IWRA Proceedings

Objectives

• Irrigation water use is a crucial aspect of agricultural production. However, the limited nature of water resources is increasingly emphasized, leading to inefficient water use and water wastage. This phenomenon is particularly prominent in water-abundant regions such as Sichuan Province. As a flexible and efficient way to allocate water resources, water rights trading has attracted more and more attention. This thesis aims to explore the impact of water rights trading on irrigation water use efficiency through theoretical analysis and empirical research.
• With regard to the construction of the water rights system in Sichuan Province, the initial water rights of different regions and different water abstractors and water users have been clarified. A preliminary system for initial allocation of water rights has been established. It has carried out the construction of a system for the registration of water resources, the design of a system for approving the nature of water use and conversion, and the scheduling of water rights. Different regions, different industries, different water users, etc. piloted the trading of water rights between different subjects. Water rights trading has been completed in Chengdu City, Leshan City, Ziyang City, Luzhou City and other areas, and market instruments have been used to improve the efficiency of water resources utilization.

Conclusions

• Water rights trading has a significant impact on agricultural water use efficiency. The enhancement of irrigation water use efficiency by water rights trading in the pilot region lies roughly between 0.077 and 0.084.
• There is significant regional heterogeneity in the impact of the water rights trading mechanism on irrigation water use efficiency. Water rights trading has the greatest utility in improving irrigation water use efficiency in the southern region, followed by the central region, and the smallest in the western region.