China dedicated the week from March 22-28 to water when World Water Day was observed on Tuesday, to focus public attention on its critical H2O issues.

Water availability and water quality have become pressing social issues. Many areas - especially in the north where 50 percent of the population lives with only 15 percent of China's water - are running low on water. Southern China has a relative abundance of water, getting more than 2,000 millimeters a year of rainfall. In the north - where 20 million people live in Beijing and 12 million live in Tianjin - the average rainfall is just 200 mm to 400 mm a year.

But not every Chinese knows that water is a scare resource. China supports 20 percent of the world population with only 7 percent of the world's water. The country's water resources are only about 25 percent of the world average per capita.

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The water available for each person in China is one forth the global average and this portion is expected to shrink to one fifth as the population grows.

The country is facing increasingly frequent and desperate droughts, disastrous flooding in some areas and dangerous levels of pollution.

The General Assembly of the United Nations designated March 22, 1993, as the first World Water Day. Since then efforts to provide safe water have been overwhelmed by rapid population growth particularly in cities. This year's theme "Water for Cities" highlights the impact of runaway urban population growth on water systems and sanitation facilities.

A growing and increasingly urbanized global population will increase the demand for food and water, while at the same time climate change and other trends put greater pressure on their supply.

China is no exception. Among more than 667 Chinese cities, 420 are facing water shortages, including 100 that may see serious shortages.

China needs to manage and conserve water.

World Water Day and China's Water Week call on all of us to adopt a greater awareness of water use and conservation.

The ability of a society to develop is critically dependent on sustainable and sufficient supplies of high-quality water, and good sanitation services and practices. We can help solve the problems, but in the end, change must come from within, with strong investment not only in infrastructure, but also in local governance and capacity building.

China's water management policies should promote more efficient use of water in industry, agriculture and for domestic use in cities, and we all must take responsibility for not wasting water.

(China Daily 03/28/2011 page8)