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abstract 590

Integrated water basin management in Poayng lake basin in China

Author(s): Fu Chun
Dr.Ms.Fuchun Center for Central China Economic Development Research, Management Science and Engineering Department, Nanchang University, Jiangxi Province Nanchang 330029, P.R.China Email:ccfu@ncu.edu.cn, Tel: 86-791-8304401, Fax:86-791-8305002

Keyword(s): integrated water basin management, eco-restoration, poverty alleviation,Poyang lake basin

Article:
Poster:

Session: Poster session 1

AbstractThe Poyang lake

basin - also called the Mountain-River-Lake (MRL) Region - consists geographically of four components: Gannan

mountain area, Jitai basin, Ganxi Hilly Area, and Poyang Lake Catchment in Jiangxi Province. The total area of the

basin is about 162,225 km2s, occupying 97.2% of the total land area of the Province. In the entire region, 29 million

people live on 117,900 square kilometers, distributed on over 64 counties.
In the early of 1980s, the region

suffered sever ecological and economic issues such as serious soil erosion, frequent flood and draught, ever-

expanding pollution, ecological degradation and rural poverty. In order to solve these problems, The provincial

government, with the help of the central government, initiated an integrated eco-restoration and poverty alleviation

program, which is a leading project of the Priority Project Plan of China's Agenda 21. This program was based on

the understanding that the ‘ The Mountain is the source- the River is the flow- The Lake is the reservoir' and ‘

Harnessing the lake must harness the rivers, harnessing the rivers must harness the mountains' – i.e. the mountain,

river and lake comprise an integrated biological system. Water and soil erosion in the mountains was explicitly linked

to poverty, so poverty alleviation was a focus of the program, which is an example of an Integrated Water Basin

Management (IWBM) approach. The overall goal of this Program is to realize the Poyang lake basin economically,

socially and ecologically sustainable and coordinated development by strengthening the region's sustainable

development capacity, and systematically improving the region's environment while helping alleviate poverty of

population.
The program has been implemented for 25years. According to the principle of ecosystem economics,

with the method of participatory decision and other advance management experiences in developed countries,

experiments and demonstrations are setup for development and management in selected typical zones of the Poyang

Lake Basin. 10 categories, 28 demonstrations and 127 extension stations as models for local development have

been established in the poor mountain areas, some hill areas, basins and plains in Poyang lake region.
Based on

Integrated Water Basin Management approach, considering a small watershed as a unit, a county as an agency and a

household-responsibility contract system as a basis, the problems concerning mountains, rivers, farmland, forests and

roads can be tackled comprehensive way. The engineering measures, biological control and farming practices with

water storage and soil conservation have been adopted according to local conditions and in scientific plan in order to

achieve comprehensive control. Since 1992, the comprehensive treatment of small watershed with household-

responsibility-contract has been developed. With the controlling measure of water and soil erosion, some market

mechanism has been adopted in every region, some reform measures such as auction of the use right, land leasing,

shareholding cooperation and other ways have been taken.
The integrated watershed development model in

mountain areas is the most effective way to develop the economic in the south of Jiangxi. It is also a good example

for the sustainable development of natural resources and ecological protection in mountain areas in the South of

China.

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Integrated water basin management in Poayng lake basin in China