en.Wedoany.com Reported - Recently, the Ministry of Water Resources issued the "Mother River Restoration Action Plan (2026–2030)," deploying the second batch of mother river restoration actions to continuously restore the ecological environment of rivers and lakes. The Plan proposes that by 2030, the restoration results of the first batch of 88 mother rivers (lakes) will be continuously consolidated, and the second batch of 111 mother rivers (lakes) will achieve sustained improvement in water ecological conditions and comprehensive enhancement of river and lake landscapes under normal inflow conditions.
The focus of the second batch of mother river restoration actions centers on three levels: "water presence, flow, and health." For seasonal rivers, the Plan requires achieving full connectivity along the entire course under normal inflow conditions; for lakes, effectively maintaining ecological water levels; for perennial rivers, maintaining water presence throughout the year along the entire course and significantly improving hydrodynamic conditions. Compared to single river channel remediation, this round of actions places greater emphasis on the coordinated advancement of water resource scheduling, water system connectivity, ecological water replenishment, river channel remediation, habitat restoration, and over-extraction control. The Ministry of Water Resources has made it clear that for the rivers and lakes included in the second batch of actions, prominent problems and their causes will be examined on a case-by-case basis, "one river (lake), one policy" plans will be formulated, and quantifiable, monitorable, and evaluable restoration indicators will be reasonably set, with annual target tasks detailed.
This arrangement also signifies that China's river and lake ecological governance is continuing to shift from localized restoration to systematic governance. In the past, some rivers and lakes faced problems such as drying up, shrinking, insufficient ecological water levels, weakened hydrodynamics, and degradation of aquatic habitats. Relying solely on river dredging, shoreline remediation, or periodic water replenishment made it difficult to maintain a healthy state in the long term. The Mother River Restoration Action promotes the return of occupied water resources, optimized scheduling, ecological water replenishment, water system connectivity, river channel remediation, habitat restoration, groundwater over-extraction control, and monitoring and evaluation under a unified framework, requiring that "governing one river yields results for that river." Such tasks place higher demands on local water resource allocation, water engineering scheduling, basin-wide collaborative management, and the implementation of the river and lake chief system. They will also drive technical demands in areas such as hydrological monitoring, ecological flow assessment, digital twin basins, river and lake health evaluation, and water ecological restoration engineering.
Subsequent observation priorities will focus on the specific list of the second batch of 111 mother rivers (lakes), the annual target breakdown for each river and lake, arrangements for ecological water replenishment and water engineering scheduling, and how restoration indicators will be monitored and evaluated over the long term. The Ministry of Water Resources' deployment of the second batch of mother river restoration actions indicates that over the next five years, China's river and lake governance will continue to extend from engineering and spatial management to the comprehensive restoration of water quantity, water levels, hydrodynamics, habitats, and ecological functions.
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