The Trans- Jurisdictional Water Pollution Management Project had its Final Workshop in Beijing on 24 July 2009.
More than 40 specialists from Australia and China attended, including program owners AusAID and MOFCOM; the four Chinese core partners MEP, MWR, NDRC and SFA; the Program Coordination Office (PCO); international donors such as the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF); representatives from the four provinces along the Zhangweinan river basin (Hebei, Henan, Shandong and Shanxi) along with a number of senior experts from Chinese institutions and universities.
The joint project team, comprising the China Research Academy of Environmental Sciences (CRAES), Australia’s Cardno Acil Pty Ltd and the Foreign Economic Cooperation Office of the Chinese Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP-FECO), presented papers and exchanged ideas with participants on their recommended planning, regulatory, technical and economic options on the trans-jurisdictional water pollution management for Zhangweinan river basin. After the workshop, the joint project team will produce a final Policy and Technical Report incorporating all comments and discussions and an Activity Completion Report that will be submitted to the PCO shortly.
The project has made substantial contributions to the three key ACEDP outcomes, viz (i) influencing policy, (ii) building partnerships and (iii) strengthening capacities.
It provides direct policy input into the ongoing planning process for China’s 12th Five-Year Development plan (2011-15) through improved river basin planning, eg harmonizing water function zones, coordination of water resources and water environment management requirements and, specific objectives for pollutant reduction in terms of COD and TN. The project strengthened technical and managerial capacities of MEP and local EPB officials, of professionals within CRAES and even those not directly involved in the project but not limiting to those directly involved into the Trans project but also officer/scientists engaged in the State Council initiated “Water Pollution Control Major Research Project”. A potential partnership between CRAES and the CSIRO was further nurtured during the Australia study tour and both parties have expressed an interest in further collaboration.