Sub-theme
6. Innovation for Water Governance and Management
Topic
6-1. Water rights and water markets
Body
Water resources are the development foundation of the agricultural society in ancient China, whose importance is self-evident. Under the specific economic and social conditions, water rights system which was used to regulate the distribution and use of water had emerged; the implementation of the system had had an impact on the operation and development of the economy and society. Therefore, the study aims at exploring the relationship between water rights system and economic and social development, trying to clarify the status of water rights system in the complex social-ecological system and providing possible references for properly handling the problem between population, resources and the system. This study takes Tongli Canal in Hongtong County as an example to analyze the relationship between Tongli Canal water rights system and economic and social development in history, which mainly includes three aspects. Firstly, the study sorts out Tongli Canal water rights system and its supporting system in the late Qing Dynasty and the era of the Republic of China. The water rights system includes water utilization and distribution system for irrigation and water milling, and the supporting system includes management institution system, engineering system, expense system and sacrifice system. Secondly, the study summarizes the economic and social development of Tongli Canal before the sixth year of the Republic of China(1917), mainly from the macro environment and micro events. Thirdly, using the social-ecological system(SES) framework, the study identifies relevant variables and analyzes the relationships between Tongli Canal water rights system and economic and social development, and its mechanism of action in history. The conclusion of this study is that Tongli Canal water rights system and economic and social development were mutually causal in history. From the perspective of the water rights system, the factors affecting the formation or changes of the system include government organizations, reduction and importance of water resources, conflicts, locations, leadership/entrepreneurship, norms and knowledge of SES; the results of the implementation of the system include repairation of the canal, increase of water resources, and changes in socioeconomic attributes, information sharing, and social performance measures.