Public participation in China’s water governance

Abstract

This article analyses the role of public participation in China’s water governance. First, it provides an overview of the relevant international law provisions applicable to China. This is followed by an analysis of the implementation of these international obligations and their incorporation into China’s domestic water governance. The article demonstrates that the problem is not a lack of rules and regulations calling for public participation, but rather that these rules and regulations are often too vague to be meaningfully applied in practice. It is not always clear what type of public participation is called for, and which public should be invited to participate.