Lake's Rehabilitation Offers Hope for PRC's Polluted Waterways

MANILA, PHILIPPINES - The restoration of the polluted West Lake in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) provides a model for the successful revival of other damaged waterways and wetlands, according to a new publication from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

The publication “Reviving Lakes and Wetlands: Lessons Learned from People’s Republic of China” looks at the track record of projects designed to restore waterways in the PRC, including the West Lake.

Many of the PRC's waterways and wetlands are badly polluted after years of rapid economic growth, industrialization and urbanization, and there is a looming water shortage that could threaten the country’s future growth.

"The government has been devoting an increasing amount of time and resources to address the problems but the results have been relatively unsuccessful," says Klaus Gerhaeusser, Director General of ADB's East Asia Department.

One of the success stories, however, has been the revival of the West Lake, which the study puts down to the creation of an effective management group, the development of an integrated planning framework, strong leadership and effective financial planning.

“What is credited for turning the lake around is not more infrastructure but planning solutions,” says Mr. Gerhaeusser.

“In the PRC there is the political will to change the course of the country’s deteriorating ecosystems and this publication explores how ADB and other international financial institutions should reposition themselves in assisting PRC in reviving its lakes and wetlands,” he adds.

The study notes that financial institutions should focus their lending in areas that traditional and private sector funding sources do not find attractive, such as domestic wastewater networks and ecological rehabilitation.

“Such a re-orientation in lending assistance together with advisory support in policy and capacity building would enhance (ADB’s) relevance and value-addition,” Mr. Gerhaeusser says.

He added that future ADB projects to help restore and revive wetlands and waterways in the PRC will benefit from the recommendations in the study.

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