A process-based framework to examine China’s approach to transboundary water management

Abstract

As China emerges as a regional and global power and its interest in utilizing the transboundary water resources within its borders continues to grow, a better understanding of China's policies and practices towards transboundary waters is of critical importance. Scholars have explored various approaches to the study of this subject, including the legal perspective, the socioeconomic-environmental lens, the foreign relations/neighbourhood diplomacy angle, and international relations theories. Each approach has its merits and weaknesses. On the basis of all the existing analytical studies, this article proposes a process-based framework to study China's policies towards transboundary water management.

The Salween River as a transboundary commons: Fragmented collective action, hybrid governance and power

“…Civil society and environmental NGOs in both Yunnan Province and Beijing have also played an important role in promoting a proposal for the protection of the Nu River, acting as one of the forces pushing for greater access to information on dam planning and public participation (Yang and Calhoun, 2007; Matsuzawa, 2011; Zhang and Li, 2018; El‐Silimy, 2019). They have linked with prominent experts (Xufeng, 2009) and undertaken their own field‐based research to evaluate the environmental and social risks from the hydropower dam projects seeking to inform government policy makers (Lin, 2007; Lu, 2007; Han, 2013), thus bringing to light their role as policy entrepreneurs (Yeophanthong, 2017).…”

“…There has been intense competition between interest groups over the fate of the Nu River, including between a range of government decision-making bodies at the prefecture, provincial and national level, SOEs, academic institutes and civil society (Zhang and Li, 2018). Some government agencies, such as the influential National Energy Bureau have been consistently in favour of the projects, while others, such as the State Environment Protection Administration (SEPA) (now the Ministry of Environmental Protection) raised critical questions towards the projects.…”

“…In China, since the early 1990s, a 13 dam cascade has been proposed for the mainstream (12 of these are in Yunnan province and one in Tibet area). These plans were first suspended by Premier Wen Jiabao in 2004 in part due to mounting pressure from public opposition and maintained following the high‐level government policy on ‘ecological civilisation’ (Magee, 2006; Zhang and Li, 2018; Yu et al ., 2019). Tens of dams, however, have been built on the tributaries (Ptak, 2014).…”

Editorial

“…In the first group are three articles which contribute to the literature on China's transboundary water policy and practice. Highlighting three major gaps in existing research, Zhang and Li propose a process-based framework to study the country's approaches to transboundary water management (Zhang and Li, 2018). The process starts with comprehending the uniqueness of a particular river basin or river.…”

“…Next, China's overall foreign policy and bilateral relationship with a particular riparian country also affect the extent of its engagement with the shared water resources. Then, Zhang and Li (2018) point out that subnational actors such as local government, dam builders, NGOs and the media also influence China's behaviour in three major aspects: the degree of utilization of transboundary river; overall relationship with neighbouring countries; and the implementation of the national government's policy. Zhang and Li also highlight that China's policy and practice towards a particular transboundary river are not static; they evolve with the changing dynamic in the overall political and economic context.…”