A Zero-Sum Game: The Energy-Water Crisis in Northwest China

China faces significant water security challenges, many of which will be aggravated by increasing energy demands and climate change. This thesis evaluates the magnitude of the water security threats and the effectiveness of current water policies in China.

The analysis demonstrates that China understands the significance of the water scarcity threat but also that its current policies are inadequately managing the country's water resources. As China’s energy sector continues to expand, it will need to balance limited water resources among agriculture, industry, energy, and other needs of the people. All of these complex issues surface in the northwest province of Xinjiang, which has political instability and ethnic conflict, severely limited water resources, an important agricultural industry, and the Tarim shale basin which is attractive for hydraulic fracturing.

To manage water resources effectively, China will need to reform the provincial decision-making process, starting with new incentives for provincial leaderships. China must find ways to incentivize provincial leaders to prioritize water management, regulate industry to improve water efficiency and reduce pollution, develop energy strategies that factor in water withdrawals, and alleviate ethnic tensions in Xinjiang that could be exacerbated by water insecurity. Failure to manage water resources efficiently through effective water policies could seriously constrain China's future economic development.

Baskaran, Akshai. (2015). A Zero-Sum Game:
The Energy-Water Crisis in Northwest China. Stanford Digital Repository. Available at: http://purl.stanford.edu/rh646cn8883