China pioneer of river ethics and management

The world faces a grave water crisis, both in magnitude and extent. Though there are many reasons behind this sad situation, three stand out.

First, the global population has continued to increase, along with commercial and industrial activities. Water is essential for the survival of humans and ecosystems. All important human activities need water, including food production, power generation, and industrial and commercial activities. With increasing population and urbanization, water requirements to support these activities have increased as well.

Second, water management practices are inefficient across the world, though the situation in a few countries such as China and Singapore has been steadily improving, especially in the post-2010 period. For example, water consumption in terms of per 10,000 yuan ($1,408) of GDP and per 10,000 yuan of industrial added value in China declined by 33.4 percent and 50.3 percent, respectively, between 2015 and 2022. But even after this remarkable achievement, there is still much room for improving efficiency in all sectors.

And third, the impacts of climate change on water sources are far worse than what was expected even in 2020. This will make water management much more complex and uncertain, but most countries are not prepared enough to overcome or adequately handle these impacts and realize carbon neutrality within the next two to four decades.

Global situation of river management

Historically, river management has been basically dependent on what has been expedient and cheap, rather than what is best for a country in the long run, without ethical considerations playing any role in river management.

A good example of expedient management is the discharge of untreated or partially treated wastewater into rivers. Consequently, rivers all over the world have become increasingly polluted, impacting human health and aquatic ecosystems. For example, the Cuyahoga River in the United States caught fire at least 13 times and was declared a fire hazard, because of the indiscriminate discharge of industrial wastes such as oil and grease into the river. The last time the river caught fire was in June 1969.

Sadly, at least until 1970, pollution of rivers around the world was considered a price to be paid for economic growth. Industrial development was linked to prosperity and job creation in cities on the banks of the rivers.

It was in the early 1970s that developed countries realized the environment had to be protected for long-term economic and social well-being, with many of them making commendable progress in cleaning up polluted rivers and lakes during the 1970-2000 period.

Developing nations lag behind in river cleaning

Developing countries, on the other hand, have made limited progress in cleaning up rivers. As a result, rivers passing through or near urban centers have continued to get more polluted. Consequently, river management thinking has gradually evolved, especially in terms of managing water quality. But despite the significant evolution of river management, commensurate progress in river ethics remains conspicuous by its absence.

In 2009, Li Guoying, then with the Chinese Yellow River Conservancy Commission and now China's Minister of Water Resources, proposed that rivers should be viewed as vital beings so that society recognized the initiative, teleonomy, and creativeness of rivers, which means rivers also have inherent value (s) and are subject of rights. He noted, though, that expanding the object of moral concern to natural beings like rivers (mountains) is highly controversial in academia and with the public.

At the second United Nations Water Conference in New York in March 2023, Li proposed four important initiatives, including the need to respect the rights of rivers in nature, regard rivers as life forms, construct river ethics, maintain the healthy life of rivers and realize the harmonious coexistence of people and rivers.

And at the World Water Forum, in Bali, Indonesia, in May 2024, he said there is a need to develop a community of good practices on river ethics across the world.

River ethics in other countries

A country that has made good progress in developing water ethics is New Zealand. In 2017, the New Zealand government granted legal personhood to the Whanganui River — the first time in history that an inanimate object like a river was accorded the legal status of a person. According to the Te Awa Tupua Act (Whanganui River Claims Settlement Act) of 2017, the river and its environment are recognized as living beings called Te Awa Tupua.

In fact, the Whanganui River from the mountains to the sea, its tributaries, and all its physical and spiritual elements are recognized as "a living and indivisible whole" having similar legal rights and responsibilities as any living person. The members of the Whanganui tribe who live along this 290-kilometre-long river and its tributaries have had a deep connection with the river for at least 900 years, meaning their association with the river began 700 years before the first European settlers arrived in New Zealand.

The Whanganui tribe takes its name, spirit and strength from the river, and its members rely on the river for much of their food and have built villages on its banks. For them, the river is a "highway" that connects the tribes. They consider the river to be their ancestor and spiritual mentor and use its water to heal the sick. The local Maori people have a saying "I am the river, and the river is me."

Under the Te Awa Tupua Act, two people (one representative each of Whanganui Iwi tribe and the New Zealand government) are the river's spokespersons, and their duty is to protect its interest and the environment around it.

Pioneering act inspires others

The Te Awa Tupua Act has been a pioneer in managing rivers. Encouraged by this development, the Uttarakhand High Court in India has granted legal personhood to River Ganges within the territory of Uttarakhand province. Similarly, Bangladesh has provided legal personhood to all its rivers.

The granting of legal personhood to an inanimate object such as a river, and appointment of spokespersons to speak on its behalf will likely help protect the river and the riparian environment.

China has been developing its river ethics with its own unique national characteristics to ensure that the technical, economic, environmental and ethical aspects of rivers are properly taken care of, which should further improve its current river management practices.

The developments in China and New Zealand, and some other countries, show there are many ways in which the principles and practices of river ethics will evolve in the future. This will ensure the survival, health, and integrity of the ecosystems of rivers. Simultaneously, rivers and the ecosystems around them will contribute to high-quality development, contributing to truly sustainable development in not only China but also the rest of the world, by bringing significantly more benefits to a much larger number of people. This in turn will help protect the interests of both humans and nature.

Asit K. Biswas is a distinguished visiting professor at the University of Glasgow, UK, director of Water Management International, Singapore and chief executive of Third World Centre for Water Management, Mexico; and Cecilia Tortajada is a professor at the School of Social and Environmental Sustainability, University of Glasgow.

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