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3 Water Resources Management Institutions
cover hydropower development, urban and industrial water supply, and even ecological water supply after 2000, as well as water resources protection and pollution
control, among others.
Following the founding of the PRC, the central government established the MWR,
the first national administrative agency with integrated responsibilities for flood
control, irrigation, drainage, navigation, and hydropower development. Under social
and economic development, both the functions and the name of the MWR have
undergone several reforms through the merger and separation of the different agency
departments. According to the name changes of the water agency in China since
1949, its institutional development could be divided into the following stages: the
MWR between October 1949 and March 1958, the MWP between March 1958 and
March 1988, and the MWR after March 1988.
In October 1949, the MWR at the central government level was established, as the
highest water administration department in the country, to guide and supervise MWR
branches in major regions (an administrative level under central government and
above provincial government, disbanded in 1954) and provincial water departments.
According to the MWR’s 1955 mission statement, the agency’s functions were as
follows:
• Developing water resources construction policies and tasks according to the
national development strategy.
• Formulating the national water resources construction long-term plan and
comprehensive annual plan.
• Checking the annual plan and formulating annual increasing and saving indicators
for water resources construction.
• Formulating the annual financial plan and budgets for water resources development and managing financial transfers and accounting.
• Leading national water resources survey and design works.
• Reviewing river basin plans for the Yangtze River and Yellow River and leading
the river basin plan for the Huai River.
• Reviewing design documents for infrastructure development above the quota.
• Organizing and checking the completion of the water resources construction plan.
• Organizing and promoting national flood control and drought resistance to
alleviate water-related disasters.
• Handling and promoting maintenance for river water resources projects.
• Leading hydrological surveys and data compilation.
• Being responsible for the collection and forecasting of major hydrological
information.
• Formulating policy for small water resources projects and providing technical
support and guidance for irrigation engineering.
• Developing large-scale irrigation projects, promoting and leading small irrigation
projects, and improving irrigation methods to enlarge the irrigation area.
• Organizing and leading water resources scientific experiments and research,
and organizing attempts to solve technological problems related to key water
resources.
3 Water Resources Management Institutions
cover hydropower development, urban and industrial water supply, and even ecological water supply after 2000, as well as water resources protection and pollution
control, among others.
Following the founding of the PRC, the central government established the MWR,
the first national administrative agency with integrated responsibilities for flood
control, irrigation, drainage, navigation, and hydropower development. Under social
and economic development, both the functions and the name of the MWR have
undergone several reforms through the merger and separation of the different agency
departments. According to the name changes of the water agency in China since
1949, its institutional development could be divided into the following stages: the
MWR between October 1949 and March 1958, the MWP between March 1958 and
March 1988, and the MWR after March 1988.
In October 1949, the MWR at the central government level was established, as the
highest water administration department in the country, to guide and supervise MWR
branches in major regions (an administrative level under central government and
above provincial government, disbanded in 1954) and provincial water departments.
According to the MWR’s 1955 mission statement, the agency’s functions were as
follows:
• Developing water resources construction policies and tasks according to the
national development strategy.
• Formulating the national water resources construction long-term plan and
comprehensive annual plan.
• Checking the annual plan and formulating annual increasing and saving indicators
for water resources construction.
• Formulating the annual financial plan and budgets for water resources development and managing financial transfers and accounting.
• Leading national water resources survey and design works.
• Reviewing river basin plans for the Yangtze River and Yellow River and leading
the river basin plan for the Huai River.
• Reviewing design documents for infrastructure development above the quota.
• Organizing and checking the completion of the water resources construction plan.
• Organizing and promoting national flood control and drought resistance to
alleviate water-related disasters.
• Handling and promoting maintenance for river water resources projects.
• Leading hydrological surveys and data compilation.
• Being responsible for the collection and forecasting of major hydrological
information.
• Formulating policy for small water resources projects and providing technical
support and guidance for irrigation engineering.
• Developing large-scale irrigation projects, promoting and leading small irrigation
projects, and improving irrigation methods to enlarge the irrigation area.
• Organizing and leading water resources scientific experiments and research,
and organizing attempts to solve technological problems related to key water
resources.