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Beijing Olympics is Real and Imminent Curse For Millions of Chinese --
Olympics water diversion threatens millions

Financial Times FT.com

ASIA-PACIFIC
China

Olympics water diversion threatens millions

By Jamil Anderlini in Xi'an

Published: February 26 2008 22:17 | Last updated: February 26 2008 22:17

The diversion of water to Beijing for the Olympics and for big
hydropower projects threatens the lives of millions of peasant farmers
in China¡¯s north-western provinces, according to a senior Chinese
government official.

In an interview with the Financial Times, An Qiyuan, a member and former
chairman of the Chinese People¡¯s Political Consultative Committee for
Shaanxi province and former Communist party chief of Shaanxi, warned of
an impending social and environmental disaster because of overuse of
scarce water resources.

Predicted water shortages in China by 2010

In a critical tone seldom heard from Chinese officials, Mr An called on
Beijing to provide compensation to the provinces that have been told to
pump their cleanest water to the capital in order to ensure potable
supplies during the Olympics.

Beijing will need an estimated 300m cubic metres of additional water
just to flush out the polluted and stagnant rivers, canals and lakes in
its central areas to put on a clean, environmentally-friendly face for
Olympic visitors, according to municipal officials.

¡°In order to preserve the quality of Beijing¡¯s water we have to close
all our factories. But we still need to live. So I say the government
needs to compensate Shaanxi,¡± Mr An said. ¡°If you don¡¯t compensate the
masses then how can they survive?¡±

He called on the central government to remove hydropower projects on the
Yellow River ¨C particularly the Sanmenxia Dam built in the late 1950s ¨C
which he blamed for extreme flooding, worsening pollution and dwindling
water supplies.

The average annual per capita water supply in China is 348 cubic metres,
well below the global average and the United Nations definition of
¡°water shortage¡±, which is anything below 1,000 cubic metres. Beijing¡¯s
supply is even lower, at 235 cubic metres. Many experts say these
shortages are exacerbated by artificially low prices set by the government.

¡°Beijing is facing a water crisis and it is fighting for water with
neighbouring cities, including Tianjin and Zhangjiakou,¡± said Wang Jian,
a Beijing government employee and activist on water issues. ¡°The price
of water does not reflect its true value, but the government has decided
to control the price in order to maintain a harmonious society in the
run-up to the Olympics.¡±

The government has launched a grandiose $60bn ¡°south to north water
diversion project¡± that will channel about 1.2bn cubic metres of water a
year from wetter southern provinces to the country¡¯s arid north.

Many experts have criticised the scheme for being short-sighted and say
the concrete reservoirs and channels being built to transport the water
will increase evaporation and lower already depleted water tables by
reducing the amount of water absorbed into the soil.

¡°As the economy develops water usage has increased greatly and our water
has become increasingly polluted ¨C even the soil is polluted,¡± Mr An said.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008