很快，中国最宏伟工程之一的主要部分即将完成，届时扬子江的河水将流经1200公里抵达北京。这条水道还仅仅是这整个宏伟项目的一部分。

为了解决可威胁经济 发展和稳定的水资源问题，中国领导人将这个耗资巨资的南水北调工程看成是解决问题的关键。北京周边地区的粮食产地其人均水资源相当于干旱国家尼日尔和厄立 特里亚国的水平。水资源的过度使用使得大量河流干涸。

随着地下水位的下降和河流的干涸，可用的水资源在不断减少；而那些没干涸的河流，由于污染严重，连用 来进行工业生产都不合格。世界银行称中国的水危机使中国的GDP损失了2%多，主要是卫生健康上的危害。

因此，即将抵达北京的这些水资源将官员松一口气。 确实如此，北京的水资源是如此的缺乏，过去还有人建议迁都。

Grand new canals

宏伟的新运河

Vast new waterways will not solve China’s desperatewater shortages

即使接通了新的水道，中国的水资源短缺问题依然无法得到解决

SOON the centrepiece of one of China’s mostspectacular engineering projects will be completed, with the opening ofsluicegates into a canal stretching over 1,200km(750 miles) from the Yangzi river north to the capital, Beijing. The newchannel is only part of the world’s biggest water-diversion scheme. More than300,000 people have been kicked out to make way for the channel and theexpansion of a reservoir in central China that will feed it. But the governmentis in a hurry, and has paid their complaints little heed.

很快，中国最宏伟工程之一的主要部分即将完成，届时扬子江的河水将流经1200公里抵达北京。这条水道还仅仅是这整个宏伟项目的一部分。这条水道的挖掘以及其水源地中国中部一个水库的扩张导致30万人搬迁。但是政府很着急，所以对人们的抱怨不管不顾。

China’s leaders see the so-called South-North WaterDiversion Project, which has already cost tens of billions of dollars, ascrucial to solving a water problem that threatens the country’s development andstability (see article). Grain-growing areas around Beijing have about as much water perperson as such arid countries as Niger and Eritrea. Overuse has causedthousands of rivers to disappear. The amount of water available is diminishingfast as the water table drops and rivers dry up; what little is left is oftentoo polluted even for industrial use. The World Bank has said that China’swater crisis costs the country more than 2% of GDP, mostly because of damage tohealth. The new supply’s arrival in Beijing will thus come as a huge relief toofficials. Indeed, so desperate is the lack of water that some have in the pastsuggested such drastic answers as moving the capital.

为了解决可威胁经济发展和稳定的水资源问题，中国领导人将这个耗资巨资的南水北调工程看成是解决问题的关键。北京周边地区的粮食产地其人均水资源相当于干旱国家尼日尔和厄立特里亚国的水平。水资源的过度使用使得大量河流干涸。

随着地下水位的下降和河流的干涸，可用的水资源在不断减少；而那些没干涸的河流，由于污染严重，连用来进行工业生产都不合格。

世界银行称中国的水危机使中国的GDP损失了2%多，主要是卫生健康上的危害。因此，即将抵达北京的这些水资源将官员松一口气。确实如此，北京的水资源是如此的缺乏，过去还有人建议迁都。

Yet China’s water problem will remain unsolved. Thecanal is the second leg of the diversion project; the first, which opened lastyear in eastern China, brings water from the south along the route of the oldGrand Canal, built 1,400 years ago, to the northern plain. Neither will provemore than temporary palliatives as demand continues to soar and pollutionremains widespread. China’s water crisis cannot be tackled by showymega-projects. Misguided policy is as much to blame as a mismatch in supplybetween the water-rich south and the arid north. A new approach to watermanagement, rather than more concrete, is needed.

然而，中国水问题依然无法得到解决。该水道是南水北调工程中的第二条；第一条于去年在中国东部开通，沿着1400年前所建的大运河的路线将南水北调。这些措施都只能暂时缓解北方水资源的缺乏，因为需求在不断增加，污染也依然广泛。

中国的水危机靠这些大工程是无法解决的。南方水资源多，北方水资源少，这是自然资源的不协调分布，而被误导的政策同样是导致中国水危机的原因之一。所以需要采用新的方法对水资源进行管理，而不仅仅是工程建设那么简单。

Send them the bill

给他们寄去账单

The solution is simple: China needs to price itswater properly. Prices have risen a bit recently, but even in places wherewater is scarce it is ridiculously cheap, and as a result there is colossalwaste. Beijing is ringed with water-hungry golf courses for the elite.Householders are scarcely aware that water has a value. Planners fail to takethe cost of water into account, so provincial governments enticewater-intensive firms to invest in desert areas and officials designatedrought-prone regions as the sites of vast new cities. Raising the price ofwater in places where it is in short supply would discourage investment in suchareas.

问题的解决很简单：中国要给水资源进行适当的定价。水的价格最近涨了一点，但是即使是在水资源严重缺乏的地区，水的价格还是非常低廉，因此导致了巨大的浪费。北京有为精英们服务的水需求量巨大的高尔夫球场。

家家户户很少意识到水的价值。规划者没有将水的成本计算进去，于是省政府就吸引耗水量大的企业到沙漠地区投资，还在易干旱地区建造巨大的新城。在水资源稀缺的地区提高水价就可以避免人们在这里大量投资。

The Maoist obsession with food self-sufficiencycompounds the problem. The arid northern plain, home to 200m people, produces water-hungry crops such as wheatand corn. Nearly 70% of water consumed in the area is used for agriculture. Itis time for China to abandon autarkic thinking and import more food.

粮食自给自足的毛泽东主义也加剧了这一问题。两亿人口的干旱北方平原生产耗水量大的小麦和玉米。该地区几乎70%的水都用于农业灌溉。所以中国是时候抛弃自给自足的思想并更多的进口食物了。

Last year the Communist Party pledged to let marketforces play a decisive role in allocating resources such as water, land andelectricity. If it did so in the case of water, it would reap many benefits.Development would become more environmentally friendly, China could devote itscapital and remarkable engineering skills to projects more productive thanshipping water around the country—and everybody would save a great deal ofmoney.

去年，中共承诺将让市场力量在资源的分配中扮演决定性的角色，比如水，土地和电力。如果真的在水资源方面履行这样的承诺的话，那将有很多的好处。经济发展将变得更加的环境友好，中国就可以把自己的资本和工程技术投在更加具有效益的项目中去，而不是将水全国运输——这样各方都能省下一大笔钱。

以下是评论部分：

guest-sniewso Sep 27th, 17:47

Can I patent the idea of building a gimongous wallaround china’s coast including damming all rivers. No waste of fresh water.

揚子江 would needa lock system like the Panama Canal.

我想在中国沿海建造城墙阻止淡水资源流入海里，以及建造大坝将河流围起来——我可以把这个想法申请为专利吗？

扬子江应该像巴拿马运河那样设立一个河闸控制系统。

Iching88 in reply to guest-sniewso

There are already the ship locks of the threegorges dam to facilitate navigation.

三峡大坝已经设立船闸系统以促进船舶航行了。

guest-sniewso Sep 27th, 17:26

California aqueducts.

They have an invasive species of crab that blocksthe gratings.

Chinese Mitten Crabs.

America has the aqueduct technology, if china hasthe crab infestation solution, we might have a tech transfer foundation,pending equitable value exchange evaluation. (Never heard of ‘em, but we allshould have)

加州水渠遭受了外来物种即螃蟹的侵袭，这些螃蟹把隔栏给堵住了。

这些中华绒蝥蟹正是来自中国。

美国拥有开凿水渠方面的技术，如果中国拥有解决中华绒蝥蟹侵袭方面的方法的话，那么双方可以进行技术方面的交换。
Iching88 in reply to guest-sniewso

How much do Chinese Mitten Crabs cost per kg inChinese market?

中国市场上每公斤中华绒蝥蟹多少钱？

guest-snieemj Sep 27th, 16:08

Another anti-Chinese article that ‘The Economist’is so famously known for.

Countless people are forced outta the way… it’s best to buy more foreignfoods than building this… Did I catch anything positive U said about this project?Kings and dynasties had all been wanting to do this, to better the domesticcommerce and inland transport of goods and services. I guess ‘The Economist’ isonly serving its own master- the Western Capitalists, and it has NO interest ofChina’s own welfare. If I have my way, I’d instruct the Chinese Gov’t to denyany visa to your firm, not even H.K., and all you busybody journalists couldfile reports from Korea, Japan, India, Philippines, Vietnam, or wherever orwhoever you are in bed with these days.

这又是《经济学人》杂志一贯以来的反中文章。

“无数人被迫离开家园。。。。与其南水北调还不如更多的进口粮食。。。”

《经济学人》在这个工程上有说过什么好话吗？历朝历代都想完成这样的工程，都想更好的完善国内的商业和货物与服务的内陆运输。我猜《经济学人》仅仅是在给自己的主人服务吧，也就是西方资本家，哪里会关心中国的死活。

中国记者不应该给你们的记者颁发任何的签证，甚至也不让你们去香港。这样你们这些爱管闲事的记者就可以从韩国，日本，印度，菲律宾，越南等地方发布报道了，或者在任何地方与任何人上床的时候进行报道了。

guest-sniewso in reply to guest-snieemj Sep 27th, 17:33

I am daily reassured that the cctv is the mosttrustworthy, neutral, journalistic entity in the world.

Supported by the fact that they are not in bed withany other media outlet in the world.

Must be lonely.

我每天都可以肯定的是中央电视台是世界上最有价值的，最中立的，最职业的新闻机构了。因为中央电视台没与世界上任何的新闻媒体上过床。肯定相当的寂寞。

honorablesamurai in reply to guest-snieemj 3 hours 42 mins ago

Poppycock, for every article The Economist writesabout China condemning some unworthy policy, they write 10 condemning Westernpolicies. When was the last time you saw a positive article about France? Tobelieve that the Economist singles out China exclusively for negativejournalism is truly arrogant as they slam and smash stupidities from allnations when they get the chance. Every single issue they publish takes issuewith European, American, African, Middle-Eastern policy. No one is exclusively pilloried- all are ridiculed for foolish politics.

胡说，经济学人每写一篇谴责中国无价值政策的报道时，就会写十篇文章谴责西方无价值的政策。你上次什么时候见到经济学人在写法国的文章时是积极的？不管是哪个国家，只有存在愚蠢的政策，经济学人都会进行抨击。

Gemini star Sep 27th, 14:01

It is not easy to solve the water problem bypricing the water. First, water is inelastic for household consumers. Charginga high price for water will affect their welfare, and probably socialstability. Second, I think less agricultural products and more food imports isnot a solution at all…

给水适当的定价，也不是那么容易就能解决水危机的。首先对于居民来说，水是缺乏价格弹性的。提高水价无疑会对他们的生活水平造成影响，甚至可能导致社会不稳定。第二，自己少种并多进口，这根本也不是解决问题的办法。

Iching88 Sep 26th, 07:10

Economic development for more than three decadeswith an ‘ends-justify-the-means approach has got Chinese people to become awareof what ‘sustainability” really intends to.

In the past 30 plus years, GDP remained the merecriteria for performance appraisal for and promotion of officials so much sothat lower-level officials can be elevated to higher positions only if GDP ofthe administrative area will be upraised, which has brought disasters not onlyto environment but also to human beings as a consequence. What would become ofthe southern provinces blessed with water should shortage of water resultingfrom either drought or diversion canal at work occur, I wonder?

One more thing, when I drive my car throughout thecountry I see few or no devices for car washing wastewater to be recycled andreused for social and economic benefits, be it in the south or the north. Toraise the price may be the solution?

30多年来的“结果决定手段”的发展模式让中国人看清了“可持续性”到底意味着什么。

过去30多年来，GDP成为了官员业绩指标和升官的唯一标准，因此只要官员所在地区的GDP上去了，那么就可以得到升官，这不仅给环境带来了巨大的破坏，对人类来说也是个巨大的灾难。如果这些水资源丰富的南方地区因为南水北调或者遭遇干旱而缺水的话，那对这些南方省份来说意味着什么？

还有，在我开车游历中国时，我几乎没有看到那些洗车废水被重新利用或者循环利用的，不管是在南方还是北方。所以提高水价或许是个解决的方法？

guest-sniejaa in reply to Iching88 Sep 27th, 14:11

Economic development for more than centuries withan “Ends justify the means” approach by those European colonialistshas got European people to become aware of what “slavery” and”colonization” really intends to instill in people mind.

bla bla bla …. continue the imagination.

西方殖皿煮义者几个世纪以来的“结果决定手段”的发展模式已经让欧洲人意识到人们脑海中的“奴役”和“殖民”到底意味着什么。

废话连篇，继续想象。。。。

blinded in reply to Iching88 Sep 27th, 16:10

you are correct. The ecological and economicalconsequences have not been thoroughly studied – what if water shortage in southbecomes a problem due to the project? The money used for the water diversionproject may be better used to build water recycling/reuse facilities and todevelop sustainable water usage plans.

楼上上说的没错。这个项目没有对生态和经济所产生的影响进行全面的考量——如果南方因为南水北调项目而缺水那怎么办？其实可以使用这个项目的资金来建设水循环或者水重复使用的设施，以及用来发展可持续的水使用计划。