River Chief System

by+Li+Zhuoxi

On December 11， 2016， the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China（CPC） and the General Office of the State Council jointly issued a document on implementing a national river management system that will cover every river and lake in the country by the end of 2018. China will establish provincial， municipal， and county and township-level river management systems operated by local governments at various levels to oversee pollution control and improve water quality and the overall environment around these bodies of water， according to the document. While the heads of provincial-level regions will be general river chiefs， responsible for every river and lake in their respective regions， other top officials at city， county and township levels will act as river chiefs and take responsibility for the bodies of water under their care.

River chiefs at various levels will bear direct responsibility for the management and protection of rivers and lakes. Major tasks will include water resource protection， management and protection of riverbanks and lakeshores， water pollution prevention and control， ecological restoration and law enforcement monitoring. Their performances will be evaluated， and they will be held accountable for environmental damage that occurs in the water bodies under their supervision.

The management and protection of rivers and lakes involve different usages and facets of the waters， and span various administrative regions and industries， which make it a complicated issue. Unsound industrial structures in some regions present a major obstacle for the prevention and control of water pollution. With local Party chiefs and government heads taking the lead to govern the water bodies in their regions， it will enable better coordination of economic and social development with environmental protection in each of their unique， respective situations. The issue demands an upgrade of industrial structures as well as direct action. The river management system will not change the distribution of responsibility but help to build a platform for various government departments to work together.