Water Governance in China

8/13/2019 Water Governance in China

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Water Governance in

ChinaVertical and Horizontal Fragmentation



China’s Water Risk - Spatial and

Temporal

China’s Water Sustainability in the 21st Century: Role of Climate and Multi-Sector Demands in Water Risk Assessment

Chen Xi 1, 3*, Naresh Devineni2, Upmanu Lall2, 3, Hao Zhenchun1, Ju Qin1, Wang jiahu1, Wang Shicheng4



Horizontal Fragmentation in Water Management

National People’s Congress Ministry of Water Resources

Ministry of

environmental

protection

Ministry of housing and

rural construction

Ministry of

agriculture

Ministry of land and

resourcesMinistry of Transportation

State forest

administration

State Oceanic

administrationNational

development and

reform commission

The State CouncilRiver Basin Management Commissions (RBMC):

subordinate organization of the MWR for its seven largeriver/lake basins (six river basin management commissions

and the Lake Tai Basin Management Agency). Responsible

for preparing basin-wide water allocation plans andproviding technical direction and guidance to local

governments within the basin.



●

● Centrally:

○ National People’s Congress and State Council play overarching role through enactment of laws/regulations and

supervising their implementation and coordination

○ For example, the ‘12th Five Year Plan’

● Ministries

○ Ministry of water resources - water allocation planning and water rights administration

○ Ministry of environmental protection - responsible for water pollution prevention and control

○ State oceanic administration - sea area use, marine environment

○ Ministry of housing and urban and rural construction - urban water supply, urban wastewater

○ Ministry of finance - pollution levy, wastewater treatment pricing, water pricing policy

○ Ministry of agriculture - rural agriculture water use and water pollution

○ Ministry of land and resource - water as a resource, land planning

http://cbi.typepad.com/china_direct/2011/05/chinas-twelfth-five-new-plan-the-full-english-version.html






















Lack of coordination in between ministries

Ministry of Environmental Protection and Ministry of WaterResources both monitor water quality of major rivers, but

have their own monitoring stations, and do not share

their respective database - their data ends up different.



Vertical Fragmentation in Water Management

Communist Party

Politiburo

National People’s

Congress

Party EldersDiscipline

Commission

- Circular Economy Promotion Law

- Prevention and Control of Water Pollution

Law

- Interim Measures of Public Participation in

EIA Law

- Environmental Impact Assessments Law

- Water Law

- Soil and Water Conservation Law

- Environmental Protection Law

- Promotion of Clean Production Law

Courts and Tribunals

- People’s supreme court

- People’s high court

- Prefecture courts

- County courts

State Council

Provincial Water Resource bureau

Ministry of Water Resources

Prefecture Water Resource bureau

County Water Resource bureau

River basin

management

commission

Township water stations



Vertical fragmentation

● each level of government has water management

responsibilities, separated at administrative boundaries,

not river basin levels

● competition between government makes transboundaryriver management more difficult

○ for example, benefits from pollution abatement and

water savings in one province will be felt farther

downstream.

○ however majority of the funding for pollution control

and water-saving investments must come from local

budgets with only small share contributed by the

central government



The River Basin Management

Commission

● Subordinate organization of the MWR for its seven large river/lake basins(six river basin management commissions and the Lake Tai Basin

Management Agency). Responsible for preparing basin-wide water

allocation plans and providing technical direction and guidance to local

governments within the basin.

● Only has authority to monitor water quality, not pollution control at itssource

● Basin wide water allocation plans are prepared by the RBMCs, water rights

at user level are administered by local governments, which are not

represented in the RBMC.

● Current water rights administration does not cover all water users

○ Irrigation are allocated to intermediary organisations responsible for

irrigation rather than end users.

○ Farmers withdraw water without permits, notably from underground

aquifers, which are not regulated at all

● Despite provisions and principles for water rights transfers, there are no

specific regulations on conditions, procedures, and operating guidelines forsuch transfers.



VS



thank you.

Water Governance in China

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