Study On Institutional Innovation Of Water-Saving Agriculture In The Irrigation Area Of The Heihe River (Zhangye City)

As the important part of the environment and the nature resources, water is the prerequisite condition for human surviving and developing. With the population expanding and the economic development, in the irrigation area that would be a desert without water but would be an oasis with water, the development of economy and society and the construction of ecological environment in Heihe River valley are confined by the serious shortness of water resources.Besides the limitation of water supply, the essential reason for the shortness of water resources and the serious deterioration of the ecological environment is the imperfect of water allocation system, which can't encourage people to save water and improve the efficiency of the allocation of water resources. On the foundation of the establishment of agriculture water saving technology and rich experience in the field of water-saving agriculture in the valley, innovating existing system is the key to achieve the maximization of social value. The contents of constructing a perfect system of institutional innovation of water-saving agriculture include water rights system, reforming the organization management system, water price system and arrangement of water market, etc.Through the positive research of the irrigation area of the Heihe River and the water-saving system in Zhangye city, the result shows that:1. Institutional innovation of water-saving agriculture is not completely a kind of compulsive institutional change, which is implemented by the government, but it is a kind of inducible institutional change under the loose restrain by the government. The problems of time-lag and route-rely resist the process of institutional change.2. Consider the factors which induce institutional innovation of water-saving agriculture, the important factors which cause the innovation include water resources become shorter, ecological environment becomes worsen, weakens in the water management etc. Institutional innovation will be achieved when the potential income becomes larger than the cost of innovation.3. Distinct initial allocation system, establishing tradable water rights system and extending water-ticket system, introducing the water rights mechanism into the process of water allocation, benefit reducing the trade cost, encouraging the public to participate, and realizing the reasonable allocation of water resources.4. In order to realize the users' self-management of water conservancy facilities and the pattern of paid use, enhance the householders' enthusiasm to save water and guarantee the irrigation area to run smoothly, encouraging to establish the Water User Associations is one kind of management pattern, which conforms to the actual situation in the irrigation area.