Chinese lawmakers passed the revised Water Law on Friday with the aim of strengthening the management and protection of rivers and lakes.
The revised law, set to take effect on March 22, 2027, was adopted at the 25th session of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress. According to a news release from the Legislative Affairs Commission of the NPC Standing Committee, the revision adds a new chapter on the management and protection of rivers and lakes.
The move comes as shortcomings remain in the protection of rivers and lakes, with illegal occupation, extraction, dumping and construction still occurring in some areas, the release said.
Some embankments, forests and tall-stemmed crops have encroached on river and lake waters and shorelines, affecting flood-control safety, while in some localities, the water-flow requirements needed to sustain local ecosystems remain difficult to meet consistently, damaging the ecological functions of rivers and lakes, it said.
The new chapter strengthens governance by establishing a system for regular surveys of rivers and lakes and introducing catalog-based management. It also specifies requirements for delineating river and lake management areas and shoreline protection areas, while enhancing safeguards for ecological water use, the release said.
In line with the new rules, management areas must be delineated for rivers and lakes. For rivers and lakes with embankments, the management area will cover the waters, sandbars and beaches between the two banks, as well as the embankments and embankment protection land.
For rivers and lakes without embankments, the management area will cover the waters, sandbars and beaches between the historical maximum flood level and the flood water level that a project is designed to withstand.
For rivers and lakes directly managed by river basin management authorities, the relevant management areas will be delineated by those authorities in coordination with county-level or higher-level local governments. Management areas for other rivers and lakes will be delineated by the relevant county-level or higher-level local governments.
The boundaries must be made public and marked with signs on the ground.
The chapter prohibits the illegal occupation or unlawful use of river and lake waters and shorelines, as well as unauthorized construction in these areas. It also bans the creation of land by enclosing lakes, the reclamation of river channels and the filling in of rivers and lakes.
For areas that have already been occupied or reclaimed, county-level and higher-level local governments are required to organize the restoration of land to rivers and lakes in a planned manner.
The new chapter also requires land use within river and lake management areas to comply with requirements for flood discharge, water conveyance and ecological and environmental protection. No new forestland or farmland may be added within such management areas.
Where existing forestland or farmland affects flood-control safety, provincial-level local governments must lawfully organize its adjustment and orderly withdrawal.
The revised law also requires ecological water-use scheduling to be incorporated into the daily operation of water projects, and calls for comprehensive treatment and ecological restoration in rivers and lakes whose ecosystems have deteriorated, according to the release.
The measures are intended to address illegal and disorderly development around rivers and lakes and advance the goal of building healthy waterways featuring clear water, green banks and thriving aquatic life, it added.
houliqiang@chinadaily.com.cn
