Better local water management is the way to keep pace with escalating demands, not pumping water across the country, warn Jon Barnett and colleagues.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Relevant articles
Open Access articles citing this article.
-
South-to-North Water Diversion stabilizing Beijing’s groundwater levels
Nature Communications Open Access 21 July 2020
-
Quantifying the Inter- and Intra-Annual Variations in Regional Water Consumption and Scarcity Incorporating Water Quantity and Quality
Water Resources Management Open Access 01 June 2020
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
References
Crow-Miller, B. Water Altern. 8, 173–192 (2015).
Jiang, Y. Environ. Sci. Policy 54, 106–125 (2015).
Webber, M., Barnett, J., Finlayson, B. & Wang, M. Global Environ. Chang. 18, 617–625 (2008).
Webber, M. Making Capitalism in Rural China (Edward Elgar, 2012).
Chen, D. et al. Appl. Geogr. 45, 303–310 (2013).
Wang, A. L. Harvard Environ. Law Rev. 37, 365–440 (2013).
Wang, H. et al. J. Environ. Mgmt 71, 123–133 (2004).
Heberer, T. & Schubert, G. (eds) Regime Legitimacy in Contemporary China: Institutional Change and Stability (Routledge, 2009).
Yee, W.-H., Lo, C. W.-H. & Tang, S.-Y. China Quart. 213, 101–129 (2013).
Yang, X. et al. PLoS ONE 10, e0115269 (2015).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Supplementary Information
Listen
Author Jon Barnett explains why China’s water-transfer project is not the answer to its needs
Related links
Related links
Related links in Nature Research
Atmospheric chemistry: China’s choking cocktail 2015-Oct-21
Agriculture: Increase water harvesting in Africa 2015-Mar-18
Resources: Silt, dams and hydraulic heroes 2015-Jan-07
Climate change: Protect the world's deltas 2014-Dec-03
Resources: Curb vast water use in central Asia 2014-Oct-01
Related external links
The New York Times China blog: Water From China's South-North Transfer Project Flows to Beijing
Wall Street Journal: Cities in China’s North Resist Tapping Water Piped From South
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Barnett, J., Rogers, S., Webber, M. et al. Sustainability: Transfer project cannot meet China's water needs. Nature 527, 295–297 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/527295a
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/527295a
This article is cited by
-
Analysis of spatio-temporal variation in phytoplankton and its relationship with water quality parameters in the South-to-North Water Diversion Project of China
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment (2021)
-
Evaluating Spatiotemporal Variations in the Impact of Inter-basin Water Transfer Projects in Water-receiving Basin
Water Resources Management (2021)
-
South-to-North Water Diversion stabilizing Beijing’s groundwater levels
Nature Communications (2020)
-
Environmental leapfrogging and everyday climate cultures: sustainable water consumption in the Global South
Climatic Change (2020)
-
Quantifying the Inter- and Intra-Annual Variations in Regional Water Consumption and Scarcity Incorporating Water Quantity and Quality
Water Resources Management (2020)