With droughts now a constant problem in China, greater efforts
must be made to prevent water being wasted, officials say.
More work to prevent soil erosion has also been called for, as
well as more efficient drought-relief emergency plans.
"Coping with the nation's drought problems is going to be a
long-term task as, more or less, there is now a drought somewhere
in the country all year round," said Zhang Jiatuan, director of the
drought-relief department of the Office of State Flood Control and
Drought Relief.
"Dealing with the issue requires immediate high-level attention
and co-ordination across the whole nation."
The official said many local governments concentrated on
short-term drought-relief projects, or even simply waited in the
hope rain or snow would eventually relieve the drought.
China has experienced a series of serious droughts in recent
years, especially in Shandong, Henan, Anhui, Jiangxi provinces and
the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
According to the China Meteorological Administration (CMA), less
than 20 millimetres of rain fell on northeast and north China, the
Yellow River, Huaihe River and Yangtze River valleys, as well as
parts of central and south China in October.
The rainfall in these areas was 50 to 90 percentdown on the
monthly average, CMA said.
To deal with the problem State headquaters and local governments
have all issued emergency policies, mainly ordering the
construction of new water supply resources and better water
management, according to Zhang Jiatuan.
(China Daily November 10, 2006)