THE INTEGRATED CATC HMENT MANAGEMENT PLAN IN NEW ZEALAND AND THE ENLIGHTENMENT TO CHINA’S PRACTICE

Abstract

China's current catchment planning often focuses on formulating overall strategies for flood control and water resource distribution from a perspective of water conservancy. Usually, such plans are developed at large scales, covering a huge territory. However, city-scaled analyses, technical strategies, or roadmaps responding to issues of urban flooding, water pollution, etc. are less integrated into the current catchment planning; there is also an absence of comprehensive management methods for medium- or small-scaled urban water bodies. Combing with a case study on integrated catchment management plans (ICMP) for the Hamilton City, New Zealand, this paper reviews and summarizes the idea, role, objectives, key sections, and implementation of ICMPs in New Zealand, including a series of core tasks ranging from the trans-administrative catchment management mechanism, comprehensive and operational objectives and the technical system to the integration with long-term urban planning and Resource Consent requirements. In view of the status quo and major problems in China's comprehensive management of urban water systems, as well as the gaps in the existing formulation and implementation of catchment planning, especially the absence of integrated planning methods for medium- or smallscaled catchments that have a more direct and stronger relation with urban development, New Zealand's experience in ICMP preparation and implementation reflects a paradigm significance.