Daling river boats, ChinaLongstanding involvement in China has allowed Mott MacDonald to demonstrate a wide range of development services connected with water, poverty and health.

China has 20% of the world’s people but just 7% of the world’s water – a recipe for fierce competition where no coherent framework has existed for governing rights and allocations. We were appointed in 2005 to the Ministry of Water Resources to promote the far-reaching institutional reforms required to implement the 2002 Water Law through the DFID-funded water resources demand management assistance project – whose goal is ‘improved livelihoods through equitable access and sustainable use of water resources, particularly for poor women and men’. Advisory services are being provided through provincial case studies (in Gansu and Liaoning) covering integrated water resources management [IWRM]; promotion of water saving societies; water user association development and shared water management; integrated water abstraction and distribution permitting; water tariff reforms; and documentation and promotion of IWR best practices.

Specific urban water issues have been tackled by the Group in Zhejiang Province on Zhejiang urban environment project which involved wide-ranging stakeholder consultation, working with three city authorities on institutional and financial reform and providing advice and training for project implementing and operating entities. Physical development included upgrading collection, treatment and disposal of wastewater and solid waste and improving urban infrastructure such as inner waterways, lakes and roads in the context of historic city redevelopment and conservation.

In the light of this experience, we expect the demand for services to continue to rise steadily, particularly in: safe water and sanitation; water sector reform; water resources management, community/stakeholder participation and watershed management.