Introduction
Introduction¶
Access to freshwater is something many people take for granted. However, water scarcity, being the scarcity of availability or access to usable freshwater resources, is a significant and increasing global issue. [UN-Water, n.d.] Globally, water usage has increased at a rate of 1.7 times the rate of population growth over the past century. [F.A.O., 2014]
The implications of water scarcity cannot be understated. Global water crises stemming from water scarcity are predicted to be the largest risk globally within the next decade. [World Economic Forum, 2016] By 2050, some regions could see a GDP growth rate decline of up to six percent due to “losses in agriculture, health, income, and property” caused by water scarcity. [The World Bank, 2016] Since water is vital for human existence, a lack of water can be directly or indirectly related to almost any societal indicator.
Water stress and scarcity can be caused by increased water withdrawal, population increase, and climate, amongst others. [F.A.O., 2014] Water scarcity is multi-dimensional, including physical, infrastructural, and institutional factors. [F.A.O., 2011] While some regions are affected more than others, every continent is affected. Four billion people experience extreme water scarcity at least one month out of the year. [Mekonnen and Hoekstra, 2016]
Water issues in China are especially prevalent. Despite being home to 21% of the global population, China only has six percent of worldwide freshwater resources. [The World Bank, 2019] On average, China’s renewable freshwater resources were 2,062 cubic meters per capita in 2014, a decrease from 4,200 cubic meters in 1962 and far less than the half of the world average in those respective years. [F.A.O., 2016] China’s renewable freshwater resources are also highly location dependent. For example, only 19.7 percent of total internal renewable surface water and 30 percent of groundwater resources reside in northern China. [F.A.O., 2011] Northern China’s renewable freshwater access is only 757 square meters per capita per year, far below the water scarcity limit of 1,000 square meters per capita per year. [Zhang et al., 2010]
Poor water quality caused by pollution is amplifying the problem and is causing further economic, societal and environmental problems. Roughly 80 percent of groundwater resources in China were found to be unsafe for human contact. [Jing, 2016] Economic costs attributed to poor water quality in 2003 were over 1.16% of GDP [Wu et al., 1999] and were estimated to be 2.3% in 2007. [The World Bank, 2019] Further policy has been implemented to address water scarcity and pollution issues. In 2015, the State Council released an ambitious attempt to do this, colloquially known as the “Water Ten Plan,” which sets water quality-related goals to be met by 2020. [国务院., 2015] However, results so far have been mixed, with nearly half of all provinces missing their water quality targets in 2017. [Greenpeace, 2017]
Historically, and especially since the Opening Up and Reform era post-1978, the Chinese government has prioritized economic growth over environmental protection. In terms of water resource management, the government’s investment strategies have prioritized large scale water infrastructure projects over environmentally friendly pollution-control policies, due to a variety of political and non-political reasons. [Rogers and Crow-Miller, 2017] Mao Zedong famously embraced the idea of the now-partially-completed South-North Water Transfer Project, one of the largest infrastructure endeavors in history, by saying “The south has plenty of water and the north lacks it, so if possible, why not borrow some?” [Reuters, 2009] More recently, China has made a range of commitments, and notable action, on improving the country’s water quality. The government invested 717.6b RMB (US$110.3b) to address water quality, quantity and flooding issues in 2017 alone. [The World Bank, 2019] The Three Red Lines policy best states the central government’s aims to address water resources issues, focusing on water quantity, use efficiency, and quality. [The World Bank, 2019]
Less attention has been paid to Chinese citizens’ knowledge and perception of water quality. It is easily assumed that perception of water quality would be based on the real water quality – i.e., if water quality is good, then people perceive it to be good, while if water quality is bad, then people perceive it to be bad. However, this may not be the case. What about peoples’ knowledge of water quality? Divergence between perception and reality could be important for policymakers in whether their resource-intensive campaign-style water quality reforms are the most effective policy tool, in regard to finance, behavior change or political support. From a political and social science perspective, perception of water quality could be more important in decision making than actual water quality. [Coughlin, 1976] The implications from this are multifaceted. China’s large and expensive infrastructure projects could be made less effective, and further discrepancies between social groups and geographic regions could arise, which could lead to decreased political effectiveness. [Larson et al., 2009]
Other useful insights could be made when examining the links between how water quality is perceived with other demographic information, such as education level, or the degree of urbanization. Such insights could help validate, or redirect, other national political priorities. For example, if perception of water quality is related to the level of education of the individual, this could influence education policy. If there are differences between rural and urban perception and knowledge of water quality, this could impact China’s desire to urbanize increasing proportions of its population.
In order to gain insight into the situation and negative implications, several questions are examined which relate to water quality, perception and knowledge in China:
Is there a relationship between water quality and perception of water quality? (I.e., do perceptions and reality match)?
Does knowledge of water quality relate to perception?
Does the level of obtained education relate to water quality knowledge?
Does the level of obtained education relate perception?
Are there differences between water quality perception, and water quality knowledge, in rural vs. urban households?
Is there a relationship between water quality and knowledge of water quality?
In the following section, terms regarding environmental awareness, perception, knowledge and education are defined. The history and modern state of water resource management in China, with a focus on water quality, is also presented. Finally, research into the link between water quality, perception and knowledge is discussed.
Drawing upon the background, six research questions and respective hypotheses are presented. The methodology section investigates two main datasets and discusses how the datasets were processed and analyzed for this thesis. Then, the summary of the findings is presented in the Analysis section, followed by a discussion states how the findings can fit into the larger discussion on water resource management in China. Finally, conclusions are presented.