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WATER POLITICS

Via the JAWRA blog, reference to a recent report on water supply stress in China:

Water supply and use data were compiled for the time period of 1998-2003 in this synthesis study in Northern China. The Water Supply Stress Index (WSSI) as defined as Water Demand/Water Supply was used to quantitate whether water supply could meet the demand of human activities across the study region. The study found a large spatial gradient of water supply stress in the study region, being much higher in the eastern subbasins than the west subbasins. The eastern plain region not only suffered more serious water supply stress but also had a much higher interannual variability than the western hilly region. The uneven spatial distribution of water supply stress might result from the distribution of land use, population, and climate. Future climate change and rapid economic development are likely to aggravate the existing water crisis in the study region.