Ashet Bisvas, a visiting professor at the University of Glasgow, UK, and Cecilia Totahada, a chair professor at the School of Social and Environmental Sustainable Development, recently wrote in China Daily that China's river governance level is in the leading position in the world.
Dealing with water resource crisis is imminent
The article points out that the world is facing a water crisis, which is mainly due to three factors.
First, as the global population continues to grow, commercial and industrial activities are also increasing. Water resources are vital to human survival and ecosystem. Water resources are needed for all important activities, including food production, power generation, industrial and commercial activities, etc. With the increase of population and urbanization, the demand for water for related activities is also growing.
Secondly, despite the steady improvement of water resource management in a few countries, such as China and Singapore, the situation in other regions of the world is still not optimistic. For example, China's water consumption per 10000 yuan of GDP and per 10000 yuan of industrial added value in 2022 will decrease by 33.4% and 50.3% respectively compared with 2015. China has made remarkable achievements, but there is still much room for improving the efficiency of water resources utilization.
Moreover, even in 2020, the impact of climate change on water resources is far greater than expected. In view of this, water resource management has become more complex and uncertain. Most countries are not ready to deal with related problems and will be carbon neutral in the next 20 to 40 years.
China sets an example for global river governance
The article further analyzes that China has pioneered and innovated in the field of river governance to set an example for other countries.
In March 2023, Li Guoying, Minister of the Ministry of Water Resources of China, proposed at the United Nations Water Conference that we should respect the basic rights of natural rivers to survive, treat rivers as life forms, construct river ethics, safeguard the healthy life of rivers, and achieve harmonious coexistence between people and rivers.
In May 2024, when attending the 10th World Water Forum, he pointed out that solving the problem of water security and promoting shared prosperity with water are major issues facing the world at present and in the future. China is willing to work with the international community to make new and greater contributions to jointly write a new chapter in global water governance.
The practice of China and other countries shows that the principles and practices of river ethics in the future will have a variety of evolution forms. This will ensure the health and integrity of the river ecosystem. At the same time, the improvement of the river and its surrounding ecosystem will promote high-quality development, promote sustainable development in China and other regions of the world, and bring greater benefits to more people. This will undoubtedly help to promote the harmonious coexistence between man and nature.
