Safeguarding China's water resources

Water is scarce in China. The country ekes by with only one-quarter of the global average for water per person. The scarcity is exacerbated by rampant pollution—with devastating consequences on ecosystems, food supply and public health. In the face of growing population, water pollution threatens the very survival of the Chinese nation. In his speech at the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China last October, President Xi Jinping repeatedly emphasized the importance to redress the balance between economic development and environmental protection. One of his most frequently cited phrases is ‘clean waters and lush mountains are gold and silver’. And he has matched his rhetoric with action. In April 2015, the State Council, China's cabinet, issued the Water Pollution and Control Action Plan (known as Shuishitiao or Water Ten Plan)—widely hailed as the toughest and most comprehensive water policy to date. Last October, it announced a five-year plan to tackle water pollution, with a budget of 700 billion yuan (US$106 billion). The country's top legislature has also revised the Water Prevention and Control Law, which will go into effect in early 2018. In a forum chaired by National Science Review’s Executive Editor-in-Chief Mu-ming Poo, a panel of experts of diverse backgrounds and perspectives discussed the current status of China's water resources, their views on the comprehensive policy package, how national initiatives have been going, what the challenges are and why information transparency and public participation are absolutely essential in environmental protection. Weijiang Liu Hydrologist at the Chinese Academy for Environmental Planning, Ministry of Environmental Protection, Beijing, China Ji Shen Environment scientist at Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, China Chunmiao Zheng Hydrologist at Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China Jun Ma Founder and director of the non-governmental organization Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, Beijing, China Tao Tao Environment scientist at the College of Environmental Science and Engineering and the Key Laboratory of Yangtze River Water Environment at Tongji University, Shanghai, China Mu-ming Poo (Chair) Director, Institute of Neuroscience, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China