Study On The History Of Li River Basin Water Recourse Management

Lijiang River is the mother-river to the people of Guilin municipal area. Within the river basin there has beautiful scenery that is worldwide known.The water resource in Lijiang river basin is richer than other river basins, and the terrain in the basin is advantageous for water resource management, however, the unique social economic background brings unique water resource management crisis to the basin. This paper trying to find the characteristics in the evolution of Lijiang river basin water resource management system, from a historic economics prospect.With historical economics theories, as well as institution evolution theory and the theory of hierarchical water resource management system, the author redeems that the rigid hierarchy model and the complete market model are two extremities. While in the real world, the water resource is common goods and it has great exterior effects, therefore, for reducing the trading cost, the evolution of the water resource management system was roaming between two extremities.Based on those theories, this paper analyzed the Lijiang river basin's water resource management characteristics in different periods in the first part, then give the explanation from the historical economics prospect as well as the management efficiency analysis was given.In the ancient time, Li river basin was not in the centre of the Chinese civilization, few activities happened there was about water. After 6 century A.C., the water resource management changed from military materials transportation to irrigation and ship, and almost all the water develop activities were charged by the government.In the Ming Qing dynasties, the population and the farming lands grown very fast, people began to build large anti-flood projects. Also lots of middle and small sized projects were built and run by the local people or the NGOs.In the KMD's period, the water resource management in the basin entered into modernization, some plan was made in the management, but soon stopped because of the anti-Japanese war and civil war.After the PRC was found, the water conservancy was growing very fast in the Li river basin. But the development was interrupted by the"leftwing"theory and lost the planning and programming, the river was polluted and lots of projects built then are with the quality crisis.When the reforming and opening-up time come, the tourism had a great development, and many environment protection projects were built. At the same time, the government began to focus on the water resource management planning, city development planning and establishing of relative laws and regulations.The result shows that in the historical period, as the economy developed in the basin area, the content of the water resource management goes more and more complex, more and deeper. The water right institution also centralized and disseminated twice in the history.At first, the rising cost of market exchange lead the advent of hierarchical water resource management system, and gradually rigidized. As there come more and more water using entities in the area, also the spread of the water technology and the relative scarce water resource, made the soften of the hierarchical water resource management system. The water right institution become weaken, and the market, or the NGOs be come the leading power to distribute the water resource.As the modernization come, the new technology, new water management activities and huge water project, again rigidized the water resource management system, made the water right centered. But it did not last for long, as market economy becoming popular in the basin area and getting fast developing in the labor productivity, the institution become soft again, and the water right also disseminated another time.However, the modernization goes to fast that brings water resource the outside effect. On the other hand, the history brings"path-relying effect"to the water right system; this made the dissemination of the water right in the marketing economy time different from the Ming and Qing dynasty.In the end of the paper, some suggestions were given. The author thinks those suggestions must be adopted gradually and one by one.At last, considered the path-relying effect and the characteristics in Lijiang river basin, the critical thing in the water resource management in the short period should be solving of the government ineffective, to built the General Management System of the river basin.