3. Water Resources Management Institutions

This chapter analyzes water resources management organizations in ancient history, development after 1949, and at present in China. The structures of water institutions in ancient China were very complicated. In the 70 years from 1949 to 2019, as the country developed from an agricultural economy to an industrialized one, the role of the water sector and its organizations experienced significant changes. The focus of the water sector shifted from water resources project construction to water resources management and to water resources saving and protection. The sector’s purposes were transformed from agriculture to industry, domestic sector, and ecology/environment. In almost 70 years, the MWR’s functions have undergone many changes. It developed from an agency for agricultural development in the 1950s to a combination of water infrastructure construction and hydropower development in the 1960s and 1970s. Its key responsibilities concerned water infrastructure construction and water resources management in the 1980s and 1990s, then water resources management in 2000s, but reverted to the management of water resources projects, water resources and waters after 2018.