bottom Line framework of sustainability assessment. Our study has led to three main findings: (1) whether the SNWTP is economically beneficial depends largely on model assumptions, meaning that economic gains at the regional and national level are uncertain; (2) the SNWTP requires the resettlement of hundreds of thousands of people and challenges existing water management institutions, suggesting possible social concerns beyond the short term; and (3) evidently large environmental costs in water-providing areas and uncertain environmental benefits in water-receiving areas together point to an uncertain environmental future for the geographic regions involved. Thus, the overall sustainability of SNWTP is seriously questionable. Although much work has been done studying individual aspects of SNWTP's sustainability, few studies have utilized the multi-scale, transdisciplinary approaches that such a project demands. To minimize environmental risks, ensure social equity, and sustain economic benefits, we suggest that the project be continuously monitored in all three dimensions, and that integrated sustainability assessments and policy improvements be carried out periodically.

An integrated assessment of China's South—North Water Transfer Project

“…Early research on China's SNWTP focused primarily on its economic viability and projected social and environmental effects (Wilson et al, 2017, have a full review), while in recent years, there have been two primary lines of enquiry in English language publications. Early research on China's SNWTP focused primarily on its economic viability and projected social and environmental effects (Wilson et al, 2017, have a full review), while in recent years, there have been two primary lines of enquiry in English language publications.…”

“…The literature on China's SNWTP largely reproduces this division between physical and social consequences. Early research on China's SNWTP focused primarily on its economic viability and projected social and environmental effects (Wilson et al, 2017, have a full review), while in recent years, there have been two primary lines of enquiry in English language publications. The first is about the SNWTP's politics, situating the infrastructure and institutions of the SNWTP amidst broader questions about the governance of water in China, institutional change, and hydropolitics Crow-Miller, 2015;Moore, 2014;Pohlner, 2016;Rogers et al, 2016;Wang & Li, 2019;.…”

An Eco-Compensation Strategy in the Water Source Area: A Case for Southern Shaanxi in China

“…Besides, even though the theoretical foundations of PES were set several decades ago, the practical implementation of these market-based instruments for managing natural resources has started rather recently. That means few successful cases are available for our reference to minimize environmental risks, ensure social equity, and sustain economic benefits (Wilson et al, 2017).…”

“…Access to clean water is fundamental to sustainable development, in order to effectively overcome water shortages resulting from the uneven distribution of water resources and water demand (Sun et al, 2017). Many developing countries are utilized inter-basin water transfer projects, transferring water from water-rich areas to water-poor areas using inter-basin water transfers (Wilson et al, 2017). As water is a finite nature resource, has also considered as an intrinsically contested resource (Zwarteveen & Boelens, 2014), these projects may also create water conflicts between water source areas and receiving areas.…”

Assessment of the economic impact of South-to-North Water Diversion Project on industrial sectors in Beijing

“…Li and Xu (2004) established the macro-influence evaluation index system of South-to-North Water Diversion and conducted quantitative and qualitative analyses on the macro-influence of South-to-North Water Diversion through the system using four dimensions, namely economy, society, environment and system. However, Wilson et al (2017) pointed out that whether the SNWD project is economically beneficial depends largely on model assumptions, meaning that economic gains at the regional and national level are uncertain. To our best knowledge, most of these papers have focused on the economic impact of the SNWD project on the country as a whole.…”