Water Governance in a Changing World: China and Beyond

Abstract

This chapter provides a review of the recent developments in water governance around the implementation of market-oriented allocation mechanisms. Following a brief review of China’s water scarcity, the chapter sets the theoretical framework for the entire book by reviewing the international debates on water reform. It describes water’s characteristics as a resource and the complexity of water use, which have significant implications for shaping water governance. The recent developments in water governance from an international perspective are also examined in this chapter. It covers a number of key concepts which have significant implications for the legal and institutional arrangements of tradable water rights, including interdependency of water use, water as a social and economic good, alternative water property regimes, government versus market in water allocation, and last but not least, climate change adaptation and integrated water resources management.