Beginning to serve 12 million people through cooperation

Dongting Lake is the second largest freshwater lake in China and its basin is home to nearly 12 million people. Due to overuse, silting, sedimentation and decreasing inflows from the Yangtze River during the dry season, the environment is deteriorating, water shortages are more frequent and wetlands are shrinking.

GWP China- Hunan had a hand in preparing the Dongting Lake Management Rules but, to apply the Rules, transboundary authorities and government departments need to cooperate. In December 2010, GWP China- Hunan, together with the Hunan Provincial Water Resources Department, arranged the Meeting on Collaboration for Protecting Dongting Lake to encourage governmental agencies to cooperate on transboundary areas. The goal is to establish collaborative means for disaster management and to implement existing management mechanisms.