Authors: GAN Hong, QIN Chang-hai, LU Qiong, WANG Lin (China Institute of Hydropower and Water Resources Research, Beijing 100038)

Abstract: Aiming at the critical issue that the cost of water resources depletion (CWRD) is difficult to be evaluated in System of Integrated Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA) at present, this study proposes a calculation method based on the research on system of environmental-economic accounting for water (SEEAW) of China in recent years. According to the negotiability of water resources, a theory of which to evaluate value of water resources by shadow price was suggested. Mean while based on the concept and quantity of water resources depletion (WR), a method to calculate CWRD by value of water resources and WRD was proposed. It shows that the CWRD of China is 164.7 billion yuan or 0.91% of GDP in 2005. Among the first-level river basins in China, the CWRD of Haihe River is the highest, reaching 76.9 billion yuan or 2.92% of GDP of the Haihe River basin. It shows the situation of water shortage in the Haihe River basin. Meanwhile, the approach was applied to estimate the CWRD in the whole mainland of China and the first-level river basin.

Key words: water resources; depletion; cost; equilibrium price; shadow price

Published in: Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, Vol. 42, No. 1, 2011

Article ID: 0559-9350 (2011) 01-0040-07