The purpose of the Policy Landscape Review (PLR) is to inform the future direction of the program and provide a baseline for future monitoring and evaluation of the impacts of the overall program (as opposed to individual activities).
The Review has confirmed the priorities, constraints and challenges identified in the initial China Country Survey prepared for HLRT-II. The majority of these priority issues are covered by the topics of the existing pipeline of eleven activities. There is a strong desire of China Core Partners for these activities to proceed without delay. Not withstanding significant differences in institutional settings in both countries, recent policy reforms in water resource management and models for integrated river basin management in Australia are seen to provide useful insights for Chinese agencies in progressing policy reform. Based on China’s policy priorities and Australia’s capacity and strengths a baseline is provided in relation to the following four areas for policy improvement:
l Integrated management through effective interagency coordination, both vertical and horizontal
l Science based decision making and investment involving systems thinking
l Market based approaches to water resource allocation and incentives for IRBM best practice
l Effective public engagement and participation in planning and implementation.
• ACEDP PLR Final Report 
• C&E Strategy March 2008