中国全速前进
图为中国南水北调工程示意图
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中国的水资源问题 为解决水资源短缺问题，中国正在改造河道。 中国水资源问题严重。世界银行（World Bank）的数据显示，中国人均可利用水资源量大约只有世界其他地区的三分之一。也就是说，中国需要用占世界二十分之一的水资源去满足占世界人口五分之一的居民的用水需求。随着经济的快速增长与工业化的发展，中国需要拿出办法来增加水的供应量。 中国宏伟的土木工程历史又翻开了新的一页。中国正在尝试把数万亿加仑的水从水资源相对丰富的南方地区转移到极度干涸的北方地区。根据规划，这个所谓的南水北调工程将分成东线、中线和西线三条调水线路实施，都是将长江的水北送。第一条线路在最东边（也就是东线）已经将近竣工，将通过黄河河床底部的隧洞把长江水调送到天津。中线按计划应该会在2015年贯通，西线在2030年前不大可能竣工。如果这个工程能够奏效，等到全面竣工时，中国最大河流长江的水流将有百分之十调送到北方。 研究机构Stratfor的东亚分析师约翰•明尼克称：“这项工程完美地彰显了中国政府令人难以置信的胆量。中国南水北调工程之宏大令人难以置信。” 哈佛大学肯尼迪政府学院（Harvard Kennedy School of Government）的研究员斯科特•摩尔说，据估计这项工程将耗资620亿美元。但是实际耗费要比这高得多。由于南水北调工程的实施，成千上万的居民不得不搬迁至其他地方。尽管有这项工程，人们对水质与水资源总体短缺的担忧情绪依然挥之不去。 不过，考虑到中国经济的快速增长，各种庞大的项目完全会给人务实的印象。毕马威的叶伟成说：“一方面，这必定会对环境造成影响；另一方面，北方确实水资源严重不足。如果不这样做，还有什么别的办法吗？”(财富中文网) 译者：默默 |
China's water wars To solve its water shortages, China is rerouting its rivers China has a water problem. According to the World Bank, China's per capita water availability is about one-third of what's available to the rest of the world. Put another way: China has to accommodate one-fifth of the world's population on 1/20th of its water. With rapid growth and industrialization, the country needs to come up with a way to increase its supply. And so China has taken another page out of its ambitious civil-engineering playbook. It is attempting to physically divert trillions of gallons of water from the relatively water-rich south to the parched north. The plan is broken up into three pieces, all bringing water from the Yangtze River northward: The first route, farthest east, is nearly finished and will pump water under the Yellow River to Tianjin. The central route should come online in 2015, and the western route is not likely to be completed before 2030. If the plan works, by the time it is completed, up to 10% of the flow of the country's largest river will have been diverted. "This is a project that perfectly exemplifies the incredible bravado of the Chinese government," says John Minnich, an East Asia analyst for the research group Stratfor. "The enormity of what China is trying to pull off is mind-boggling." The total price tag for the project is estimated at $62 billion, but the actual cost is likely to be much higher, says Scott Moore, a fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Hundreds of thousands of residents have been displaced by the rerouting of the river. And environmental concerns over water quality and overall scarcity persist despite the construction. Still, given China's massive growth, gargantuan projects can look downright pragmatic. "On one level, there's bound to be environmental impact," says KPMG's Stephen Ip. "On the other hand, we don't have enough water in the north. Where are we going to get it from?" |
