Drought relief and disaster reduction require forward-looking vision; only by planning ahead can we respond with composure

Recently, the rapidly spreading drought is deeply worrying. At present, which is a critical period for the growth of autumn grain, carrying out orderly and effective drought relief and disaster reduction appears urgent and important.

On the whole, two weak links cannot be ignored: agricultural modernization remains the weak link of the “new four modernizations”; farmland water conservancy infrastructure remains the weak link of agricultural modernization. As for the latter, water conservancy infrastructure in many regions of our country is weak, the ability to withstand floods and droughts is not strong, the amount of low- and medium-yield farmland is relatively large, and “relying on heaven for food” has not been fundamentally changed. This is both a weak link in agricultural development and a bottleneck constraining grain production increases.

Floods come with a roar, while drought strikes in silence. Compared with floods and waterlogging, drought always seems unremarkable at first, and everyone always hopes that a few soaking rains will relieve the drought. But reality is often months of blazing sun, and once the land cracks and people thirst, the drought has long since become a disaster, passing through the surface and skin and striking straight at the stomach and marrow.

In this sense, drought relief and disaster reduction should involve more “ordinary effort” and “effort beyond the obvious.” Therefore, when the person in charge of the water conservancy department spoke about this work, he said two quite thought-provoking things: one focused on “forward-looking thinking”——“shift the focus of work from emergency rescue after a disaster to prevention before a disaster, from passive resistance to active prevention and control”; the other focused on “accumulating effort in ordinary times”——“make full use of the favorable opportunities of winter and spring to lay a solid foundation for drought-relief water supply.”

Statistics show that in 2013, our country resolved temporary drinking water difficulties for 20.07 million people due to drought, completed drought-relief irrigation on an area of 370 million mu, and recovered grain losses of 39.93 million tons. At this moment, the drought is still spreading and the disaster situation is still developing. For some time to come, drought relief and disaster reduction must not be relaxed at any moment.

First, we should achieve “both hands exerting force.” Drought relief and ensuring water use, safeguarding water security, composing the tune of water conservation, and treating water pollution all cannot be separated from the “two hands working together” of the market and the government. Water is a public good, and water governance is the government's responsibility, but at the same time, government leadership does not mean “doing everything.” It is necessary to distinguish what the government should do and what can rely on market mechanisms, so that water resources can be further optimized in allocation.

“Both hands exerting force” is both a top-level design and something that reaches the fields. In many major grain-producing areas, some water conservancy facilities “right under the noses” of great rivers often have a decent foundation, yet their ownership is always unclear, and so over time they fall into disrepair and even become abandoned and unused. Guarding river water yet unable to irrigate seedlings is truly a pity.

Second, we should persist in “walking on two legs.” Strengthening the unified management and scientific dispatch of water sources is a necessary condition for guaranteeing water use in drought-relief areas. In addition to external forces, drought relief and disaster reduction must also emphasize “endogenous momentum.” Among these, water conservation is key.

Frankly speaking, our country's current water-use methods are still relatively extensive, and “leaks and drips” occur from time to time——water consumption per 10,000 yuan of industrial added value is 2 to 3 times the world's advanced level; “flood irrigation” is still not uncommon——the effective utilization coefficient of farmland irrigation water is 0.52, far below the international advanced level of 0.7 to 0.8.

Therefore, in future water conservation, attention should be paid to whole-process governance in concepts, awareness, measures, and other aspects, and the policy of giving priority to water conservation should be pursued to the end with sustained effort.

The simultaneous onslaught of drought and flood reflects the uneven temporal and spatial distribution of our country's water resources; water shortages and cries of thirst reflect the insufficiently scientific spatial allocation of population, resources, and environment. Looking at national conditions, floods and droughts may occur frequently in the future, and everyone should have a clear understanding of the historical position and vertical and horizontal coordinates of water conservancy.