China unveils key measures for river and lake protection, governance

On the morning of July 4, 2025, the State Council Information Office held a press conference to introduce the relevant situation of comprehensively promoting the protection and governance of rivers and lakes. Leaders from the Ministry of Water Resources and the National Development and Reform Commission attended the conference and answered questions from the media.

The "Opinions on Comprehensively Promoting the Protection and Governance of Rivers and Lakes," issued by the General Offices of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council, is an important guiding document for China's river and lake protection and governance. It is reported that the Opinions clarify the overall requirements and development goals, aiming to form a pattern in which rivers nourish the people, the people protect the rivers, and there is harmonious co-existence between humans and water by 2035. The modern river basin flood control and disaster reduction system will be largely improved, the level of water resource conservation and intensive use will be further enhanced, the ecological environment of rivers and lakes will be comprehensively improved, and water culture will thrive.

The Opinions deploy key tasks and safeguard measures across six areas: ensuring the safety of rivers and lakes, strengthening the conservation and intensive use of water resources, protecting the ecological environment of rivers and lakes, improving the water environment, inheriting and promoting water culture, and perfecting the governance mechanism.

In response to this year's flood-control situation, the Ministry of Water Resources is focused on the "four noes" goal: no casualties, no dam-breaks of reservoirs, no breaches of important dikes and no impact on critical infrastructure. It will strictly implement the flood-control responsibility system, intensify the monitoring and forecasting of rain and water conditions, strengthen the unified joint dispatch of water projects, and carry out key-link prevention measures.

In terms of water resource conservation, China has made remarkable progress. In the past ten years, China's GDP has nearly doubled, the urbanization rate has increased by 12 percentage points, while total water consumption has remained stable at around 610 billion cubic meters. In the future, the Ministry of Water Resources will build a water-saving system and policy framework for agriculture, industry and urban areas.

Regarding the construction of the national water network, the main framework and arteries are being improved. The first-phase projects of the South-to-North Water Diversion have transferred over 80 billion cubic meters of water, benefiting 185 million people directly. Several major water-network projects are also being promoted, with the construction of provincial, municipal and county-level water networks underway.

Additionally, China has achieved positive results in the comprehensive management of groundwater over-extraction in north China. Compared with 2015, the volume of over-extraction has decreased by 85.8% percent, and the area affected has decreased by 32.8 percent. In the future, efforts will continue to promote the management of over-extraction in other regions.

The Ministry of Water Resources will also further promote the Mother River Revival Action, strengthen the management of ecological flow in rivers and lakes, improve the management and protection of water areas and shorelines, and advance the comprehensive control of soil and water loss. This will help achieve the goal of harmonious co-existence between humans and water, ensuring China's water security.

(Cover via VCG)