Research On River Basin Governance Mechanism For Mulan River Basin In Putian City

Water has the potential to generate immense benefits,but it can also give rise to significant challenges.A watershed represents the natural hydrological system of a river.The establishment of a watershed governance framework is of paramount significance for enhancing the capacity and effectiveness of watershed management,strengthening water resource conservation,improving ecological environments,safeguarding public safety and property,and fostering socio-economic development.Since 1999,the People’s Government of Putian City has placed considerable emphasis on the construction of the Mulanxi River Basin governance mechanism.They have progressively instituted mechanisms for multi-party participation,multi-dimensional oversight,double payments of ecological services,and collaboration between higher education institutions and local governments,thereby providing a benchmark for national river governance mechanisms and exemplifying exemplary practices in the river and lake management.This study adopts a comprehensive approach,encompassing a literature review,on-site investigations,and interviews,to analyze the current status and effectiveness of the Mulanxi River Basin governance mechanism in Putian City.The analysis focuses on four key aspects: the establishment of a "dual responsibility" mechanism for river management,a multi-stakeholder collaborative governance mechanism,a multi-dimensional oversight(inspection)governance mechanism,and a dual ecological compensation mechanism.However,certain issues persist,including inadequate coordination and collaboration mechanisms,immature intelligent management mechanisms,the absence of a scientifically robust assessment and incentive system,and insufficient implementation of multi-stakeholder participation in governance mechanisms.The primary causes of these issues lie in insufficient understanding of governance mechanism construction among relevant departments and personnel,inadequate financial investment,lagging information technology infrastructure,and the absence of differentiated assessment mechanisms,as well as comprehensive accountability mechanisms and sound positive incentive mechanisms.Drawing on experiences and lessons from various watershed governance practices,this study proposes five recommendations: a profound recognition of the importance of strengthening watershed governance mechanism construction,the improvement of financial investment mechanisms to enhance the development of intelligent water management platforms,the strengthening of supervision and differentiated assessment mechanisms,the enhancement of positive incentive mechanisms and accountability mechanisms,and the optimization of multi-stakeholder collaborative governance mechanisms.