Water is one of the basic natural resources and a strategic economic one. According to Chinese law (The Constitution and The 2002 Water Law), water resources are national properties and the state government has the responsibility to administer and protect them. At present, water administration is shared by several ministries of the State Council and called “nine dragons administer water”. This paper illustrates the overall water administration scheme. It focuses on the overlapping mandates and interactions between various ministries, particularly those between the Ministry of Water Resources (MWR) and the State Environment Protection Administration (SEPA). The paper then analyzes the reasons why conflicts and disputes over ministry policies and strategies occur and the resultant lowering of administration efficiency and degradation of the water environment. Considering the complexity of water administration and the multiple demands on and limited water resources, some trends must be developed in water administration institutions to improve the efficiency of water administration. In particular, water administration must be strengthened and unified; administrative power must be separated from supervisory power; watershed management and planning must be strengthened; and cooperation among the related water departments must be increased.
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
Research Article|
August 01 2006
Water resources administration institution in China
Feng Yan;
Feng Yan
*
aAsian International Rivers Center, Yunnan University, Kunming 650223, China Tel: +(086)0871-5034577
*Corresponding author. [email protected]
Search for other works by this author on:
He Daming;
He Daming
aAsian International Rivers Center, Yunnan University, Kunming 650223, China Tel: +(086)0871-5034577
Search for other works by this author on:
Beth Kinne
Beth Kinne
bLeavenworth & Karp, PC, 201 14th Street, Suite 200, Glenwood Springs, CO 81601, USA
Search for other works by this author on:
Water Policy (2006) 8 (4): 291–301.
Article history
Received:
January 21 2005
Accepted:
June 06 2005
Citation
Feng Yan, He Daming, Beth Kinne; Water resources administration institution in China. Water Policy 1 August 2006; 8 (4): 291–301. doi: https://doi.org/10.2166/wp.2006.041
Download citation file:
Sign in
Don't already have an account? Register
Client Account
You could not be signed in. Please check your email address / username and password and try again.
Could not validate captcha. Please try again.
eBook
Pay-Per-View Access
$38.00